Turin, 18 February 2010

EMILIO LAVAZZA
A GREAT BUSINESSMAN WITH A PROFOUND SENSE OF HUMANITY PASSES AWAY  

It is with profound sorrow that the Lavazza Group announces that Cavaliere del Lavoro Emilio Lavazza passed away yesterday. A member of the family’s third generation, he was an extraordinary captain of industry who devoted 50 years of exemplary leadership to the company.

Born in Turin in 1932, he joined the family business — founded in 1895 by his grandfather Luigi — in 1955. When his father Giuseppe died in 1971, Emilio was appointed CEO of the company.

Following the death of his uncle Pericle in 1979, he became company President, a position he held until 2008.

With Emilio at the helm, the Group started to expand throughout Europe and around the world. Emilio firmly believed in taking on this business challenge, and today the company has 8 foreign subsidiaries and is present with its brand in more than 90 countries. Nevertheless, it has never lost its authentic Italian identity and has maintained its leadership on the Italian market.

The value of his business commitment was publicly acknowledged in 1991 when he was decorated Cavaliere del Lavoro della Repubblica, an honour conferred by the Italian Republic, and again in 1993 when he received an honorary degree in Business and Economics from the University of Turin. In his long career he held important positions in the top industrial and trade associations.
 

Emilio showed great entrepreneurial insight when he decided to focus on communications and invest in it. Thanks to this strategy, the company created extremely successful campaigns that have become an unforgettable part of the history of Italian advertising.

He became Honorary President in June 2008 and under his leadership Lavazza developed into a successful and world-renowned group that is now a leading name on the coffee market.

He was a man of great humanity and warmth known to everyone in the company simply as Signor Emilio, because he felt that establishing a rapport with people was far more important than the positions and titles he had earned throughout his lifetime. A model of keen sensitivity who was aware that the success of a company depends on the relationship it establishes with its employees, Emilio has passed a great ethical and human legacy on to his family and his company.

BIOGRAPHICAL PROFILE

Born in Turin in 1932.
Married to Maria Teresa Rey, father of Giuseppe (Vice President and Marketing Director of Lavazza) and Francesca (Corporate Image Director of Lavazza).

On 2 June 1991, he was named Cavaliere del Lavoro della Repubblica.
In 1993, he was awarded an Honorary Degree in Business and Economics from the University of Turin.

Main positions:

1981/1994 member of the Executive Council of the Turin Industrial Union

1994/1996 Member of the Board of the Turin Industrial Union

1996/2000 Vice President of the Turin Industrial Union

1995/1998 Member of the Board of Directors of Federalimentare (Italian Food Industry Federation)

1996/2002 Member of the Board of Regency of the Bank of Italy

Positions held in trade associations:

1986-1987 President of ECF – European Coffee Federation

1986-1988 Chairman of EUCA – European Federation of Associations of Coffee Roasters

1991-1999 President of AIIPA – Italian Association of Food Industries