Exor (“Exor” or “the Company”) announces the appointment of Diego Piacentini as Advisor and Chairman of Exor Seeds, the Company’s venture arm managed by Noam Ohana.
Mr. Piacentini is a world-renowned technology business leader and is the only executive to have held senior roles at both Apple Inc. (1987 to 2000) and Amazon.com Inc. (2000 to 2016) during their formative years. He was nominated by the then Prime Minister of Italy as its first Digital Transformation Commissioner in 2016, a role he held until 2018. He is currently non-executive board member of The Economist Group and advisor/board member of other companies.
Exor has invested over $700M in the technology sector in the last several years (including in Via as its largest outside shareholder). Exor Seeds has backed over 40 startups globally, with a particular focus on mobility, fintech and healthcare.
Diego Piacentini’s exceptional operational experience in building companies and his leadership insights will greatly benefit Exor as it plans to do more in technology directly and through its companies. Diego will also join forces with Exor in helping young entrepreneurs in his home country of Italy to hone their talents and will contribute to several initiatives supported by the Company, including the annual conference Italian Tech Week and the new Exor-backed venture-building programme Vento.
Commenting on the appointment, John Elkann, Chairman and Chief Executive of Exor said: “Diego is an inspirational business leader with a truly entrepreneurial mindset. We are happy he is joining Exor as an advisor to accelerate our growth as we invest more in the technology space. He will be a big support to Noam Ohana and his team as they build on our ambition with Seeds of partnering with talented founders”.
Diego Piacentini said: “I am looking forward to adding my humble contribution to the activity of Exor Seeds to help them find and grow those start-ups that are great candidates for reshaping the sectors in which they operate, both at the domestic and global levels. I have a particular passion for Italy, an undervalued entrepreneurial system which is full of creative and innovative gems”.
