SAN FRANCISCO, CA -- In recognition of Women’s History Month, ICG Italia hosted an empowering event, Inside The Architect Studio: A riveting exploration into the lives of women leading the industry on March 13th from 5:30 to 7:30 pm at the ICG Gallery located at 111 Rhode Island Street, Suite B. The women-led ICG Italia, brand of Iris Ceramica Group, developed this program as part of an important Women’s History Month company initiative to honor women’s leadership roles in the architecture & design community.

The esteemed architecture industry panelists discussed their journeys and challenges as well as their shared contributions to sustainability initiatives around the world. The trailblazing panelists include: Federica Minozzi: CEO of Iris Ceramica Group, Michelle Hatton: Associate Principal of SOM, Aida Ribar: Regional Leader of WorkPlace at HOK and Jean Rainer: Senior Vice President of Shorenstein Properties.

As a women-led company committed to supporting women thriving in the workplace, Iris Ceramica Group and its visionary CEO Federica Minozzi value meaningful programs that connect with amazing female leaders and truly understand the importance of inspiring the next generation of women in the A&D industry.

This kicks off ICG Italia’s Inside The Architect Studio 2024 series of events geared to the A&D community with programming that spotlights leading architects and their industry insights in small group settings. 

ICG ITALIA, the U.S. division of Iris Ceramica Group, is a leading force in high tech architectural surfaces and renowned in the flooring industry, and combines the formerly known brands Eurowest, Transceramica and SapienStone. With a commitment to excellence and innovation, ICG ITALIA is dedicated to delivering Italian-made high-quality porcelain stoneware materials.

Federica Minozzi 

CEO, Iris Ceramica Group 

After graduating with honors from the Faculty of Law at Modena University, Federica Minozzi joined Iris Ceramica, her family’s industrial holding company, where she studied and investigated the areas of sales and marketing, an orientation that soon turned out to be strategic for her future and essential for the development of her entrepreneurial and managerial skills.

Over the years this has allowed her to hold positions of the highest responsibility in all the companies in her family’s multinational group; she is now Group CEO.

Michelle Hatton

SOM, associate principal

Originally from South Africa, Michelle Hatton started her career in Houston with Gensler. She eventually moved to the Bay Area and after focusing on workplace design for sixteen years at Gensler, joined SOM three years ago as Co-Studiohead and Design Lead for the Interiors Studio. Her expertise has expanded beyond workplace and she is energized by new opportunities to improve the human experience and affect the quality of design.

Aida Ribar

HOK, regional leader of WorkPlace 

Aida has been a successful leader and Principal at HOK since 2017. She is passionate about creating empowering environments that foster productivity, wellbeing and user engagement. With more than two decades of project experience, she drives the firm's workplace practice in both San Francisco and Seattle and is deeply involved in the local design community.  Originally from Sarajevo, she has called the Bay Area home for the past 28 years. 

Jean Rainer

Shorenstein Properties, senior vice president 

Jeanie Rainer is a senior vice president of development services in the Investment Group at Shorenstein. She joined Shorenstein in 1998. She is responsible for supporting and executing the company’s office development activities nationwide, including site evaluation, entitlement, design, construction, project management and initial tenant improvements. During her career at Shorenstein she has developed, repositioned or renovated 6.8 million square feet. Ms. Rainer graduated from UC Davis with a B.S., and from California College of the Arts with an M.F.A. She is a LEED Accredited Professional (LEED AP) and a member of the Urban Land Institute.