Giuseppe "Peppe" Sala (born 28 May 1958) is an Italian manager and politician, currently mayor of Milan. He was CEO of Expo 2015 in Milan from 2010 to 2015. He became mayor of Milan in 2016, supported by the centre-left coalition, and he was confirmed for a second term in the 2021 municipal election.
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Business career
Expo 2015
In 2015, Milan hosted the Universal Exposition; the themes were technology, innovation, culture and traditions concerning food. Participants in the Expo included 145 countries, three international organisations, several civil society organisations, several corporations and non-governmental organizations (NGOs). The participants were hosted inside individual or grouped pavilions. In June 2010 Sala was appointed CEO of the Expo, which led to the nickname "Mr. Expo" in the following years.
The opening of the Expo on 1 May 2015 was marred by protests from anti-austerity activists, black bloc, and anarchists which caused criminal damage, resulting in the police using tear gas.
Expo also created some tensions with the Holy See and the Italian government; in fact Pope Francis condemned the concept of Expo, saying that it "obeys the culture of waste and does not contribute to a model of equitable and sustainable development". As Vatican City invested €3 million to obtain its own pavilion at the event before his appointment to the papacy, Francis said that, although it is a good thing that the Church is involved in causes that battle hunger and promote cleaner energy, he stated that too much money was wasted on the Expo itself by Vatican City.