Lisa Dante Papini

As the President and CEO of Dante Valve, Lisa establishes the organization’s strategic priorities and vision and has responsibility for Dante Valve’s financial performance. Named to this position in 2016, she has focused on expanding manufacturing capabilities at the Norfolk, Virginia location, enhancing a planning process and enacting additional  financial controls. Lisa is wholly dedicated to the Dante Valve “family” – both her actual relatives and the company’s long-time dedicated employees.

Lisa began her career as a concert promoter in the Jazz and Blues industry. She joined Dante Valve in 1993 as a warehouse clerk – shipping orders, running forklifts, and managing inventory levels. Later, she moved into contract administration and sales, with responsibility for shipyard and original equipment manufacturers.  Lisa has played an instrumental role in the growth of the Danco brand – spearheading the strategic direction, financing and expansion of the product line, including all of the capital equipment and staffing, and managing the growth.

Lisa holds a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism/ Public Relations from California State University, Long Beach and a Master’s of Business Administration with an emphasis in Entrepreneurship from the University of Southern California. She is the Chair of the Aircraft Carrier Industrial Base Coalition (ACIBC), a member of the Board of Trustees of GENEDGE, a Manufacturing Extension Partnership of the Commonwealth of Virginia, and is an active member of the Submarine Industrial Base Council, the Marine Machinery Association and Shipbuilders Council of America.