Lara Ponti was born in Novara in 1968. She graduated with honours in Philosophy from the State University of Milan, followed by psycho-social studies on organisational development and a Master in Human Resources.

In the 1990s, he worked for a long time in the Third Sector, as manager of social cooperatives, where the reflection on sustainability has as its epicentre the need to create and maintain realities that produce social value and, at the same time, are sustainable from an economic point of view.

In 2010, he joined the historic family business, of which he is now Vice-President, which has been successfully producing vinegar for nine generations, Ponti S.p.A Società Benefit, thanks in part to its strong roots in the local area and a constant focus on innovation.

The first woman in the family to work in the company, she took on, together with her cousin Giacomo, the position of Managing Director and Head of Human Resources and Organisational Development. From this position, she implements the reflections she has matured, which in the meantime have become highly topical: safeguarding the future and making it better than today.

The strategic themes she has worked on in recent years have been sustainability, digital transformation and people development. In the context of these themes, she has been working on gender equality, Next- Gen training (30% employees under 35), promotion of middle manager leadership, transparency of remuneration policies and development and succession plans.

In 2015, he edited Ponti's first Sustainability Report, and in 2021, he led the company to become a Benefit Company, leading to B Corp certification in 2023.

In 2018, he was in charge of the implementation of Industry 4.0 projects in the plants, kicking off the Digital Transformation project in 2022 with the aim of optimising activities and reducing those with low added value.

In 2023, he received the Forbes CEO Italian Awards to the most innovative and successful CEOs for 'consistent commitment to promoting gender equality and women's empowerment'.

In 2024 Bridges will be certified for gender equality.