Antonio was born in Milan, Italy in 1959. After graduating from high school in Italy, he moved to the United States in 1977 to attend the University of Southern California. Within four years, he received a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science and a Master of Science degree in Engineering with a focus on Operations Research, both from USC. Antonio then taught Physics for a couple of years at Don Bosco Technical Institute in Los Angeles, California. It was at that time that he obtained U.S. citizenship, and he presently holds both U.S. and Italian passports.

 

In 1985, at just 25 years of age, Antonio acquired his first business with a partner and employed approximately 30 people. The company, called Western Badge and Trophy, had been in business since 1912. In 1987, he bought another business called Plastic Graphics, a plastic card manufacturing company. At that time, Plastic Graphics had about 14 employees. Antonio next opened a Los Angeles-based business in 1989 called Promotional Graphics. The company, which imprinted garments and related items, employed 25 people.

 

In 1995, Antonio expanded his ventures in plastic cards by purchasing Colorado Plastic Cards, a company that manufactured high security cards such as American Express, Visa, and Master Card. At the time of purchase, the company employed approximately 100 people, and, as owner, Antonio had very high security clearance. In 1996, he separated from the original partner and retained 100% control and ownership of the plastic card manufacturing companies and renamed them CPI Card Group. After restructuring the business, the number of employees for CPI increased to 400.

 

In 1998, Antonio invested in SCI, a Los Angeles-based software development company for smart chip applications. SCI employed 20 full-time programmers. In 2000, he opened Reno Plastic, a company that manufactured plastic for the credit card industry, which, at the time, was processing approximately 50,000 kilograms of plastic on a daily basis and employed about 50 people. In the same year, Antonio started Winner Properties as a holding company for commercial real estate acquisitions. In 2002, he opened CPI do Brazil, a manufacturing company based in Sao Paolo, processing and making credit cards for the South American market, and employing approximately 100 people.

 

CPI and its subsidiaries became the largest plastic card manufacturer in the United States. Major customers were American Express, Chase Bank, Citibank, GE Capital, Starbucks, and all major retail and financial institutions. A significant number of driver licenses and state-issued IDs were also manufactured by CPI.

 

In 2007, Antonio sold CPI Card Group and subsidiaries to a Chicago-based venture capital fund group called Tricor. CPI and its subsidiaries manufactured and processed over 750 million cards in that calendar year, and employed 750 people in the U.S. and 150 people in Brazil. With a worldwide noncompete agreement, Antonio retired from plastic card manufacturing and processing and put all of his effort into growing Winner Properties, of which he is the sole proprietor. Winner has become a major developer and holder of commercial real estate in California, Colorado, and Nevada.

 

At this time, Antonio Accornero is focusing his interests in his hometown of Las Vegas. He enjoys riding motorcycles and, as a true motorcycle enthusiast, is always looking to add to his rare and vintage collection.