Who is the new Ferrari CEO?

[hoffmeister_fan]

Ferrari's new boss, interesting choice...

Factbox: Who is the new Ferrari CEO?

Italian luxury sports car maker Ferrari (RACE.MI) on Wednesday named as its new chief executive Benedetto Vigna, a physics graduate who has spent the last 26 years at chip maker STMicroelectronics (ST) (STM.BN).

www.reuters.com

Factbox: Who is the new Ferrari CEO?
Reuters


Italian luxury sports car maker Ferrari (RACE.MI) on Wednesday named as its new chief executive Benedetto Vigna, a physics graduate who has spent the last 26 years at chip maker STMicroelectronics (ST) (STM.BN). read more

Following are some highlights of Vigna's career.

* Vigna, 52, leads ST's division in charge of sensors and micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS), the company's biggest and most profitable business in 2020.

* ST's Analog, MEMS and Sensors division, where Vigna was appointed president in January 2016, had revenues of $3.89 billion in 2020 with an operating margin of 20.8%.

* Vigna, who holds a degree in subnuclear physics from the University of Pisa, joined ST in 1995 and oversaw the company's first steps in MEMS, helping build its strong market position in motion-activated user interfaces.

* Vigna and his team were among pioneers of the "three axis gyroscope" that debuted in the Apple (AAPL.O) iPhone 4, which allows the screen to adapt to portrait or landscape format as users turned the handset. This sensor technology is now used in all mobile phones as well as for ADAS (advanced driver-assistance systems) navigation and active safety in cars.

* A recognised industry leader and innovator, Vigna has more than 200 patents on micro-machining and has authored numerous publications. In 2013 he won both the MEMS Industry Group's Executive of the Year Award and the European SEMI Award.

* He joined the MEMS & Sensor Industry Group board in June 2019. Since February 2020, Vigna has been a member of Electronics Cluster Advisory Board (CAB) for the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) of Singapore.

Ferrari Hires Tech Industry Vet As CEO, Signaling Electric Future

Ferrari has named Benedetto Vigna as the company’s new CEO, bringing decades of expertise from the technology industry to the high-performance automaker.

www.motor1.com

Ferrari Hires Tech Industry Vet As CEO, Signaling Electric Future


By: Anthony Alaniz

Benedetto Vigna comes from STMicroelectronics where he’s worked since 1995.


Before Ferrari’s last CEO, Louis Camilleri, departed in December, he said that he didn’t see the automaker ever going fully electric. However, the brand plans to offer its first fully electric vehicle in 2025, and a new CEO will now lead that effort. Today, the Italian automaker announced Benedetto Vigna would lead the company, bringing decades of expertise from the technology industry to Ferrari.

Vigna has spent the last 26 years at STMicroelectronics, most recently serving as president of the company’s Analog, MEMS (Micro-electromechanical Systems), and Sensors Group, ST’s largest and most profitable sector last year. He founded the company’s MEMS activities. According to Ferrari, “His deep understanding of the technologies driving much of the change in our industry…will further strengthen” the automaker. Semiconductors, chips, and other technologies are a hot commodity in the industry as automakers pack more tech into today’s cars, including electric powertrains.

Ferrari hasn’t detailed its EV push, but a patent from early 2020 previewed what the company is at least thinking about in the future. It was a patent for a four-motor, four-wheel-drive mid-engine car that’d support both fully electric and hybrid powertrains. The company introduced its first hybrid, the SF90 Stradale, in 2019, becoming the company’s most powerful road car ever with 986 horsepower (753 kilowatts). In 2019, the company said that it’d hoped that by 2022 60 percent of its sales would be hybrids.

Vigna takes control of Ferrari at a time when electric powertrains are beginning to democratize performance. Mainstream EVs can offer impressive performance numbers for reasonably affordable prices, which could pose an issue for performance carmakers like Ferrari. The industry is rapidly changing, with technology at the core of that shift, so picking a tech veteran to lead Ferrari is a smart move. Vigna assumes the role of Ferrari’s CEO on September 1.

 

[hoffmeister_fan]

It's been about 6 weeks since he assumed the the CEO role, I find it a bit odd we haven't heard a peep about Ferrari or the future direction he would like to take it.

The only thing about Ferrari's future that's been stated is them partnering with Jony Ives' design firm.

 

[tristatez28lt1]

Thanks @hoffmeister_fan!

Ferrari has followed the path that Marchionne put them on successfully - invest in brand and continue to trade at luxury good levels instead of the car industry. He cleaned that company up and put them on today's trajectory. The investments (supported by Exor) in the brand are continuing to pay off: Bottura's Cavalino restaurant, the fashion line with ex Armani designers, collabs with Puma, Ray-Ban, the experiences, the new stores (Maranello, Milan, Rome, Los Angeles, Miami), continued pro and customer racing (488 GT Modificata). Ferrari is almost as much of an outlier as Tesla (no Musk) trading at EV/EBITDA much higher at 25x compared to the peer median of 7x for FY21.

 

[Cashmere]

Ferrari to add EV production line, report says

The automaker has bought space near its Maranello plant for a third production line that will be dedicated to making hybrid and electric vehicles.

Ferrari plans to significantly expand its factory in northern Italy as part of the electrification strategy it will unveil during a highly anticipated briefing next week, according to people familiar with the matter.

The automaker has snapped up space near its Maranello plant and started clearing the way for a third production line that will be dedicated to making electrified vehicles, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the information is private.

The expansion will also likely include a new battery R&D center, they said.
Ferrari will highlight the project during its June 16 capital markets day, when CEO Benedetto Vigna is expected to shed light on the automaker's EV strategy and lay out his business plan for the next four years.

The former STMicroelectronics executive was hited as Ferrari CEO in to accelerate the shift away from the 12-cylinder engines and four-figure horsepower the automaker is known for.


Ferrari cultivated one of the world’s most valuable brands long before it staged a smash success initial public offering in 2015.While the company continues to post enviable profit margins, its shares have underperformed recently in part due to concerns about its late start in the EV race and how much playing catch-up will cost.
The stock has dropped 22 percent this year in Milan, trailing Italy’s benchmark stock index and its European automotive peers.“The focus is on the company’s electrification strategy and how its technology can adapt to a changing world, as well as on its strategy to pursue value over volume and what saturation, if any, they identify,” said Swetha Ramachandran, who manages GAM’s Luxury Brand Equity Fund.

Months after Vigna, 53, started as CEO, Ferrari shook up its organizational structure, bringing in several executives from his former employer, and partnered with chipmaker Qualcomm to work on more digital car cockpits.
At STMicro, he led the division that supplies sensors to Apple’s iPhone and automakers’ navigation systems.
Big spending may be required ahead of Ferrari launching its first full-electric vehicle in 2025, with Citi analysts saying they expect “structurally higher investment to drag on returns.” Redburn also has cautioned investors could be surprised by the scale of expense required.“Ferrari has looked a bit less exceptional in recent years, with returns coming off peaks and competitors raising their game,” Jefferies analysts wrote in a May 30 note.
The upcoming investor event is “an opportunity to reclaim leadership and better understand why John Elkann appointed outsider Benedetto Vigna, to ‘reinvent’ Ferrari.”

Link: https://europe.autonews.com/automakers/ferrari-will-add-electric-car-production-line