A pair of business titans will be honored at the Italian American Chamber of Commerce gala on Oct. 21 at CineCity Studios in Chicago. Joe Perillo, owner of Perillo Auto Group, and Bill Terlato, president and CEO of Terlato Wines International, will receive excellence awards at the event.
After serving in the U.S. Army for three years, Perillo pursued his passion for selling automobiles, becoming the No. 1 Cadillac salesman in the country. He bought a failing Pontiac dealership in Chicago in 1975, turned it around in three years and opened the city’s first BMW dealership in 1981. Perillo Auto Group now encompasses BMW, Bentley, Bugatti, Lamborghini, Maserati, Rolls Royce, Alfa Romeo, and Nissan dealerships in Chicago and Downers Grove, and is one of the largest pre-owned car dealers in the world. His wife, Pat, and their children, Joe Jr. and Trish, also work at the company.
Bill Terlato has built the wine distribution company his grandfather created and his father ran into one of the leading marketers of wines over $20 in the United States. Appointed president of Terlato Wines in 1994, he expanded the company’s luxury portfolio and moved into wine production and vineyard management. Under his leadership, Terlato Wines has achieved acclaim as a retailer, distributor, importer, marketer, winery owner and vineyard developer.
Reservations for the IACC gala, click here.