Long-time company leader steps into the top role, pledging to double-down on innovation and cross-industry collaboration
Jupiter, Florida — Specifi, the marketplace for global data serving the foodservice equipment and supplies industry, following the internal reorganization announced a few weeks ago, today announced the appointment of Fabio Tantaro as Chief Executive Officer for Europe and ROW (Rest Of the World). Tantaro succeeds Bob Wolters, the chairman who will focus his activities entirely in the US as CEO, North America.
Tantaro brings more than two decades of experience across software, ICT, architecture and engineering design, energy, manufacturing, and logistics to the role. He joined Specifi in 2011 and has held a series of increasingly senior positions within the company, including VP Sales for Manufacturers, Director of Marketing, General Manager and most recently President for Europe, where he was responsible for product and technology development, global marketing strategy, and key partner relationships.
“Fabio has been instrumental in shaping Specifi’s growth and its culture over the past decade-plus,” said Bob Wolters. “He understands both the technical and commercial sides of our business better than anyone, and he has consistently pushed the company to think ahead of the market. The board is confident he is the right leader to guide Specifi into its next chapter.”
As CEO, Tantaro will oversee Specifi’s global strategy, including continued expansion of its digital tools for kitchen designers, restaurant planners, and food equipment dealers and manufacturers worldwide.
An Interview with Fabio Tantaro: Innovation and Collaboration
On what this appointment means to him
“Specifi has been part of my professional life for a long time, and I’ve had the chance to see this company evolve from the inside — through marketing, through product, through operations. Stepping into the CEO role feels less like a new chapter and more like a continuation of a conversation I’ve been having with our team and our customers for years. My focus now is making sure that conversation includes even more voices.”
On his approach to innovation
“I don’t think innovation is about chasing the newest technology for its own sake. It’s about removing friction from day-to-day work. Foodservice equipment specification has historically been slow and fragmented — spreadsheets, PDFs, phone calls, multiple platforms. Our job is to make that process faster and more connected without making it more complicated. That means investing in our platform’s future and not just looking at what happened in the past.”
On collaboration as a growth strategy
“No single company can solve every problem in this industry alone. Some of our best progress has come from working closely with manufacturers, dealer associations, and even competitors on shared standards — things like product data portals that make information easier to exchange industry-wide. I want Specifi to keep showing up as a partner, not just a vendor.”
On what excites him most about the road ahead
“Six months ago, I started writing a weekly column called Data-Hungry (https://en.specifiglobal.com/blog/) because the foodservice industry is more open to digital transformation now than it’s ever been, but it needs guidance, nurturing and mostly shared knowledge, that currently is restricted to a few people. There’s real appetite for better digital tools, better data, and better collaboration between the people who design and sell kitchens and the people who build the equipment that goes in them, but new technologies require a new vision, an open-minded spirit to settle differences, and organizations that respond to problems and not just celebrate themselves.”
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About Specifi
Specifi is a global specification platform connecting dealers, designers, consultants, and manufacturers in the foodservice equipment and supplies industry.
With more than 20 years of industry expertise, Specifi provides quoting, e-commerce, 3D design, web planning, and digital twin catalogs solutions and software — including BIM and CAD content for hundreds of thousands of products — that help foodservice professionals sell equipment for commercial kitchens through a more efficient specification process.
Learn more at specifiglobal.com.