The Guggenheim announced today that Francesca Lavazza was elected to the museum’s board of trustees in February. Lavazza is a board member of the Lavazza Group, the owner of the similarly named Turin-based coffee company where she served as corporate image director from 2005 to 2015.
Over the past couple years, Lavazza, the coffee company, has supported major exhibitions at the Guggenheim about Italian art, most notably a well-received Alberto Burri retrospective and “Italian Futurism, 1909–1944: Reconstructing the Universe.” Lavazza is also the lead sponsor of the museum’s upcoming László Moholy-Nagy retrospective, which opens at the end of May.
“I am honored and enthused by this appointment and have enjoyed getting to know the Guggenheim through the three major exhibitions that Lavazza has successfully supported over the past several years,” Lavazza said in a statement. “I look forward to serving on the Board and continuing to provide creativity and resources to this great museum.”