Luciano Benetton

When Alessandro Benetton founded his holding company in 1992, he called it 21 Investimenti, a name inspired by the 21st century and symbolic of his forward-thinking attitude. A pioneer of the private equity business in Italy, he was willing to break the mold, adopting an entrepreneurial approach to providing venture capital to companies he believed in, enabling them to grow on the worldwide stage. Today, the 21 Group represents a system of private equity funds with combined assets of over 1.3 billion euros.

After completing his education in the US and training at Goldman Sachs International in London, Alessandro served as Chairman of Benetton Formula from 1988 to 1998: winning two Formula 1 world drivers' championships and one world constructors' championship.

The same spirit guided Alessandro in 2004, when his family asked him to take on the future of Benetton Group. He became Executive Deputy Chairman in 2007 and, in this phase, has guided the company's transition towards a structure with a clear separation between the roles of shareholder and management.

Since April 2012, Alessandro Benetton is Chairman of Benetton Group, bringing a renewed vigor to the future of the company. For maximum flexibility of action in facing global trends and dynamics, the Group decided to delist from the Milan stock exchange. Under his direction, the Group is increasingly international, competitive and responsible; it is meeting the challenges of worldwide upheaval head-on, with continued investment and a skilled organization. "Because", as Alessandro says, "a company's organization is its truest asset, and should be the legacy of today’s entrepreneur".

Alessandro Benetton is also Chairman of Fabrica, the Benetton Group communication research centre, he is on the board of directors of Edizione S.r.l. and Autogrill S.p.A., member of the Confindustria Committee and of the Advisory Committee of Robert Bosch Internationale Beteiligungen AG in Zurich.

In 2010 he was appointed "Cavaliere del Lavoro" by the President of the Italian Republic, Giorgio Napolitano.

2012 also saw the creation of Alessandro Benetton's blog "Each time a man", where he expresses his personal thoughts on themes ranging from philosophy to the economy, from contemporary art to sport.