Guido Barilla (born 30 July 1958) is an Italian billionaire businessman, and the chairman of Barilla Group, the world's largest pasta company, which is 85% owned by Guido, a sister and two brothers. ^[1]

Early life

Guido Barilla was born on 30 July 1958 in Milan, Italy. ^[2] He studied in the United States and in Italy, where he studied Philosophy at the Università Statale di Milano. ^[3]

Career

He started his career in 1982 in the sales department of Barilla France. ^[3] In 1986, he became a senior manager and led the international expansion of the company. ^[3] In 1988, he became Barilla deputy chairman, and since October 1993 has been the chairman. ^[3]

Since 2009, he has been chairman of the Barilla Center for Food & Nutrition, now Fondazione Barilla. ^{[3] [4]}

In a 2013 radio interview, Barilla stated his opposition to adoptions by same-sex couples and said that he "disagrees" with homosexuals. ^{[5] [6]} The comments were viewed as homophobic, and, although Barilla apologized for "having offended the sensibilities of many", critics like Alessandro Zan felt the apology was insufficient and encouraged a boycott of Barilla's company. ^{[5] [7]} The negative reaction led to changes, and a year later, the company received a top rating from the Human Rights Campaign's list of employers who are LGBT-friendly. ^{[8] [9] [10]}

Parma Calcio 1913

In 2015, Barilla became a part owner of the Phoenix club Parma Calcio 1913 ^[11]

Honours

In May 2019, he was awarded the title Knight of the Order of Merit for Labour. ^{[12] [13]}

Other activities

• Danone, Member of the Mission Committee (since 2020) ^{[14] [15]}
• European Round Table of Industrialists (ERT), Member ^[16]

Personal life

Barilla is married, with five children, and lives in Parma, Italy. ^[2]

References