Mario M. Polegato, inventor and entrepreneur (GEOX), Italy

Meet Mario Moretti Polegato, founder and chairman of GEOX -- Italy’s largest shoe making company and one of the world’s largest casual footwear brands. Formerly a winemaker, he invented a breathable shoe dismissed by most in the industry. So he decided to enter the shoe trade himself. Case study: Breathable Shoes - Branding Success through Patenting By Jean-François Arrou-Vignod for WIPO.