Federico Minoli

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Ducati Motor Holding SpA
Via Cavalieri Ducati 3 Bologna, BO 40132 Italy
http://www.ducati.com

]]The racing-inspired motorcycles — known as "Ferraris on two wheels" — are some of the fastest and most technically advanced motorcycles in the world. They're also pretty much the sexiest, sleekest, and most desired. (Their almost mythical status is such that the producers of The Matrix leased bikes from Ducati for the film, when other motorcycle companies would have been happy to pay for the exposure.)

Minoli, Ducati's president and CEO, has earned similarly mythical status among Italian business managers. His globe- trotting lifestyle has taken him across the Atlantic more than 350 times. And the Italian press continually mistakes him for an American — his English is perfect, his wife is from Boston, and he favors blue jeans at the office.

Minoli's reputation as an international business heavyweight is well-deserved. In addition to his role as head of Ducati, he also heads Escada, an international fashion house, and Uno a Erre, the Italian world leader in gold jewelry. In his spare time, Minoli serves on the boards of Bally International, Mantero Seta, Sundari, and other organizations.

Growing up in Gallarate, Italy, in the 1960s, Minoli was drawn to politics, not bus--i-ness. His destiny changed in high school. "I had the opportunity to go on a National Youth Exchange to San Francisco through the local Lions Club," he recalls. "I had never traveled so far from home, and this had a major impact on me."

His love affair with America continued at the University of Pavia, so he talked the school into letting him attend the Johns Hopkins Nitze School of Advanced International Studies' Bologna Center for his final year in 1973. After graduation, Minoli's understanding of American culture and language helped him land a job with Procter & Gamble in Rome. He moved on to Playtex International, where he was the first and youngest non-American vice president of international marketing, before landing at McKinsey & Company, the management consulting firm. There he absorbed unorthodox lessons in business from the likes of Luciano Benetton, a founder of the international clothing manufacturer. At McKinsey, Minoli's management philosophy evolved.

"Being a consultant is boring after a while," he says. "You work with your brain but have atrophy of your heart and hands and passion. In a company you work with your heart and hands but not your brain. I wanted to move back and forth between these two worlds so I could develop all three."

Minoli finally found that opportunity in 1995 when Texas Pacific Group (TPG) asked him to help evaluate a financially troubled Italian motorcycle company targeted for acquisition. TPG took over Ducati the following year and put Minoli in charge of the company's restructuring. His first move: Build a museum on the main floor of the corporate headquarters.

Although there was a leak in the factory roof, the museum took priority. "That sent a clear message," he recalls. Employees understood that the new CEO intended to build on the company's heritage, not on the physical plant.

"When you take over a company you have a 100-day honeymoon to show people what you can do," Minoli emphasizes. "If you don't prove yourself then, you won't succeed. My plan was to take Ducati from metal mechanics to entertainment, from motorcycles to motorcycling."

According to Minoli, museum building was really about myth building, which helped capitalize on Ducati's uniqueness.

Minoli brought in new blood to work with the engineers at Ducati. He built a Web site that receives 8 million visitors a year. And he created World Ducati Weekend to strengthen the relationship between the company and its customers — or, as he prefers to call them, "fans." The first World Ducati Weekend was held in 1998; the latest, in the spring of 2004, hosted 45,000 motorcycles.

Minoli left Ducati in 2000 after four years at the throttle. In his absence, company performance faltered, and TPG summoned him back in 2003. In spite of the weak global economy and the price disadvantage of a strong euro, Minoli has managed to increase sales and strengthen accessories as a source of revenue.

"I think of myself as a shaman," he says, with a conviction that has charmed brokers and bikers alike. "Shamans dream of building communities. The challenge for Ducati is to convert this 'share of the dream' — the desire to be part of the world of Ducati — into a share of the market."

Source : http://www.jhu.edu/~jhumag/0905web/alumnews.html#minoli