Guido Venosta – Work and career at Pirelli

Guido Venosta spent his entire professional life at Pirelli, following in the footsteps of his father, Giuseppe. After gaining some experience at other companies, he joined the firm in July 1939—just three months after the death of his father, who had served as General Director. He was hired at the Central Secretariat, where he performed administrative duties.

Recalled to active service during World War II, Guido held several different positions until 1945 and the Liberation. At that time, he was part of the National Liberation Committee of Northern Italy (C.L.N.A.I.), serving as its Secretary and as a member of the Central Economic Commission in the capacity of an “expert.”

He recounts those years as follows:

“I returned to my job in Alberto Pirelli’s secretariat: an experience both multifaceted and full of interest.

My boss was certainly a genius, although, like many Italians, he didn’t quite understand the meaning of the English word ‘understatement’ and probably believed he was always right. His letters were impeccable, and his ideas interlocked effortlessly and with absolute fluidity. His manner of dealing with employees was always extremely courteous and cool. He (…) represented a key strength in a formidable duo—himself and his brother Piero.

Piero was more humane in both character and feelings. He had a great passion for sports such as football and equestrianism, and he contributed to many initiatives for their development; he did just as much for the development of golf in Italy. Essentially, he had human passions, whereas Alberto loved only politics and the company.

My return to Pirelli was marked by my friendship with Cesare Merzagora [Central Director from 1938, factory commissioner in the early post-war period, who later, having devoted himself to politics, became President of the Senate in the ’50s and ’60s, editor’s note] and by the sense of a profound political divergence with Franco Brambilla, with whom I worked directly as the CEO. (…) I began to think differently—both as a consequence of my time at Cambridge and the studies I had pursued, and due to the influence of my father’s ideas, a man rigid in his demands of himself and others yet tolerant and even-minded in essence. (…)

The Togliatti attack [referring to Palmiro Togliatti, then Secretary of the Italian Communist Party, who was shot and injured on July 14, 1948, editor’s note] provoked two days of intense tension, which were overshadowed by Bartali’s victory in the Giro d’Italia [July 25, editor’s note]. I continued to wear a yellow vest (…) which earned me the friendly irony of a communist member of the ‘Management Committee’ (…).

At Pirelli, over the years, I discovered a whole new world—the realm of communication and advertising—among which were Arrigo Castellani [long-time head of Pirelli’s Press and Advertising Department], Vittorio Sereni [a poet and editorialist working at the Press Office of Pirelli’s Propaganda Service, which he directed from 1955 until 1958, editor’s note], Sinisgalli [Leonardo Sinisgalli, who had already in the ’30s founded and curated the company’s magazines and advertising campaigns], and Mulas [Ugo Mulas, a photographer who collaborated with Pirelli’s magazine and with whom my grandfather established a close relationship, even entrusting him with the execution of some of his beautiful portraits, editor’s note]. They introduced me to their world as something tangible, real—though difficult to put into words; until then, I had thought they were all just clouds. The grand vision embraced by Castellani and Sinisgalli preceded by years what is happening now [1996–1997, editor’s note]: so complex, so refined, and sometimes so difficult to create or to articulate. (…)

Later, I was entrusted with the position of General Director and, subsequently, Chief Executive Officer of Pirelli Ltd., the branch that produced tires in England—a market characterized by fierce competition among the world’s leading manufacturers. This was clearly a position of utmost trust, given that my studies in that country had provided me with perfect knowledge of its language and customs. My employees saw my Cambridge background as an extraordinary advantage. (…)

After a six-year stint in London, I returned to Italy and resumed my work as an operational executive, overseeing all the companies within the Central Rubber Division that were involved in non-tire production—in particular, paper, linoleum, plastic laminates, elastic cord, and foam rubber. I had a great deal of work, which was extremely varied and consequently very challenging to manage. (…)”

A few years later, Guido Venosta was assigned to special tasks, then took on consultancy roles, and eventually retired permanently in 1977. By that time, he had already embarked on his second great adventure—one that had begun more than ten years earlier—with AIRC, the Italian Association for Cancer Research.

Sources:
Albiate, Villa San Valerio Archives, Guido Venosta Archive, G. VENOSTA, Unpublished Memoirs (1996–97), pp. 36–41.
Ibid., “Personal Documents”, membership cards of the National Liberation Committee no. 42 and 174, undated [but presumed to be from 1945].
Pirelli Foundation, Pirelli Historical Archive, “Personnel” collection, file “Guido Venosta”.

Bibliography:
DE IANNI, N., “Merzagora, Cesare”, entry in “Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani – Volume 73 (2009)” (https://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/cesare-merzagora_(Dizionario-Biografico)/).
FERRARI, E., PIRELLI, G., “Arrigo Castellani”, in “Pirelli. Rivista d’informazione e di tecnica”, Nos. 1–2–3, 1969 (https://www.rivistapirelli.org/it/selezione_antologica/arrigo-castellani/).
Pirelli Foundation, “Storie dal mondo Pirelli. 1913–2013, i cent’anni del poeta Vittorio Sereni”, March 29, 2013 (https://www.fondazionepirelli.org/it/iniziative/storie-dal-mondo-pirelli/vittorio-sereni-1913-2013/).
Ibid., “Leonardo Sinisgalli, un poeta ingegnere in Pirelli”, January 28, 2021 (https://www.fondazionepirelli.org/it/archivio-storico/leonardo-sinisgalli-un-poeta-ingegnere-in-pirelli/).
Ibid., “Piero Pirelli, una vita tra industria, impegno sociale e passione sportiva”, July 19, 2022 (https://www.fondazionepirelli.org/it/iniziative/storie-dal-mondo-pirelli/piero-pirelli-una-vita-tra-industria-impegno-sociale-e-passione-sportiva/).
Ibid., “140 anni fa nasceva Alberto Pirelli, uno dei protagonisti della storia industriale italiana”, April 27, 2022 (https://www.fondazionepirelli.org/it/archivio-storico/140-anni-fa-nasceva-alberto-pirelli-uno-dei-protagonisti-della-storia-industriale-italiana/).