Ernesto Pellegrini (born 14 December 1940) is an Italian catering businessman and the former owner of

Inter Milan Football Club Internazionale Milano, commonly referred to as Internazionale () or simply Inter, and colloquially known as Inter Milan in English-speaking countries, is an Football in Italy, Italian professional Association football, football ...

from 1984 to 1995.

Life and career

The son of a farmer, in the early 1960s Pellegrini worked as an accountant for the bicycle manufacturing company

Bianchi Bianchi may refer to: Places *Bianchi, Calabria, a ''comune'' in the Province of Cosenza, Italy Manufacturing *Bianchi Bicycles (F.I.V. Edoardo Bianchi S.p.A.), an Italian manufacturer of bicycles, and former manufacturer of motorcycles and a ...

, earning L50,000 per month. In 1964, he was promoted to chief accountant, but instead, he asked for more work within the company, becoming the manager of the canteen. Here, he started his ascendancy in the

catering industry Catering is the business of providing food service at a remote site or a site such as a hotel, hospital, pub, aircraft, cruise ship, park, festival, filming location or film studio. History of catering The earliest account of major services be ...

, and in 1965 he founded the ''Organizzazione Mense Pellegrini'' following the realisation that the

Italian economic miracle The Italian economic miracle or Italian economic boom ( it, il miracolo economico italiano) is the term used by historians, economists, and the mass media to designate the prolonged period of strong economic growth in Italy after the Second Worl ...

was facilitating the expansion of the Italian food industry, thanks to Italian population's more disposable income and new food habits. In 1975, his company changed its status to Pellegrini S.p.A., which over time expanded to include services such as meal tickets, corporate, health, and school catering services, sanitation and industrial cleaning services, and welfare services in Italy. In 2019, Pellegrini S.p.A. made €600 million profit and employed circa 6,500 people.

Chairman of Inter Milan

In 1979, Pellegrini wrote a letter to the Inter's chairman Ivanoe Fraizzoli, asking to be allowed to contribute financially to the club and, as a result, being admitted as a member of the board. Pellegrini purchased Inter from Ivanoe Fraizzoli in 1984, becoming the club's 17th chairman. Under his ownership, Inter purchased players such as

Karl-Heinz Rummenigge Karl-Heinz "Kalle" Rummenigge (; born 25 September 1955) is a German football executive and former professional player. He was the longtime Chairman of Executive Board of FC Bayern München AG, a daughter company of German Bundesliga team Bayern ...

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Jürgen Klinsmann Jürgen Klinsmann (, born 30 July 1964) is a German professional football manager and former player. Klinsmann played for several prominent clubs in Europe including VfB Stuttgart, Inter Milan, Monaco, Tottenham Hotspur, and Bayern Munich. He ...

and

Andreas Brehme Andreas "Andy" Brehme (; born 9 November 1960) is a German football coach and former football defender. At international level, he is best known for scoring the winning goal for Germany in the 1990 FIFA World Cup Final against Argentina from a ...

, winning the record-breaking

1988–89 Serie A The 1988–89 Serie A was won by Internazionale, who won the title comfortably by an 11-point margin over runners-up Napoli. Milan's triumph in the European Cup meant Italy would be entering two teams – both the two giant Milan sides – into ...

together with two

UEFA Cup A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store Solid, solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, porcela ...

s and one

Supercoppa Italiana The Supercoppa Italiana ( en, Italian Super Cup) is an annual football match contested by the winners of the Serie A and the Coppa Italia in the previous season. If the same team wins both the Serie A and Coppa Italia titles in the previous seaso ...

. In 2020, he was inducted into

Inter Milan Hall of Fame This is a list of Inter players who have been inducted into the club's Hall of Fame. History and regulations Inter's Hall of Fame was launched in 2018 as a yearly competition as part of the initiatives for the club's 110th anniversary. To be el ...

Orders

Knight:

Order of Merit for Labour The Order of Merit for Labour ( it, Ordine al Merito del Lavoro) is an Italian order of chivalry that was founded in 1923 by King Vittorio Emanuele III. It is awarded to those "who have been singularly meritorious" in agriculture, industry and ...

: 1990

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pellegrini, Ernesto 1940 births Living people Italian football chairmen and investors 20th-century Italian businesspeople 21st-century Italian businesspeople Inter Milan chairmen and investors