Roberto Colaninno, the CEO and Chairman of Piaggio, passed away on Friday at the age of 80.
Colaninno’s investing company, Immsi SpA, issued a news statement on Saturday morning announcing his passing but offering no other information.
Before founding his own components factory, Sogefi, in the early 1980s, Colaninno began his commercial career as the CEO of Italian auto parts producer Fiaam. He rose to prominence on a global scale in 1999 when his IT business Olivetti acquired Telecom Italia, a telecom monopoly in Italy at the time that was several times larger. The $58 billion leveraged buyout made history as the world’s greatest hostile acquisition.
In 2001, Colaninno was compelled to resign from Telecom Italia, and his investors sold the business. But during the following few years, he purchased the Vespa scooter manufacturer Piaggo and the financial firm Immsi SpA. He was in charge of Piaggio’s growing activities in nations including Vietnam and India.
Colaninno received the Leonardo Award in 2013, which is granted by the Italian government to persons who enhance the reputation of their nation abroad.
