Riccardo Calcagni entered in the family enterprise V. Besana S.p.A. in 1992, and soon became Purchasing Manager for raw materials, and successively Production Manager of the plant in San Gennaro Vesuviano (Naples/Italy).
In 2002, he was nominated CEO of Besana Group.
He was elected Chairman of the FRUCOM Nut Working Group in 2016.
Riccardo is a member of the INC Board of Trustees, and was also Ambassador for Italy (2006-2012). In the same period, he was Coordinator of Nucis Italia for the promotion of health benefits in nuts and dried fruits.
In 30 years, he has not only brought forward the story of Besana, combining tradition and innovation, but has always passionately felt the pulse of the nut and dried fruit world. He has therefore been actively collaborating, over the years, as a member in numerous committees and working groups engaged to favour scientific studies, trade development, product & process innovation, improvement of quality standards; and he is leading, in the footsteps of his father, important activities in the agricultural sector through farmer projects in Europe and abroad.
After the agreement between the Besana Group and the Spanish group Importaco, signed in 2020, to become the biggest international platform in nuts and dried fruit in Europe, Riccardo was confirmed Besana CEO.
