Luca Cordero di Montezemolo (; born 31 August 1947) is an Italian businessman, former Chairman of
Ferrari
Ferrari S.p.A. (; ) is an Italian luxury sports car manufacturer based in Maranello, Italy. Founded by Enzo Ferrari (1898–1988) in 1939 from the Alfa Romeo racing division as ''Auto Avio Costruzioni'', the company built its first car in ...
, and formerly Chairman of
Fiat S.p.A.
Fiat S.p.A., or ''Fabbrica Italiana Automobili Torino'' (Italian Automobile Factory of Turin), was an Italian holding company whose original and core activities were in the automotive industry, and that was succeeded by Fiat Chrysler Automob ...
and President of
Confindustria
The General Confederation of Italian Industry ( it, Confederazione generale dell'industria italiana), commonly known as Confindustria, is the Italian employers' federation and national chamber of commerce, founded in 1910. It groups together mor ...
and FIEG. He comes from an aristocratic family from the region of
Piedmont
it, Piemontese
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in Italy. He graduated with a degree in law from
La Sapienza University in 1971. Afterward, he studied for a master's degree in international commercial law at
Columbia University
Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...
. He is one of the founders and former president of
NTV, an Italian company which is Europe's first private open access operator of 300 km/h (186 mph) high-speed trains.
In 2009, Montezemolo founded
Future Italy
Future Italy (''Italia Futura'', IF) was an Italian liberal-centrist think tank, formed in 2009 by Luca Cordero di Montezemolo, chairman of Alitalia (since 2014) and former chairman of Ferrari (1991–2014), FIAT (2004–2010) and Confindustria (2 ...
, a
free market
In economics, a free market is an economic system in which the prices of goods and services are determined by supply and demand expressed by sellers and buyers. Such markets, as modeled, operate without the intervention of government or any ot ...
think tank
A think tank, or policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, technology, and culture. Most think tanks are non-govern ...
that joined
Civic Choice
Civic Choice ( it, Scelta Civica; SC) was a centrist and liberal political party in Italy founded by Mario Monti. The party was formed in the run-up of the 2013 general election to support the outgoing Prime Minister Monti and continue his pol ...
in the
2013 Italian parliamentary election.
Biography
Ancestry and family background
Born in
Bologna
Bologna (, , ; egl, label= Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different na ...
,
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
, he is the youngest son of Massimo Cordero dei Marchesi di Montezemolo (1920–2009), a Piedmontese aristocrat whose family served the Royal
House of Savoy
The House of Savoy ( it, Casa Savoia) was a royal dynasty that was established in 1003 in the historical Savoy region. Through gradual expansion, the family grew in power from ruling a small Alpine county north-west of Italy to absolute rule of ...
for generations, and Clotilde Neri (1922-2017), niece of famed Italian surgeon Vincenzo Neri. His uncle, Admiral Giorgio Cordero dei Marchesi di Montezemolo (1918–1986) was a commander in the
Regia Marina
The ''Regia Marina'' (; ) was the navy of the Kingdom of Italy (''Regno d'Italia'') from 1861 to 1946. In 1946, with the birth of the Italian Republic (''Repubblica Italiana''), the ''Regia Marina'' changed its name to ''Marina Militare'' ("M ...
in
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
. His grandfather, Mario (1888–1960) and great-grandfather Carlo (1858–1943) were both Generals in the Italian Army. He is also a relation to
Andrea Cordero Lanza di Montezemolo (his father Massimo and Andrea were cousins), who became a
cardinal
Cardinal or The Cardinal may refer to:
Animals
* Cardinal (bird) or Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds
**'' Cardinalis'', genus of cardinal in the family Cardinalidae
**'' Cardinalis cardinalis'', or northern cardinal, t ...
in 2006 and whose father, colonel Giuseppe Cordero di Montezemolo, was killed by the
Nazi
Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...
occupation troops during the
massacre of the Fosse Ardeatine in Rome in 1944. His surname is actually "Cordero di Montezemolo" and the correct usage is either the full surname or just Montezemolo (omitting the "di");
Marchesi is a noble title.
Career
Montezemolo's sporting career began at the wheel of a
Giannini
Giannini is a Brazilian musical instruments manufacturing company, based in Salto, São Paulo.
Products currently manufactured by Giannini include electric, steel-string acoustic, nylon-string acoustic and bass guitars. Other string instrumen ...
Fiat 500 which he raced together with his friend Cristiano Rattazzi. Later, Montezemolo briefly drove for the privately owned
Lancia
Lancia () is an Italian car manufacturer and a subsidiary of FCA Italy S.p.A., which is currently a Stellantis division. The present legal entity of Lancia was formed in January 2007 when its corporate parent reorganised its businesses, but it ...
rally
Rally or rallye may refer to:
Gatherings
* Demonstration (political), a political rally, a political demonstration of support or protest, march, or parade
* Pep rally, an event held at a United States school or college sporting event
Sports ...
team known as HF Squadra Corse. He joined the auto manufacturing conglomerate FIAT S.p.A., headquartered in Torino, Italy, and in 1973 was moved to Ferrari, where he became
Enzo Ferrari
Enzo Anselmo Giuseppe Maria Ferrari (; 20 February 1898 – 14 August 1988) was an Italian motor racing driver and entrepreneur, the founder of the Scuderia Ferrari Grand Prix motor racing team, and subsequently of the Ferrari automobil ...
's assistant and, in 1974, manager of the
Scuderia. During his involvement with the team, Ferrari won the Formula One World Championship with
Niki Lauda in 1975 and 1977. In 1976 Montezemolo was promoted to become head of all FIAT racing activities, and in 1977 he advanced to become a senior manager of FIAT.
Throughout the 1980s, Montezemolo occupied a number of positions in the FIAT empire, including managing director of the drinks company
Cinzano
Cinzano () is an Italian brand of vermouth, a brand owned since 1999 by Gruppo Campari.
History
Cinzano vermouths date back to 1757 and the Turin herbal shop of two brothers, Giovanni Giacomo and Carlo Stefano Cinzano, who created a new "vermo ...
and director of the publishing company Itedi. In 1982, he managed
America's Cup
The America's Cup, informally known as the Auld Mug, is a trophy awarded in the sport of sailing. It is the oldest international competition still operating in any sport. America's Cup match races are held between two sailing yachts: one ...
challenge of Team
Azzurra, the first Italian yacht club to enter the event. In 1985, he became manager of the Organizing Committee for 1990
World Cup Italia.
In November 1991, FIAT Chairman
Gianni Agnelli
Giovanni "Gianni" Agnelli (; 12 March 192124 January 2003), nicknamed ("The Lawyer"), was an Italian industrialist and principal shareholder of Fiat. As the head of Fiat, he controlled 4.4% of Italy's GDP, 3.1% of its industrial workforce a ...
appointed Montezemolo president of Ferrari, which had been struggling since Enzo Ferrari's death. Montezemolo made it his personal goal to win the
Formula One
Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...
World Constructors' Championship once again. Montezemolo quickly made changes at the Italian team, signing up Niki Lauda as consultant and promoting
Claudio Lombardi to team manager role. During the 1990s he resurrected the Ferrari road car business from heavy debts into solid profit. He also took on the presidency of
Maserati
Maserati S.p.A. () is an Italian luxury vehicle manufacturer. Established on 1 December 1914, in Bologna, Italy, the company's headquarters are now in Modena, and its emblem is a trident. The company has been owned by Stellantis since 2021. ...
when Ferrari acquired it in 1997, until 2005.
Under Montezemolo and executive director
Jean Todt, the Ferrari Formula One team won the
World Drivers' Championship in
2000
File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from S ...
, the first time since
1979. The previous year,
1999
File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shoot ...
, they had won the Constructors' Championship for the first time since
1983.
On 27 May 2004, Montezemolo became president of Italian business lobby
Confindustria
The General Confederation of Italian Industry ( it, Confederazione generale dell'industria italiana), commonly known as Confindustria, is the Italian employers' federation and national chamber of commerce, founded in 1910. It groups together mor ...
. Days later, following the death of
Umberto Agnelli on 28 May, he was elected chairman of
Fiat S.p.A.
Fiat S.p.A., or ''Fabbrica Italiana Automobili Torino'' (Italian Automobile Factory of Turin), was an Italian holding company whose original and core activities were in the automotive industry, and that was succeeded by Fiat Chrysler Automob ...
, Ferrari's parent company. Since 20 December 2004, he has also been president of the
LUISS, the Free International University for Social Studies Guido Carli in Rome.
Montezemolo has often been reported to have aspirations of a career in Italian politics, most recently the office of Prime Minister, but has always denied the rumours.
On 29 July 2008, Montezemolo founded the
Formula One Teams Association (FOTA) which he presided over from 2008 to 2010, eventually being replaced by
McLaren
McLaren Racing Limited is a British motor racing team based at the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking, Surrey, England. McLaren is best known as a Formula One constructor, the second oldest active team, and the second most successful Formu ...
CEO
Martin Whitmarsh
Martin Richard Whitmarsh (born 29 April 1958) is a British businessman and Group CEO of the Aston Martin Performance Technologies team since 21 September 2021.
Whitmarsh is best known to motorsport insiders, media and fans for his long and succ ...
. The Committee used to meet on a regular basis to discuss improvements to
Formula One
Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...
. FOTA was formally dissolved in 2014.
In April 2010,
John Elkann replaced Montezemolo as Chairman of
Fiat S.p.A.
Fiat S.p.A., or ''Fabbrica Italiana Automobili Torino'' (Italian Automobile Factory of Turin), was an Italian holding company whose original and core activities were in the automotive industry, and that was succeeded by Fiat Chrysler Automob ...
On 10 September 2014, Montezemolo resigned as president and chairman of Ferrari following increasing tension with his would-be successor, FIAT Chrysler CEO,
Sergio Marchionne.
On 26 November 2014, Montezemolo was appointed non-executive chairman of the Board of Directors of Italian flag carrier
Alitalia. In February 2015 he became committee president of the
Rome bid for the 2024 Summer Olympics.
In July 2015, he was inducted into the
Automotive Hall of Fame.
He received the ''America Award'' of the
Italy-USA Foundation in 2017.
Personal life
In 2012 Montezemolo was issued a
suspended sentence
A suspended sentence is a sentence on conviction for a criminal offence, the serving of which the court orders to be deferred in order to allow the defendant to perform a period of probation. If the defendant does not break the law during that ...
of one year imprisonment by the court in
Naples
Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adm ...
for the unauthorized construction of his personal residence in
Anacapri
Anacapri () is a '' comune'' on the island of Capri, in the Metropolitan City of Naples, Italy.
Anacapri is located higher on the island than Capri (about higher on average)http://www.capritourism.com/imgg/download/capri_map_en.pdf —the ...
, Italy.
Awards
References
*
*
*
External links
Luca de Montezemolo – Ferrari Chairman interview
{{DEFAULTSORT:Montezemolo, Luca Di
Italian business executives
Italian chairpersons of corporations
Italian industrialists
1947 births
Living people
Businesspeople from Bologna
People of Piedmontese descent
Ferrari people
Formula One people
Fiat people
Italian rally drivers
Italian racing drivers
International Motorsports Hall of Fame inductees
People named in the Panama Papers
Presidents of Confindustria
20th-century Italian businesspeople
21st-century Italian businesspeople
Italian motorsport people
Automotive businesspeople
Nobility from Bologna
Sportspeople from Bologna