Claudio Sgroi is a renowned Master Blender with twenty years of experience in the tobacco sector and cigar manufacturing. He began his career in 2001 in the Dominican Republic, alongside Hendrik Kelner, Davidoff’s Master Blender. He had increasingly important assignments within the company in Switzerland, Italy, and the United States, where he acquired a comprehensive knowledge of the industry and processes, including agronomic processes, blending, production of cigars, and marketing and international sales. In 2011 he joined Mombacho Cigars as a Consultant, with the objective of creating a boutique and premium cigar brand designed for the global market. In 2012, he moved to Granada, Nicaragua, where he lived for five years. During this time, he designed and implemented new vitolas, very successful blends, an effective quality control system, and a complete redimensioning of the warehousing and logistics, among other things. He created a distribution and sales network that covered more than twelve countries and developed productive bonds with the best tobacco growers in Nicaragua. He renovated Casa Favilli, a historical monument in Granada that today serves as Mombacho cigar factory. He also developed the world-acclaimed Liga Maestro blend, the Mombacho 10th Anniversary Magnifico, the Cosecha series (limited edition cigar, which uses aged tobaccos from same-year crops) and, more recently, the Casa Favilli line and the Diplomático By Mombacho Cigars.In January 2020 he was elected as President of the Nicaragua Tobacco Chamber (CNT) that includes 26 members, representing 95% of the cigars and tobacco exported from Nicaragua. The Chamber also oversees the work of organizing “Puro Sabor”, the international Nicaraguan cigar festival, which takes place annually and attracts a global audience eager to taste and experience the cigars and culture of Nicaragua.