TCNA's Tile Person of the Year Awarded to Donato Grosser

Tile Council of North America (TCNA) presented its prestigious Tile Person of the Year award to Mr. Donato Grosser at Total Solutions Plus 2014 in San Antonio, TX. The award is presented annually to an individual who made transformative changes to the North American tile industry.

Donato Grosser is the founder and president of D. Grosser and Associates, Ltd. of New York. His efforts led to the first large scale tile exposition open to all, bringing specifiers, distributors, retailers, installers, and more to an international tile exhibition. This quickly led to the international tile industry partnership known today as Coverings, which celebrated its twenty-five years of success this year.

According to TCNA Executive Director Eric Astrachan, "Mr. Grosser is a scholar whose vision and quiet but massive efforts over 40 years have had a transformative effect on the North American tile industry; additionally, through Coverings, funding for the promotion of tile and industry standards work has been possible."

Born and raised in Milan, Italy, Mr. Grosser has a B.A. in economics from the University of Jerusalem and an MBA in management and marketing from New York University.

From 1974-1984 he worked for the Italian Trade Commission, first as market research director, then as director of consulting services. Since 1980 he has directed promotional programs for the Italian ceramic tile and marble industries.

In 1982 and 1984 Mr. Grosser directed Casa Tile, a showcase of Italian Tile held in New York City with the participation of up and coming architects and designers. William Snyder, former president of American Olean Tile remarked, "This show did more to promote ceramic tile in America than anything that was done before." The show was featured on the cover of the New York Times Home Section and in a six-page article in Interior Design magazine, as well as in numerous other newspapers and magazines.

D. Grosser and Associates, founded in 1984, provides international clients with specialized assistance in entering and increasing their presence in the American market. Clients include manufacturers' associations, trade associations, banks, and individual manufacturers in the U.S., Italy, and Canada. Mr. Grosser has been the U.S. consultant for Confindustria Ceramica (the Italian Association of Ceramics, formerly Assopiastrelle) since 1984.

Since 1980 Mr. Grosser has given more than one hundred seminars on ceramic tile to AIA and ASID chapters all over the U.S. He was also a member of the Ceramic Tile Marketing Federation.

Mr. Grosser has advised many ceramic tile manufacturers and authored numerous articles in trade publications.

In 1984 Mr. Grosser was named "Master of the Art of Stone" at the Verona Trade Fair for the promotion of Italian marble in the U.S. In 1985 he received an Award of Excellence for his promotional activities from Interior Design Magazine.

In 1989 he was awarded the Cesery Memorial Award by TCAA for his "Outstanding Service to the Industry," and he was honored by the Tile Heritage Foundation in 1994.

Mr. Grosser is an Executive Board member of the Ceramic Tile Education Foundation (CTEF), which provides installer training and certification.

The award to honor Mr. Grosser was a beautiful, framed tile mural handcrafted by Mr. Marc Holm of AD Studios (Elgin, TX).