Suzanne Zaccone to receive 2014 R. Stanton Avery Lifetime Achievement Award

Sponsored by Avery Dennison, the R. Stanton Avery Lifetime Achievement Award recognizes the values and vision of Stan Avery and his pioneering efforts and is designed to honor the outstanding contribution to the promotion and growth of the label industry the winner has made.

Zaccone is the first female recipient of the award, which is presented as part of the Label Industry Global Awards, and joins an illustrious list of previous winners, including Ritrama’s Tomas Rink, Steve Lee of RotoMetrics, Helmut Schreiner, FLEXcon’s Neil McDonough and Terry Fulwiler of WS Packaging Group. 

Zaccone, together with her brother Bob Zaccone, founded GSI Technologies in 1985 to produce prime and anti-counterfeit labels and polycarbonate overlays. Today, these applications represent only 15 percent of GSI’s business, with GSI now widely recognized as a world leader in emerging technology, producing advanced functional printed products including strips to measure glucose for diabetics, electroluminescent lamps, smart card displays, sensors and automotive circuits.

From 1998 to 2000, she also served as TLMI’s chairman/president. The first female in that role in the organization’s history, she continues as a strong mentor for other women in the TLMI and women in the label industry in general, using her leadership skills to help young people in the medical field and other business areas.

Further, Zaccone has been president of the board of directors to the DiTrolio Flexographic Institute since 2000.

In her personal life, Zaccone beat breast cancer in 2009, publishing her book, ‘A Random Interruption: Surviving Breast Cancer with Laughter, Vodka, Smoothies and an Attitude’ in 2010.

The awards judging panel met in Monaco prior to the opening of FINAT’s annual congress to select Zaccone as this year’s winner, with Mike Fairley, chairman of the judging panel, saying: ‘Suzanne has been an inspiration, mentor and role model, particularly to other women in the world of labels. I am delighted that Suzanne has achieved such an accolade and I look forward to the presentation of the Lifetime Achievement Award trophy to her at the awards evening this coming September.’

Zaccone will be presented with the award during a dinner and ceremony on September 9 at the end of the first day of Labelexpo Americas 2014. Three other Label Industry Global Award prizes will also be presented at this time, with shortlisted entries revealed at the same time as Zaccone’s award of the Lifetime Achievement Award. Read the shortlist here.