Pininfarina Group chairperson Paolo Pininfarina (65) has died in Turin, surrounded by his wife, five children and his mother.
He was born in Turin on August 28, 1958.
After graduating in Mechanical Engineering from the Polytechnic University of Turin, following professional experiences abroad, including Cadillac, Honda, and General Motors, in 1982, he began his professional journey at Pininfarina Group.
In 1987, he assumed the position of president and chief executive of Pininfarina Extra S.p.A., a company within the Group specialising in industrial design, furniture, architecture, nautical, and aeronautical design.
Since 1988, he has been a member of the board of directors and, since 2002, a member of the management committee of the parent company Pininfarina S.p.A.
In 2006, he was appointed Vice President of Pininfarina S.p.A. In 2008, following the sudden passing of his brother Andrea, he assumed the position of Chairman.
The Mahindra Group purchased a 76% stake in Pininfarina in 2015 following the company’s financial difficulties and need to restructure.
Among the masterpieces personally overseen by him, two are particularly dear to him: the concept car Sergio, a two-seater based on Ferrari mechanics, which Paolo decided to create in 2013 in memory of his father, Sergio Pininfarina, and the Automobili Pininfarina Battista, an electric hypercar bearing his grandfather’s name, which he unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show in 2019.
The board of directors and the company honour Paolo Pininfarina’s dedicated commitment, enthusiasm, and energy to the company founded by his grandfather Battista in 1930, presiding over it from 2008 to the present. He led the company to diversify in the 1980s, becoming a reference point in design fields other than automotive.
“On behalf of the board of directors, the board of statutory auditors, and all Pininfarina employees, I express condolences for losing our dear Chairman,” says Pininfarina chief executive Silvio Angori.
“We are all extremely grateful to Engineer Pininfarina. Thank you for your extraordinary contribution to the company and for passionately advocating for our history and corporate identity. I am grateful to him for confirming me as the company leader following the passing of Andrea Pininfarina in 2008. We shared many triumphs and challenges, always advising and supporting each other. The best way to honour his memory is to continue, as he would want, to commit ourselves to the future of Pininfarina.”
