She coordinates the work of 1,300 people in a world-leading carbon fibre production facility serving the most important civil and military aeronautical programmes. Mechanical engineer Manuela Marangio earned this responsibility through her work in the field since 2006, when the Grottaglie site opened its doors, granting her access to the global aerospace industry.
As Manuela recalls, nearly twenty years ago this futuristic industrial site marked a fundamental shift in the production of aeronautical structures, with the fuselage sections of the B787 Dreamliner being manufactured using exclusive patents and unique processes.
A training ground for continuous learning, it now provides an opportunity to retrace the stages of her professional journey: from the determined and passionate choice to pursue a STEM degree, to the shared challenge with the group of “high potential” individuals who joined her in the company’s first training course and were tasked with launching the initial operations in the newly established factory. Now, she can reap the rewards of that commitment as the first woman to lead one of Leonardo’s most technologically advanced production sites.
