The nomination commission for the nominations has given the go-ahead for the race for the appointment of the new president of Confindustria. This person will succeed Carlo Bonomi as the leader of the association for the next four years. The entrepreneurs vying for this position, who have garnered more than 10% support in the General Council, are Edoardo Garrone, Antonio Gozzi, Alberto Marenghi, and Emanuele Orsini. Garrone has already secured over 20% of the votes, ensuring his participation in the nomination vote on April 4th. The “three wise men” will soon start their tour across Italy to gauge the orientation of territorial and trade associations, which will help narrow down the candidates. The tour will kick off in Turin, followed by Bologna, Rome, Milan, Padua, and Naples.
Edoardo Garrone, born in Genoa in 1961, is the leading candidate. He is the leader of the Erg group and the president of Sole 24 Ore, a newspaper controlled by Confindustria. Despite rumors of his resignation due to his candidacy, the editorial group has clarified that there is no conflict of interest between his candidacy and his position at the group. Garrone, a graduate in Political Science from Florence, has five children. He took over the presidency of Sampdoria from his father, Riccardo Garrone, upon his death in 2013. He stepped down the following year, making way for Massimo. Garrone has a significant history with business organizations, serving as the national president of Young Entrepreneurs from 2000-2002, and the vice-president for Organization and Associative Marketing from 2008-2012. He was a member of the Presidential Committee of Confindustria from May 2014 to April 2016, overseeing association internationalization.
Antonio Gozzi, another Ligurian candidate, was born in Chiavari in 1954. He is the president of the Duferco group and Virtus Entella, a football team in Chiavari, which he helped elevate to Serie B. He served as the president of Federacciai from 2012 to 2018 and returned to office in 2022. Gozzi, a graduate in Economics and Commerce from the University of Genoa, expanded the Duferco family group, which initially traded in steel products, to direct steel production. Despite a legal ordeal in Belgium in 2015, where he was accused of corruption against local politicians, he was acquitted in 2023. Gozzi is a member of the General Council of Confindustria, the Executive of the Aspen Institute, and the Energy Technical Committee of Confindustria.
Alberto Marenghi, born in 1976 in Mantua, took over the family business, Cartiera Mantovana, at the age of 20 after his father’s untimely death. He represents the 17th generation of a company founded by an ancestor in 1615. In 2010, Marenghi founded Cartiera Galliera, where he serves as president and CEO. He has been involved with the Industrialists’ Association of Mantua since 1997 and held various positions in Confindustria. Since May 2020, he has been the National Vice President of Confindustria, responsible for Organization, Membership Development, and Marketing. He also serves as the president of the international association “Les Henokiens,” which includes 56 companies that have been family-owned for at least 200 years, 13 of which are Italian.
Emanuele Orsini, born in 1973 in Emilia, is the current vice president of Confindustria, overseeing Credit, Finance, and Taxation. He started his career at Sistem Costruzioni, a leading company in the wooden construction sector, and later became its CEO. Following the death of his father-in-law Lanfranco Fiandri in 2020, Orsini also took over as the president and CEO of Tino Prosciutti, a leading Italian company in the processing and production of raw ham. His candidacy has stirred some controversy due to anonymous letters regarding his tenure as president of Federlegno, which involved the personal use of a car purchased by the association. Orsini claims that these issues were largely resolved before his appointment as vice president of Confindustria.
