There are a lot of stories today about Marco Mattiacci, the new head of Ferrari Gestione Sportiva, who is replacing Stefano Domenicali. He grew up in Rome and is 42 years of age. He is reported to have started his career at Jaguar Italia in 1989, which would have meant that he was only 17 or 18 and as he is also listed as having studied Economics at the Universita’ La Sapienza di Roma, the Jaguar involvement must necessarily have been short-lived. He then worked in strategic consulting in London but in 1999 when he got a call from Ferrari to work in developing sales in various regions. After nearly two years he became the project leader of the Maserati launch in the United States for a year before moving to the US to be VP Sales and Marketing for Ferrari Maserati North America in 2002. Four years later he was sent to Shanghai as Executive VP for Business Development for Ferrari Asia Pacific, taking some time out to take part in the International Executive Programme at INSEAD in Singapore. After a year he was promoted to the role of President and CEO of Ferrari Asia Pacific and four years later was sent to the United States to be President and CEO of Ferrari North America, taking a little more time out in 2011 to attend a course at the Columbia Universy Business School in New York. He has since been based at Ferrari North America’s headquarters in Englewood, New Jersey, while living with his young family in SoHo in Manhattan.
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joeblogsf1 
Does he understand computational fluid dynamics? The momentum and Bernoulli equations? Turbulent versus laminar flows?
Gary, Does he understand computational fluid dynamics? Nope, But he does wear a suit well just like Luca!
Bingo. And Luca should be embarrassed. Maybe he’s gone over into senility???
Does Christian Horner understand computational fluid dynamics, the momentum and Bernoulli equations, and turbulent versus laminar flows?
I don’t know, but I suspect not.
Being a team principal is different to being a technical director. A team principal ultimately is responsible for the success of the team, and the best way for them to do that is to delegate the technical aspects to people who know that stuff, and as the team principal effectively manage and motivate those people to do a good job.
Thanks for the information. A few question though come to my mind though.
1. Does Marco Mattiaci have any experience with Gestione Sportiva or with any other racing team?
2. Why was he the first choice and not someone like Pat Fry who has much more experience with Ferrari F1 team?
Does head of Gestione Sportiva have to mean F1 Team Principal, or could the role be split?
translation; the season is over, let’s move the merch, see you next year.
Considering his background is he there to manage the team or sell it?
Maybe the dumbest comment ever written
Actually I thought it was quite amusing.
Ferrari replace a racing man with a marketing man huh? Maybe they are preparing to have an excuse to leave F1, as they’ve historically always hired racing people to run the team. This guy will probably be great at inventing strategically defensive commentary and press releases to explain their lack of pace (i.e: spin), but I wonder what this’ll do for Fernando and Kimi’s motivation? This guy sounds like a Flavio Briatore Mk.2 to me…
to be affair people said similar things about Briatore, then he won two world tiitles……a few years later he then crossed the line. it depends on whether Ferrari need a people manager or not id have thought
That has been threatened many times in the past. The Old Man used to almost drag out the ” leaving ” statement every year! It may be possible though. For Ferrari, not being in F1 wouldn’t ruin the business. Whilst leaving when highly uncompetitive could be an attractive proposition. If they did, it would certainly impact on the value of the product that CVC hold investment in. It might also be a precursor to a different series without the Suit investors?? Who know? However the interesting thing is what of Ferdy & Kimi who would, one would suppose, have performance clauses in their contracts, not only on how they have to perform, but also on how the team has to provide performance. In the context of the limited field, there isn’t anywhere that is much better to go to, as none of the remaining teams look close to being able to win races, and none of them has enough money to employ either driver, unless the drivers want to cut their salaries. Also, removing Ferrari would leave Sauber & Marussia engineless….complex problems!!
Hey, when are you going to come back to Blighty for gigs again? Have seen you several times, and you always put on a good show.
He is a place holder
Could Marco Mattiacci be taking on the role of ‘Team Principle – Business’ with Ferrari looking to create a role ‘Team Principle – Technical’ a la Mercedes
This was my first reaction, and still the only one which makes sense to me.
I think the team’s principle IS business… selling roadcars… you mean “Principal”
yawn
Sounds like the first move in a structural change. His background isn’t too dissimilar to Luca’s. Also, Ross Brawn is bound to get bored with fishing at some point.
Wow strange appointment. I mean no racing experience. Marco just seems like a very good car salesman given his experience. Although is that not how a certain Mr E started?
Bob Bell will be the new guy at Ferrari
I thought James Allison was that…
Ferrari need the dream team of Vettel, Newey and Horner.
strange choice, but he must have some hidden abilities relevant to a team principal’s responsibilities…and maybe a stick in his hand too…
He appears to have lost a couple of years – others say he is 44 years old, born in 1969 or 1970
http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marco_Mattiacci
Presumably he will be doing the politics and commercial side. While Bob Bell does the technical side.
So….they gave over control of the most high profile, and possibly the most important team in global motor sport….to a sales guy? I’m extremely underwhelmed.
Ecclestone was a car salesman.
Please… BE was an uber-dealer.
He is either a place holder, or Luca has decided that the team needs a good manager rather than another technical bod. There are a lot of technical people in F1, but few good managers.
Is he good mates with Dany Bahar?
Hopefully he’s smarter than that
I’m trying to make a Brawn return fit into all this, but I’m struggling. Could Mattiachi be the ‘go between’ from team to board level, like Lauda is? If so I cannot see a Ferrari move being attractive to Ross. He would want total control, and could report straight to De Montezemolo himself. I would love Ross to return, but cannot see it happening, unless……….at the end of the year, de Montezemolo leaves to pursue his political career, his place taken by Mattiachi, leaving Brawn to slot in directly in place of Domenicali……
Why would Brawn need the stress? He’s done it all, particularly with Ferrari, and even won his own WCC title. In recent times no one else has achieved that. He has many millions in the bank, and no possible reason to spend more years flying here and there, working all hours etc etc, may just maybe, he really does want to retire! Also, isn’t it time for these guys like RB and Newey, to make way for other, younger people?
Who is Marco Mattiacci? His linkedin profile suggests he is an utter buffoon.
This made me literally laugh out loud 😆
Disappointing. I can’t help but be reminded of the hire and fire 1985-1993 Ferrari era. Years of underachievement only stopped once they realised it was the lunchtime wine and whole operation at fault rather than just the man at the top.
Swapping Dominicali for this sales chap just seems like a backwards step. I’m sure he’s great at telling people what they want to hear, swaning around making friends, making them feel important and selling stuff but…well he doesn’t really seem like any of the last team bosses that have won anything (Horner, Todt, Dennis, Williams…maybe even Briatore).
Surely this guy was inline to be LDM’s replacement and they’ve got their wires crossed?
Ditto. Could only wonder as I read about the replacement why he’s better qualified than SD to be in on the pit wall really helping/making a contribution in the heat of battle? Stand-in or not.
Yeah, SD is the culprit, never the CEO is it…
Hi Joe,
Today’s news shows that there is a real internal crisis happening at Ferrari which in fact has been ongoing for quite some time.
Could you maybe elaborate on Ferrari’s rationale behind this appointment? How has Macciatti fared in his previous roles at Ferrari financially speaking? Could his “financial result” in the US operations have played a role?
When I have a moment to spare!
The US operations would be more of an indicator of his management prowess. As for the Asia job – If you can’t flog Ferraris to the entitled offspring of chinese oligarchs then you should pack it in!
Joe, I couldn’t help but feel a sense of vindication for Aldo Costa when he joined his drivers on the podium at Bahrain to collect the manufacturers’ trophy particularly after his sacking by Ferrari a few years ago. Ferrari have a history of sacking the wrong guy for their woes. This new F1 is an engine formula and it seems everyone got their sums wrong apart from Mercedes who it seems have discovered an advantage with their split turbo arrangement. Surely Ferrari’s engine guy must have his head on the chopping block?
Hindsight is a great thing, isn’t it? We are all wise after the event. It looks like the split turbo is the trick and only the Mercedes people thought of it. You can bet they will all have it next year and so it is wise to keep the good guys and move on and not slaughter people because one has lost. That is a sign of a nervous management. I don’t know whether Stef was pushed or jumped. My feeling is that it could have been either. I know he was tired and that his view was that there is life outside F1 and I can see him having had the honesty to accept that maybe someone else could do the job better. It is not easy.
You think the other manufacturers will wait a year before bifurcating their turbos?
They have no choice
With so many job changes over a short period of time, he’s either a turn-around genius or a puppet for someone in Ferrari. I suspect the latter.
I hope Ferrari can improve.
Looks like the next Montezemolo?
Absolutely hilarious news !
Marco Mattiacci + No racing team mgmnt experience = FAILURE
Another Luca di M. joke conceived over too many Martini & Rossi drinks. What an a complete joke. Enzo is twirling in his grave at the thought of a luxury sales guy handling his F1 team.
Funny Stefano and Martin Whitmarsh were well respected individuals who always spoke highly of their team and excellent ambassadors of the sport.
Hope both land on their feet with better CEOs to report too.
At least now Alonso and Kimi will be able to choose what colour brake calipers or what type of seat stitching their cars will have . . . all at a stupidly high price of course
I think what you said made a great deal of sense. But, consider this, suppose you added a little information? I ain’t suggesting your information isn’t
good., however suppose you added something that makes people
want more? I mean Who is Marco Mattiacci? | joeblogsf1 is a little vanilla.
You should peek at Yahoo’s front page and see how
they create post headlines to grab people interested.
You might add a related video or a related pic or two to grab people excited about what you’ve got to say.
In my opinion, it might make your website a little livelier.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts. I really appreciate your efforts and I
will be waiting for your next write ups thanks once again.
I don’t know if it’s just me or if perhaps everyone else encountering issues with your blog.
It looks like some of the text on your posts are
running off the screen. Can someone else please comment and let me know if this is
happening to them as well? This might be a problem
with my internet browser because I’ve had this happen previously.
Kudos
I do know what the team is lacking in and they will not get it in less they get some one like me in to help or take a gamble on me. My name is Enzo I am from the uk I have raced before and preoerd my own car and won all my races. So to the owner and to who it might concern you need to make a disition call e mail me you won’t be sorry.