Elena Lai, the recently named secretary general of the European Textile Services Association (ETSA), says she’s eager to work with laundry operators, suppliers and industry trade groups across Europe and North America in order to advance solutions to challenges, including COVID-19 relief/rebuilding, healthcare textile supply chains, advancing a pro-environmental “circular” economy, promoting equal opportunity in a diverse industry and more.

A native of Sardinia, off the Italian coast, Lai has a diverse background. Late last year, she succeeded ETSA’s Robert Long, who’d led the association for 25 years. She once taught Italian at Nottingham Trent University in England, worked on ...