The chief executive of Spanish double-face and nappa producer Inpelsa, Manuel Ríos Navarro, has been re-elected as president of COTANCE, the leather industry’s main representative body in the European Union. By Leatherbiz.

COTANCE chose Mr Ríos as its president in 2020, but owing to the covid-19 pandemic, it was September 2021 before he was able to take up the role. He won re-election at a COTANCE meeting in Brussels on May 15.

Vice-presidents of the organisation will be Jean-Christophe Muller, chief executive of Tannerie Haas in France, Fabrizio Nuti, who runs the Nuti Ivo group of tanneries, and Rino Mastrotto of Rino Mastrotto Group.

Afterwards, Manuel Ríos said: “European leather is the smart choice. The general public is presented too often with news and images that cast a shadow over the leather industry. But we know that the leather industry in Europe will only have a future if it treats people and the environment well.”