Whilst you might think that Whirlpool is brand traditionally used by women, the running of the company has been far from a woman’s domain. Congratulations to Silvia Del Vitto who has ascended to the Managing Director Role for Australia & NZ.

Silvia Del Vitto is an experienced global executive with the world’s number one major appliance manufacturer, Whirlpool Corporation. Del Vitto recently relocated to Australia from Singapore, having started her career with Whirlpool in 1999 in her country of origin, Italy. Del Vitto has spent just shy of 2 decades with Whirlpool Corporation, and in that time, has developed and grown with the company from an initial marketing assistant role, to roles across all product categories over her tenure.

Flash forward to today, and Del Vitto who has always wanted an international career, is currently responsible for overseeing operations as managing director across Australia and New Zealand (Oceania) for the Whirlpool Brands including Whirlpool, Ariston and KitchenAid.

Whirlpool has been an iconic brand name in Australia for many decades, most well known for its refrigeration and laundry appliances. However, the push into kitchen and cooking appliances in the past few years, as well as adding back into refrigeration and laundry, has set up a strong growth trajectory for Whirlpool in Australia. Del Vitto’s move into this role reflects the desire to really reignite the Whirlpool brand locally. Combined with a strong distribution partnership with The Good Guys nationally, the next 18-months will see a focus on offering a compelling, innovative product offering to drive growth and further brand awareness across the breadth of the Whirlpool portfolio in Australia.

Part of this growth strategy involves local kitchen partnerships with like-minded personalities. In 2017, Whirlpool has partnered with Australian celebrity chef Scott Gooding, who shares and effortlessly embodies the company’s core values; keeping it simple and fun to cook at home, to enable people to spend more quality time with family and friends. Through the partnership, Whirlpool and Gooding will work together to educate Australian consumers about healthy cooking, through a series of fun cooking demonstrations across Whirlpool Cooking social media channels; Facebook and Instagram and provide the opportunity for Whirlpool followers to prep and cook delicious, simple and nourishing dishes with Scott Gooding in person with Whirlpool kitchen appliances.

Ariston, continues to be one of the premium cooking brands in the country, its Italian heritage and strong presence in Harvey Norman cementing its place in the hearts and minds of Australian consumers who have relied strongly on the quality of Ariston products for more than 20 years.

While the local business has grown significantly, especially in the last 12 months, Del Vitto acknowledges that there is so much more to be done and so many opportunities in this region. The Whirlpool Corporation multi-brand portfolio ensures that there are a variety of compelling options for key channel partners, backed by a global commitment to drive innovation in the Smart Kitchen, Smart Laundry and beyond. These are iconic, trustworthy brands already well-known to Australian and New Zealand consumers, and Del Vitto is really looking forward to being involved in the next chapter of their growth across this region. Watch this space!