MILAN — Luca di Montezemolo is leaving his post as chairman of Ferrari, which he has held since 1991, effective Oct. 13. Fiat Chrysler chief executive officer Sergio Marchionne is to succeed him.
Di Montezemolo was instrumental in preserving Ferrari’s luxury image. Last year, the executive launched a new luxury men’s wear fashion label called “Pr1ma,” an addition to a wide range of Ferrari products produced through licensing agreements with a number of major labels, including Tod’s for shoes, Hublot for watches and Vertu for phones.
In 2011, in a further push to customize Ferraris, he offered Loro Piana cashmere, Ermenegildo Zegna fabrics, Japanese Kubose denim or Ballantyne argyle motifs to personalize interiors and cabin trims. Over the years, he inked licensing agreements with such firms as Puma and eyewear maker Marcolin.
His personal investments include Charme Investments, which owns the Ballantyne brand, and a high-speed train venture with his longtime friend Diego Della Valle, chairman and ceo of Tod’s.
Earlier this year, Charme Investments, together with Moschini Srl, sold a 58.6 percent stake in high-end furnishing company Poltrona Frau to Haworth Inc.
In 2011, di Montezemolo tapped Andrea Perrone, former Brioni ceo, as Ferrari’s brand senior vice president, and the head of licensing and merchandising, retail and e-commerce development.
Earlier this week, Della Valle chastised Marchionne, calling him a “cosmopolitan furbetto [the Italian word similar to sly]” and urging him to pay his personal taxes in Italy after the ceo defined di Montezemolo as “not indispensable,” and criticized Ferrari’s Formula 1 team’s six-year long dearth of victories, as reported.