Advisor Board

Entrepreneur, degree in mechanical engineering, MBA at Profingest (now BBS), AMP Advanced Management Program at IESE, Certificate in Finance and Certificate in Mergers and Acquisitions at London Business School, Chairwoman of the Board of Directors of Bonfiglioli Group.

Daughter of the entrepreneur Clementino Bonfiglioli, founder of the Group, Sonia Bonfiglioli grew up alongside her father and learned to love the business. She joined the company in 1982 and was appointed to the Board of Directors.

On completion of her studies in 1992, she devoted herself entirely to the company. She began working in the production department and then moving on to gain experience in other company functions. This has enabled her to run important process improvement projects, rationalize the product range and conclude agreements with major suppliers.
Through her strategic vision, she has led the company into a broader international dimension, promoting investments in new activities as well as major acquisitions in Italy and abroad, and laying the foundations for the construction of factories in India, Slovakia, Vietnam, China, US and Brazil.

She was appointed Managing Director in 2008 and became Chairwoman of the Group after her father's death in 2010.
Formed in Bologna in 1956, the Bonfiglioli Group today is present in over 80 countries and on 5 continents. The Group has 26 commercial sites, 20 production plants and 4700 employees worldwide.

In 2015, she was appointed Cavaliere del Lavoro, an insignia of the “Order of Merit for Labor" that is given by the President of the Italian Republic to men and women as a recognition for results obtained in the world of business, the creation of development and jobs but above all for the commitment to ethical and social responsibility aimed at improving living and working conditions in Italy.

In March 2017, she was awarded the title of Honorary Citizen of the City of Forlì for the strong impulse that the Bonfiglioli plant in Forlì has given and continues to give to the community of Forlì, including the city's cultural and educational system.
In 2018, the Bonfiglioli Digital Re-Training pilot project was born, a skills retraining path that in 2020 lead to Bonfiglioli Academy, an online platform for all employees, with customised courses and the possibility of accessing a library of external content, which can also be used from all mobile devices.

In November 2018, she won the XXII edition of the EY Entrepreneur of the Year award in Italy. This important recognition is reserved for Italian entrepreneurs who have been able to create value with an innovative spirit and a strategic vision, thus contributing to the growth of the economy.

She currently holds the position of:

• Chairwoman of Bonfiglioli Group (subsidiaries or plants in Italy and abroad)
• Member of the Board of Directors of Umbragroup S.p.A.
• Member of the Board of Directors of Aeroporto Guglielmo Marconi di Bologna S.p.A.
• Member of the Board of Directors of San Marco Group S.p.A.
• Vice President of Confindustria Emilia
• Member of Comitato Leonardo – Italian Quality Committee
• Member of Industry Committee PM & Partners SGR S.p.A.