NCA Entrepreneur Nicoletta Nutrito closed her deal in June of this year when she successfully acquired Italy-based Mecavit S.r.l. We sat down with Nicoletta to learn about her search journey and how her deal helped maintain a family-owned business’ legacy and continuity by solving a succession challenge.
EMBRACING ENGINEERING & ENTREPRENEURSHIP
Nicoletta Nutrito was born and raised in Italy, and found herself drawn to engineering from a very young age. She pursued this passion throughout her education, majoring in Industrial Engineering at Alma Mater Studiorum - Università di Bologna (Italy), while also completing study abroad programs in both the US (University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign) and France (EPF Engineering School).
Nicoletta spent the first 20 years of her career working in operations, supply chain management and logistics for global corporations, honing the capacity and knowledge she would later tap into to run a SME. “Growing my career in multinational environments and matrix organizations really allowed me to develop strong communication skills with a broad array of people,” explained Nicoletta. Most recently, she spent eight years as an executive in a global family-owned business - where she worked closely with the founder and his daughter who had stepped in to succeed him as CEO - before she joined NCA’s Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition program in 2022.
When asked why she chose to pursue ETA in partnership with NCA as the next step in her career, Nicoletta said: “I was looking for a new challenge and the possibility to form a direct link between my actions and value creation, which can be diluted by politics and red tape in larger companies. NCA’s ETA program felt like a great opportunity to make a tangible impact - by doing my part to support Italy’s economic recovery - while also advancing my career.”
NCA: CRUCIAL SUPPORT FOR SEALING THE DEAL
Nicoletta’s search focused on Italian companies in the supply chain management and logistics sectors, and in June 2024 she successfully acquired Mecavit S.r.l., a trusted Italian fastener manufacturer located in Castel Guelfo di Bologna. Mecavit was founded in the 1980s and produces standard unified screws and custom-designed screws in high resistance carbon steel and stainless steel for industrial sectors.
Nicoletta explained there were three key drivers that drew her to Mecavit. “The first is that the screws are used across many applications, segments, and countries, so that leaves a lot of room to adjust from a risk perspective,” she explained. “The second is the values of the owners. They invested in state-of-the-art equipment for their factories, but they also took care of their employees and factory workers by providing the best possible working conditions. There’s a true family spirit. And the third is the company’s powerful potential, given the massive wealth of knowledge and technical know-how that is already present.”
NCA’s support was crucial in getting the deal through, explained Nicoletta, particularly the support she received from the M&A team. “While I have M&A experience, that’s never been the focus of my career. I’m someone who has core experience on the line, on the factory floor, and in front of customers, so support from the M&A team – who were very professional and responsive – was truly invaluable.”
NCA’s M&A team had also been key in helping Nicoletta narrow down her search in the early stages. She had started out considering 18 different companies, but the M&A team helped her narrow her focus down to only two to pursue further. “As a searcher, there’s always the risk of falling in love with a company, so having the M&A team act as a sort of referee without that emotional attachment is a good guarantee for investors,” added Nicoletta.
SUCCESSION SOLUTIONS & NEXT GENERATION GROWTH
Nicoletta’s deal not only set her on course for the next major milestone in her career, it also helped address a succession challenge for Mecavit S.r.l. Even though younger generation family members are working within the company, none of them had wanted to step into the leadership role and embrace being an entrepreneur. Nicoletta’s vision and experience made her an ideal choice for the company’s next entrepreneurial leader. “We are pleased to pass the baton to a manager from our area who, in addition to the right skills, shares our values and is motivated to ensure growth and continuity,” said Bruno Carafa, the company’s founder and outgoing director.
“I'm incredibly proud to help carry the powerful legacy of this company,” said Nicoletta, “I really believe in it. Stepping into this role, meeting the people who power this business and seeing what it means to them, really brings the concept of legacy to life in a very tangible way. To think that I’m part of maintaining continuity and can give back in that way is really an honor. I think I can bring a lot to the table as we look ahead to this next era of growth and innovation.”
For more information about Nicoletta please visit: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicoletta-nutrito-gm-bu-services/
For more information about Mecavit S.r.l. please visit: https://www.mecavit.it/uk/