Luca Cordero di Montezemolo

Luca Cordero di Montezemolo
Luca Cordero di Montezemolo
Born	(1947-08-31) 31 August 1947 Bologna, Italy
Nationality	Italian
Occupation	Chairman of Ferrari S.p.A

Luca Cordero di Montezemolo (Italian pronunciation: [ˈluːka korˈdɛːro di monteˈddzɛːmolo]) (born 31 August 1947 in Bologna, Italy), a graduate from Columbia University New York, is an Italian businessman and Chairman of Ferrari. He was also Chairman of Fiat S.p.A from 2004 to 2010 and President of Confindustria from 2004 to 2008 and FIEG. He comes from an aristocratic family from the region of Piedmont in Italy. He's also the president of NTV, an Italian company which is Europe's first private open access operator of 300 km/h (190 mph) high-speed trains.

Biography

Ancestry and Family Background

Born in Bologna, 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 for generations, and Clotilde Neri (b. 1922), niece of famed Italian surgeon Vincenzo Neri. His uncle, Admiral Giorgio Cordero dei Marchesi di Montezemolo (1918–1986) was a commander in the Royal Italian Navy in WWII. His grandfather, Mario (1888–1960) and great-grandfather Carlo (1858–1943) were both Generals in the Italian Army. He is also a cousin of Andrea Cordero Lanza di Montezemolo, who became a cardinal in 2006 and whose father, colonel Giuseppe Cordero di Montezemolo was killed by the Nazis during the massacre of the Fosse Ardeatine in Rome in 1944. His title is not actually Marchese (or Marquis) but Nobile dei Marchesi di Montezemolo (Noble of the Marquises of Montezemolo). This indicates that he descended from a Marchese but isn't one himself. His surname is actually "Cordero di Montezemolo" and the correct usage is either the full surname or just Montezemolo (omitting the "di").

Career

Montezemolo's sporting career began at the wheel of a Giannini Fiat 500 which he raced together with his friend Cristiano Rattazzi. Later, Montezemolo briefly drove for the famous privately owned Lancia rally 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'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 and director of the publishing company Itedi. In 1982, he managed America's Cup 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 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 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 when Ferrari acquired it in 1997, until 2005.

Under Cordero di Montezemolo and executive director Jean Todt, the Ferrari Formula One team won the World Drivers Championship in 2000, the first time since 1979. The previous year, 1999, they had won the constructors' championship for the first time since 1983.

On 27 May 2004, Montezemolo became president of Italian business lobby Confindustria. Days later, following the death of Umberto Agnelli on 28 May, he was elected chairman of FIAT, Ferrari's parent company. Since 20 December 2004, he has also been president of the LUISS ("Libera Università Internazionale degli Studi Sociali Guido Carli", Italian for "Guido Carli Free International University for Social Studies").

Montezemolo became involved in the controversy surrounding the 2005 United States Grand Prix when, on 2 June 2005, he condemned the FIA's requirement that a single set of tyres must last the full length of a race, blaming the circumstances which caused the disastrous race on the new rule rather than on Michelin, with whom Ferrari had formerly done business.

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 2008–2010, eventually being replaced by McLaren CEO Martin Whitmarsh. The Committee meets on a regular basis to discuss improvements to Formula One.

In April 2010, John Elkann replaced Montezemolo as Chairman of Fiat.

Style

Montezemolo is widely regarded as a stylish, classic dresser. He is most often seen in public in dark suits (often double-breasted) in navy or gray, dark ties, and light-colored shirts. While not as flamboyant as Gianni Agnelli, he seems to have been inspired by his former boss and sometimes displays sprezzatura in his attire.

Awards

Awards and achievements
Preceded by Jacques Villeneuve	Lorenzo Bandini Trophy 1997	Succeeded by Giancarlo Fisichella

References

• Eason, Kevin (2003-12-12). "End of the road for the man who rescued Ferrari?". The Times (London). Retrieved 2008-06-29. 
• "Key day for patrician master of Italian icon". The Times (London). 2005-01-25. Retrieved 2008-06-29. 
• Hotten, Russell (2008-06-29). "No stopping Ferrari". The Telegraph (London). Retrieved 2008-06-29. 

External links

• Luca de Montezemolo - Ferrari Chairman interview