OBERLIN, OH -- The Natural Stone Institute will welcome three individuals to its board of directors in January 2022:
North American Installer: Sam Arcot, Rugo Stone, LLC
Sam Arcot is the special projects manager at Rugo Stone in Lorton, VA. With over 22 years of experience, Arcot began his career in the Indian stone industry at the age of 17 as an entrepreneur. Arcot is also an MBA graduate and has a strong background in sales, marketing and business development. Having joined Rugo Stone in 2010, Arcot has spearheaded the company’s marketing initiatives to promote natural stone products and to strategically diversify operations to target niche markets, which require a combination of highly skilled/experienced workforce, as well as the latest technology in stone fabrication. Arcot was the recipient of the Natural Stone Institute’s Natural Stone Scholarship in 2013 and has volunteered for many association delegation trips and Stone Summits. Arcot is also currently a mentor in the Women in Stone Mentorship Program.
North American Quarrier: Darrell Petit, Stony Creek Quarry
Darrell Petit has worked in all capacities of the Stony Creek Quarry since 1990. He has led the team on many projects, including: The Statue of Liberty Museum, The Smithsonian Cooper Hewitt National Design Museum, Columbia University, the Second Division Memorial in President's Park, DC, and 550 Madison in New York City. An internationally renowned sculptor, he has worked with quarries around the world, such as Lundhs in Norway, to complete monumental sculptures including those for the Chubu Museum and Cultural Center in Japan, for the Yale University Peabody Museum, for the Four Seasons One Dalton Boston and for the Egyptian Ministry of Culture. Petit has been a member of the NSF Joint Committee on Dimensional Stone to develop the ANSI/NSC 373 sustainability assessment for natural dimension stone and currently volunteers as a mentor for the Women in Stone Mentorship Program. He was an early adopter of the Natural Stone Institute’s testing lab and currently volunteers on the association’s sustainability committee.
Associate Member: Filippo Emanuel, Tenax USA
Filippo Emanuel is the founder and CEO of Tenax USA LLC. After 14 years spent in the Italian Navy, both as a jet pilot and as a captain of a ship, Filippo moved to the U.S. in 1998 to develop the market for Tenax S.p.A, a leading Italian manufacturer of consumable products for the stone industry. In 2000, Emanuel founded Tenax USA LLC and became its general manager. Since then, the company has grown exponentially, making the INC 5000 List of fastest growing companies in the U.S. five times in less than eight years. From 2012 to 2016, Emanuel was also in charge of Tenax do Brasil, acquiring an enormous amount of experience in the stone industry both from the manufacturing point of view and of the fabrication side of the business. Emanuel has supported the association’s safety committee and multiple networking events. He has also provided equipment resources for the association’s testing lab.
Arcot, Petit and Emanuel will be formally welcomed to the board during the first meeting of 2022 at The International Surface Event in February 2022. The Natural Stone Institute would also like to thank their five outgoing board members, Herwig Callewier (Beltrami Natural Stone), Leonardo De Tatagiba (Granitos Zucchi), Mariavittoria Grassi (Grassi Pietre), Marcella Prado (Laticrete) and Robert Zavagno (Cleveland Marble Mosaic), who will conclude their board service at the January 2022 board meeting.
