“A new member of our chamber, Mr Plumari was nominated for the award by one of our board members, and won in recognition of the rapid and widely known success of Steyn City and his emphasis on creating employment for South Africans,” said Dylan Stewart of the Italian-South Africa Chamber of Commerce and Industries.
Stewart mentioned that Plumari’s origins had also been taken into account: born in Milan as one of six children, Plumari’s family moved to South Africa in 1966, when he was a young boy. His career in construction started out with some small projects, focusing on alterations. He later moved onto larger projects, and began buying tracts of land which he (correctly) predicted would become future nodes. Steyn City, which he developed with his long-time friend and collaborator Douw Steyn, has been built on one such corridor.
According to Stewart, Plumari’s story displays all the qualities essential to winners of the Business Person of the Year Award: “In considering our winners, we look at their personal stories, the turnover and recent growth of their companies, public awareness of the company and the candidate’s integrity. The entrepreneur must be of Italian origin, and they need to have conducted themselves in a way that enhances the image of the Italian-South African community or facilitates trades between the two countries.”
In winning this award, Plumari joins the ranks of former winners like Mark Lamberti of Massmart Holdings, Domenico Cioffi of Mimmo’s and Italtile’s Giovanni Ravazzotti. Other accolades bestowed at the ceremony include the Business Enterprise of the Year, Lifetime Recognition Award and the Young Entrepreneur Award.
“It is indeed an honour to win this award. I am proud to have been selected as an ambassador of my birth country, and equally proud of the recognition of my efforts at contributing to South African society, the economy and our vision for creating a lifestyle like none other, Steyn City,” Plumari said.
