April 2024 — Barbara De Rigo
Promoting Women Throughout the Eyewear Industry

In this episode, OWA Talks is joined by Barbara De Rigo of De Rigo Vision SPA. Listen as we discuss YALEA, an exciting De Rigo house brand, created and launched in collaboration with our guest, that promotes contemporary women and seeks to help enhance their personal growth and empowerment.

Barbara De Rigo was born in Cortina d'Ampezzo and, after graduating as a Parliamentary Interpreter in Bologna, she moved to Milan where she studied Foreign Languages and Literature. Her professional career in the family business began in 1993 in Germany at the Group's first branch, and, as of 1994, continued at the Foreign Trade Department at the company headquarters in Longarone.

After eight years of commercial experience, her love for the various house brands saw her enter the Marketing sphere, where she worked, more specifically, with Police, Sting and Lozza — brands that thereafter became her passion and personal mission, dedicating herself exclusively to their strategy and development.

Over the years, Barbara personally followed numerous collaborations with celebrities and artists (George Clooney, Antonio Banderas, David Beckham, Michael Schumacher, Mika, Gabriel Batistuta, Neymar and Lewis Hamilton, and many Italian artists including Marco Mengoni, Fedez, Francesco Renga, Tommaso Paradiso and Leo Gassman, to name but a few), in addition to co-branding activities with fashion houses and prestigious brands (Disney, Maserati, Yamamay, Pininfarina, Cirque du Soleil, FILA and Philosophy).

She is also at the helm of the following corporate social and environmental responsibility projects, which she has followed with passion every step of the way: "Lookbeyond" to mark Police's 30th anniversary in support of Doctors Without Borders; the book and comic "IntereSTING" on occasion of Sting's 30th anniversary in collaboration with charity S.O.S. Children's Villages; the collaboration between Sting and Save the Planet, the non-profit association that develops and promotes projects to safeguard the environment.

In 2018, on occasion of the company's 40th anniversary, the Fondazione De Rigo H.E.ART Onlus was founded, aimed at supporting young people so that they can enjoy inalienable rights to health and education, also stimulating the development of their individual personalities through artistic and cultural activities. Barbara is the President and passionately dedicates a great deal of time to this special project.

In 2020, Barbara became Chief Marketing Officer at De Rigo, assuming responsibility for the Group's entire Marketing and Communication structure.

In 2021 she contributes to the creation and launch of Yalea, the fourth and new company house brand. An important project intended to enrich the Group's portfolio with a brand which aims to promote contemporary women by supporting their freedom of choice, encouraging their talent and rewarding their personal beauty. A brand which combines the cause of women globally and in a tangible way with virtuous projects dedicated to their empowerment.

---