Piaggio Group CEO and chairman Roberto Colaninno, died on 18 August, aged 80.
Born in Mantua, Italy, Colaninno in 2003 took over ailing Piaggio, manufacturer of Vespa scooters and light commercials. Exercising tight financial control and expanding the company internationally, he restored Piaggio’s fortunes despite world recessions and market swings.
He started his career with auto parts maker Fiaam, becoming CEO. After meeting Italian business giant Carlo De Benedetti, they formed finance company Sogefi in Mantua and bought Fiaam, becoming one of Europe’s most successful car parts manufacturers.
In 1996, Benedetti asked Colaninno to rescue his floundering Olivetti company. Colaninno did just that by selling its loss-making computer side and focusing on the telephone business.
This formed the springboard to launch Colaninno on the world stage as a major financial force.
Backed by his investors he masterminded the takeover of Telecom Italia, a far bigger company which held the telecommunications monopoly in Italy. The $58bn deal was reputedly the world’s largest hostile takeover at the time in 1999.
In 2001, Telecom Italia was sold to Pirelli, Colaninno, reaping a personal fortune.
With investment backers, he formed finance company Omniainvest in 2002, rapidly acquiring telecom real estate company Immsi SpA, turning this into a primarily investment company.
Rebuffed in an approach to take over car giant Fiat, he turned his attention to Piaggio, which was in poor health.
Now, with a reputation for being able to resuscitate ailing companies, Colaninno was asked by the Italian government to take over Moto Guzzi and Aprilia in 2004.
Working on the Piaggio brand image for style and quality and expanding globally, Colaninno weathered the 2008 world recession and market vagaries to restore the Piaggio group to record growth.
In 2017, he set up a Piaggio partnership with Foton to develop light electric commercials.
In 2022, a new Piaggio production plant was inaugurated in Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia, the world’s third largest PTW market (5m annual sales), following 61% Piaggio growth there in 2021.
Under Colaninno, Piaggio had previously established plants in China and India, the world’s two leading PTW consumers at 10m-plus annual sales. Piaggio had also invested in Vietnam and Boston, USA, the American link to concentrate on future mobility and robotics.
In June this year, Piaggio Group reported its seventh consecutive quarter growth. Global sales of all Group vehicles for January-June 2023 were 324,600, of which 267,400 were motorcycles and scooters. Net sales made more than 1bn euros.
Colaninno had various irons in other financial fires, including airline Alitalia. During his career, he was awarded numerous accolades, including Officer of the Legion d’Honneur (2014) by the French ambassador to Italy, who said: “Roberto Colaninno, is a great Italian entrepreneur respected and esteemed by everyone.”
While Colaninno rightly established a successful big hitter reputation, not all his rescue attempts came off, and in 2022, he was accused of fraudulent bankruptcy after Alitalia, in which his finance company Immsi had invested in 2008, failed. He denied the charge.
Tony Campbell, who headed Piaggio UK Ltd before joining the Motorcycle Industry Association as chief executive, met Roberto Colaninno on several occasions.
“When Colaninno took over Piaggio, the group was close to financial collapse and on the brink of failure. He turned it into what it is today, taking all the necessary tough decisions along the way.
“He was a businessman first and foremost, having close relationships with the Italian political establishment. Before investing in Piaggio, he seized the opportunity to purchase Telecom Italia, which desperately needed modernization, selling off the non-profit elements but smartly keeping hold of the mobile arm, which was an emerging phenomenon and did incredibly well at the time.
“He had a reputation for turning wounded companies around and selling them on for profit.
“When he took Piaggio over, the company couldn’t see beyond Europe. Colaninno had the foresight to visualize the global picture. He took close control of the company’s finances, ensuring the group was on a stable footing.
“He established consistency in terms of branding and brand values ahead of the expansion into the Asia Pacific region. The sector had become extremely competitive, and he realized that producing in Italy alone couldn’t compete on the ever-changing global stage.
“At the helm, he made the impossible possible, addressing the incredibly challenging and complex Italian employment laws and the strength of the unions. This was no easy task and should not be underappreciated.
“You rarely meet people that command a presence like he did. I guess this type of character is required to manage the types of turnarounds he handled.
“Piaggio as a group is in a far better place than it was thanks to Colaninno. Although there is still work to do, I am sure the group will go on to achieve even greater success. It’s a real shame he was not able to enjoy Aprilia’s first one-two at MotoGP level (Barcelona 3 September). That result was a testament to his commitment to success and a demonstration of the group’s innovation ability.”
Roberto Colaninno, a central figure in Italy’s industrial landscape, leaves wife Oretta and sons Matteo and Michele, who both hold key positions in the Piaggio Group. Matteo has been appointed Piaggio executive chairman and Michele managing director.