As anticipated by seasoned industry commentators when Ducati was taken over by VW/Audi last year, Ducati chief executive Gabriele Del Torchio is departing after a respectable interlude. He has reportedly accepted an offer to head up deeply-troubled Italian national airline Alitalia from its chairman Roberto Colaninno — who is also chairman, chief executive and controlling shareholder of Piaggio Group.
In a statement, Del Torchio expressed sadness at leaving the Bologna-based motorcycle manufacturer and insisted that his recent German masters had pleaded with him to stay on. He went on to cite patriotic motives for his decision to take up the reins of the loss-making airline, saying it was “to make a contribution to this battered nation [because] Alitalia is a true problem for the country.”
Prior to his tenure at Ducati, Del Torchio was chief executive of Italian luxury yacht builder Ferretti — a job from which he also jumped ship shortly after that company changed hands through sale to a private equity investor.