Ferrari turns to semiconductor company STMicroelectronics for its new CEO
- Benedetto Vigna, a 52-year-old Italian national who leads chip maker STMicroelectronics’ biggest division, was named as Ferrari’s new boss
- He is expected to lead Ferrari’s efforts to introduce its first full-electric car in 2025
Italian luxury carmaker Ferrari has turned to a technology executive to navigate the transition towards electrification in its industry, appointing Benedetto Vigna as its new chief executive.
His appointment fills a six-month vacancy at the helm of Ferrari, where former chief executive Louis Camilleri retired in December citing personal reasons, after being in the role for nearly two-and-a-half years.
Ferrari chairman John Elkann, the scion of the Agnelli family which controls the carmaker through its investing firm Exor, said the company was “delighted” to welcome Vigna as its new chief executive.
“His deep understanding of the technologies driving much of the change in our industry, and his proven innovation, business-building and leadership skills, will further strengthen Ferrari and its unique story of passion and performance in the exciting era ahead,” Elkann said in a statement on Wednesday.
“The appointment is highly unexpected and, in our view, reflects the need to ‘reinvent’ Ferrari and the difficulty of securing candidates willing to take on the task,” Jefferies analyst Philippe Houchois said in a research note.
Ferrari, which already offers hybrid models, has promised its first full-electric car for 2025.
Elkann has led the company on an interim basis since Camilleri stepped down.
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In April, Elkann said Ferrari’s new chief executive should have “all the right qualities including, importantly, the technological capabilities”, playing down initial speculation that the new boss could have a background in luxury or retail.
Vigna will start at Ferrari on September 1, the company said. It said he was currently president of STMicroelectronics’ analogue, micro-electromechanical systems and sensors group, the chip maker’s largest and most profitable operating business in 2020.
Vigna, who is also a member of the STMicroelectronics executive committee, will leave the company on August 31, the Franco-Italian chip maker said in a separate statement.
Additional reporting by Bloomberg
