Eligio Gaudio Appointed CEO of Villa Charities

TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwired - Oct. 7, 2015) -

Editors Note: There is a photo associated with this press release.

Eligio Gaudio has been appointed President and CEO of Villa Charities Inc. Villa Charities is a registered charity that provides Italian Canadian culturally sensitive care and independent living apartments for seniors as well as educational, cultural and athletic programs.

Mr. Gaudio is a proven leader and team builder with extensive experience at the President and CEO level, and as a fundraiser in the not-for-profit sector.

"I am delighted, on behalf of Villa Charities' Board of Governors and our community at large, to extend a warm welcome to Eligio in his new role," says Aldo Cundari, Chair, Villa Charities. "With a proven track record of visionary leadership and sound management, Eligio is the ideal person to guide our organization through a period of significant change and development."

As President and CEO of the investment management solutions provider FRI Corporation for more than a decade, Mr. Gaudio revitalized and grew the company into a global market leader. From 1995 to 2006, he oversaw a five-fold increase in FRI's revenue and turned the company around from near bankruptcy to strong profitability before it was acquired by a publicly traded company.

At Hosted Villa Inc., a provider of gold-standard international villa travel, Mr. Gaudio served as Chairman and CEO. He steered the company through a management acquisition, refinancing and pioneering market success before directing its sale. Mr. Gaudio has also served as President and CEO of Nexgen Software Corporation, a privately held company.

More recently, as the President and Chairman of the Board of The National Golf Club of Canada, Mr. Gaudio directed significant change to help align staff with the club's mission statement.

"I am excited to have this opportunity to help Villa Charities reaffirm its special place in the GTA's Italian community," Mr. Gaudio says. "We plan on positioning our organization for growth in a way that maintains our history and traditions for future generations. As President and CEO, I look forward to serving as a proactive and visible ambassador for Villa Charities, and to demonstrating our commitment to service excellence for donors, stakeholders, members and employees."

Mr. Gaudio says he is motivated to help create a great legacy for Villa Charities by reinvigorating the organization's fundraising efforts: "I believe that one needs to inspire, as donors don't typically give to charities, but rather invest in an idea and the people with the vision to deliver profound change."

Mr. Gaudio earned a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from St. Mary's University in Halifax, where he was Student Leader of the Year in 1981. St. Mary's recognized him with an Honorary Doctor of Commerce degree in 1999 for his service to the university. He served on St. Mary's Board of Governors from 2000 to 2009, and on the Executive Committee of the university's Capital Fund Campaign from 2007 to 2010.

Mr. Gaudio has been elected three times to the Board of Directors of The National Golf Club of Canada, serving as President and Chairman in 2010 and 2015. He has also served on the Board of Directors of the Brott Music Festival.

Born in Mangone (Cosenza), Italy, Mr. Gaudio came to Canada as a six-year-old. Except during his university studies, he has lived in Toronto since then. He speaks fluent Italian.

About Villa Charities

Villa Charities Inc. is a registered charity that cultivates, promotes and celebrates our culture as Italian-Canadians. For more than 40 years across the GTA, Villa Charities has provided care for seniors and offered educational and cultural programs in music, dance, visual arts, culinary arts, athletics and more. The Villa Charities family includes Villa Colombo Services for Seniors in Toronto; Villa Colombo Vaughan/Di Poce Centre; Caboto Terrace, Casa Del Zotto and Casa Abruzzo apartments for independent seniors; the Columbus Centre; and J.D. Carrier Art Gallery. For more information, visit www.villacharities.com.

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