Roberto Rocca

Roberto Rocca
Diamond Konex Award 1998: Institutions - Community - Enterprise
Konex Award 1988: Basic Industry Businessmen

He was born on 01/02/1922 in Milan (Italy). Diamond Konex Award 1998. Konex Award 1988. During the Second World War, Rocca was in the Italian Navy from June 1942 until September 8 1943; he was on board a submarine, with the degree of Sub-Lieutenant in Naval Engineering. He graduated as Mechanical Engineer at the “Politecnico di Milano" in July 1945 and graduated in Sciences late in 1949 at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

In September 1945, he participated with his father, Engineer Agostino Rocca in the creation of Techint in Italy, and summoned a group of young professionals who became members of the “junior staff” as supporters of brothers Agostino and Enrique Rocca. At first, his activity at Techint concentrated in the organization of the company. As from 1959 he was in charge of the technical activities, projects and construction and late in 1969, he became General Manager of the Techint Organization, the industrial sector included.

In 1978 Roberto Rocca succeeded his father. By that time Techint was a group with 15 thousand employees, two steel manufacturing facilities in Argentina and an international engineering and construction business, mainly concentrated in Latin America. As Chairman of Techint Organization he leaded the growth of its industrial activities through a series of investments in steel mills and in research and development.

In the 1990s, Roberto Rocca led another substantial steel project: the creation of an integrated pole of flat steel production activities around Siderar, in Argentina. He became President of Siderca S.A. In the 1996, he also became the President of Dalmine, an enterprise located in Bergamo (Italy) that, as well as Tamsa, in Mexico, joined the Techint Organization in the steel tube activities area. He was elected the first Chairman of Tenaris, created in 2002.

He has been Vice-President of Mozarteum Argentino, Honorary President of the Círculo Italiano and Honorary Member of the Institute for Industrial Development (IDI).

He died on 10/06/2003.

Carlos Manuel Muñiz, por Cáritas Argentina: Rafael Rey, Roberto Rocca