Gabriella Parisse is used to being the first woman in executive roles, whether as president of Johnson & Johnson Consumer Italy; president of innovation and commercial development with Tate & Lyle, a global supplier of food and beverage ingredients out of the UK; and now the first female CEO of Velcro Companies in Manchester as of Nov. 1.
With 30 years’ experience in consumer goods as well as a successful business-to-business track record, Parisse joined Velcro in 2018, quickly rising through the ranks, first as chief marketing officer and then chief growth officer.
Born and raised in Italy in a family of restaurateurs, Parisse started her career as a financial analyst for Hewlett-Packard after graduating with honors from La Sapienza University in Rome with a master’s degree in statistics and demographic sciences. From there, she headed to Johnson & Johnson. Her success there resulted in the President of the Italian Republic awarding her the honor of “Cavaliere del Lavoro” (Order of Merit for Labour) in 2009. “I was one of the few women taking important roles in large companies,” in Italy, Parisse says.
Parisse spent 26 years with Johnson & Johnson, serving in a variety of senior leadership roles, before moving on to executive positions at Tate & Lyle and then Velcro. She says Velcro is an iconic brand with 60 years of history in NH, adding, “For me, this is a great honor to be the CEO of Velcro Companies.”
Parisse says she sees opportunity. “In the U.S. we have low household penetration despite the big name. We can grow this business and accelerate consumer-driven innovation,” she says. “This is a clear focus for us.”
She says Velcro has not invested significantly in marketing, which she wants to change.
“We are the inventor of hook and loop fasteners. This heritage is important to us in introducing new products,” Parisse says.
VELCRO Brand products are found in a range of markets, including transportation, medical, packaging, construction, personal care, footwear and apparel, and industrial markets and the company holds more than 400 active patents and numerous trademarks, Parisse says.
In 2020, they launched Velcro Brand ONE-WRAP Garden Ties to make it easier to bundle and stake plants and garden tools.
Last April, the company launched the Velcro Brand ECO Collection made with post-consumer recycled content.
Recent innovations have been centered on products related to DIY and home improvement, she says, but Velcro Companies is working on other concepts, including for the home organization and crafting markets.
“Overall, business has been doing well in 2021.We are seeing continuous, strong demand across all segments,” she says.
With NH as its largest manufacturing site for years, the corporate headquarters in Manchester and the Somersworth plant employ 700. One of Parisse’s goals is to diversify the workforce. To that end, Velcro Companies created employee resource groups, including for women (which Parisse leads), people of color, LatinE, Pride, and Nations (aimed at immigrants and refugees).