Turin, Italy, 27 June 2025. After four extraordinary decades of service, Francesco Nesti, Global Director of Software & Automation for IM GROUP, bid farewell to colleagues and friends at a special lunch held in the gardens of IM GROUP’s headquarters in San Gillio, Italy.

Francesco began his journey in the early 1980s, working on an experimental software project for the original team of Inkmaker—before the company had even been officially founded. Since then, he has played a pivotal role in transforming that initial concept into what is now IM GROUP: a global organisation with operations across multiple continents and a far-reaching presence.

Widely regarded as the driving force behind IM GROUP’s software innovation, Francesco is credited with writing an estimated 1,880,000 lines of code across the group’s InkPro and IMAESTRO platforms—forming the backbone of the group’s automation technologies.

The farewell event saw over 50 colleagues from the global headquarters gather to celebrate Francesco’s legacy. All donned specially designed t-shirts featuring a smiling cartoon of Francesco, complete with his signature beard and laptop, framed by the words “Grazie Francesco”. Francesco himself wore a unique version that read “I am Francesco” — to avoid any possible 404 errors.

Earlier this year, Francesco was also honoured with a heartfelt send-off by IM GROUP’s China team in Shanghai, where colleagues
expressed their gratitude and best wishes for his retirement, donning the same t-shirts featuring a smiling cartoon of Francesco.

The occasion was further marked by the presence of IM GROUP board members from across the globe, including Roberto Guerra, CEO Asia Pacific, IM GROUP, who flew in from Malaysia, and Lau KarSeng, General Manager of Inkmaker Shanghai and Board Member of IM GROUP, who travelled from China. They joined Christophe Rizzo, CEO EMEA / Americas, IM GROUP, and Valentina Cigna, Human Resources Director and President of IM GROUP, in honouring Francesco’s career.

Adding to the emotional tribute, Remo Careglio—widely recognised as one of the founding figures of Inkmaker and its former General Manager—made a surprise visit from his own retirement to personally wish his long-time friend and colleague a happy retirement of his own.

Reflecting on his journey, Francesco shared:

    “What an extraordinary journey this has been! Incredible to think it started 40 years ago as an experiment. I can easily describe it as four unforgettable decades of hard work, sleepless nights, but filled with countless rewarding memories. I’d like to thank all of you for the great support and fruitful work relationships we had. And if sometimes I’ve been a bit ‘direct’ or ‘strongly opinionated’, rest assured it was always in the interest of the company and never a personal matter.

    While I hope my absence will be felt in the future from a personal perspective, from a working point of view, I’m sure my current team of colleagues have the skill, capacity, and professionalism to brilliantly continue the job we started together.

    A final "grazie" to Inkmaker for the innumerable opportunities I was given to grow—not only professionally, but also personally and humanly. Many were the countries I visited, and many the people and cultures I was able to meet during my travels. My approach to others has definitely benefitted from this. Good luck to each one of you and have a great future!”

Francesco’s legacy is woven into the very DNA of IM GROUP’s technological evolution, and his presence will be deeply missed. The group extends its sincere gratitude and warmest wishes as he embarks on this new chapter ahead.