Guido Barilla (born 30 July 1958) is an Italian

billionaire A billionaire is a person with a net worth of at least one billion (1,000,000,000, i.e., a thousand million) units of a given currency, usually of a major currency such as the United States dollar, euro, or pound sterling. The American busin ...

businessman, and the chairman of

Barilla Group Barilla G. e R. Fratelli S.p.A. is an Italian multinational food company. It is the world's largest pasta producer. History The company was founded in 1877 as a bakery shop in Parma, Italy by Pietro Barilla Sr. The company expanded in 1908, ...

, the world's largest pasta company, which is 85% owned by Guido, a sister and two brothers.

Early life

Guido Barilla was born on 30 July 1958 in

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

, Italy. He studied in the United States and in Italy, where he studied Philosophy at the Università Statale di Milano.

Career

He started his career in 1982 in the sales department of Barilla France. In 1986, he became a senior manager and led the international expansion of the company. In 1988 he became Barilla deputy chairman, and since October 1993 has been the chairman. Since 2009, he has been chairman of the Barilla Center for Food & Nutrition, now Fondazione Barilla. In a 2013 radio interview, Barilla stated his opposition to adoptions by same-sex couples and said that he "disagrees" with homosexuals. The comments were viewed as homophobic and, although Barilla apologized for "having offended the sensibilities of many", critics like

Alessandro Zan Alessandro Zan (; born 4 October 1973 in Padova) is an Italian left-wing politician, LGBT activist. Biography Zan is a leading member of the Italian gay organisation Arcigay. Since 2013 he has been a member of Italian Chamber of Deputies. Bor ...

felt the apology was insufficient and encouraged a boycott of Barilla's company. The negative reaction led to changes, and a year later, the company received a top rating from the

Human Rights Campaign The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) is an American LGBTQ advocacy group. It is the largest LGBTQ political lobbying organization within the United States. Based in Washington, D.C., the organization focuses on protecting and expanding rights for LGB ...

's list of employers who are LGBT-friendly.

Parma Calcio 1913

In 2015, Barilla became a part owner of the phoenix club

Parma Calcio 1913 Parma Calcio 1913 (), commonly known as Parma, is an Italian professional football club based in Parma, Emilia-Romagna, which competes in the Serie B, the second tier of Italian football. ''Parma Football Club'' was originally founded in Decembe ...

Honours

In May 2019, he was awarded the title Knight of the

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 ...

Other activities

Danone Danone S.A. () is a French multinational corporation, multinational food-products corporation based in Paris. It was founded in Barcelona, Spain. It is listed on Euronext Paris where it is a component of the CAC 40 stock market index. Some of t ...

, Member of the Mission Committee (since 2020) *

European Round Table of Industrialists The European Round Table of Industrialists, abbreviated ERT, is an advocacy group in the European Union consisting of some 50 European industrial leaders working to strengthen competitiveness in Europe. The group works at both national and European ...

(ERT), MemberMembers

Personal life

Barilla is married, with five children, and lives in

Parma Parma (; egl, Pärma, ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, Giuseppe Verdi, music, art, prosciutto (ham), Parmigiano-Reggiano, cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,292 ...

, Italy.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Barilla, Guido 1958 births

Guido Guido is a given name Latinised from the Old High German name Wido. It originated in Medieval Italy. Guido later became a male first name in Austria, Germany, the Low Countries, Scandinavia, Spain, Portugal, Latin America and Switzerland. The mea ...

Italian billionaires Businesspeople from Milan Living people Businesspeople from Parma