Upmarket Italian motorcycle apparel brand Dainese has recruited former Ducati senior manager Cristiano Silei as its chief executive. He replaces another ex-Ducati veteran, Federico Minoli, who has been elevated to the position of Dainese board chairman.
Silei spent almost 20 years at Ducati, climbing to the rank of director of corporate strategy and product development before moving to the US as chief executive of Ducati North America. After returning to Italy, he became Ducati’s vice president of sales and marketing. He left the company in January this year.
Commenting on Silei’s appointment, Minoli said: “Cristiano is the perfect person to lead Dainese, and will contribute his unique experience and skills to accelerate its international expansion and product innovation.”
Federico Minoli served two stints as Ducati chief executive, in 1996-2001 and again in 2003-2007. He joined Dainese as chief executive in 2012, subsequently overseeing its sale by founder Lino Dainese to Investcorp, a private equity fund based in the Gulf emirate of Bahrain. Most of Dainese’s apparel production has been offshored to Tunisia but the Dainese-owned AGV helmet brand is still made in Italy.