He was no longer able to welcome in the New Year with his family: Paolo Vitelli died on the afternoon of 31 December 2024 following a serious fall at his home in Champoluc in the Aosta Valley in northern Italy.
Paolo Vitelli, born in 1947, was considered a visionary: Italian media called him the "king of Italian-built yachts". The Azimut Benetti shipyard group, which claims a production value of more than 1.3 billion euros, conquered the market from Turin in the 1970s. The headquarters of the group, which is one of the top addresses in the 24 metre plus megayacht segment, is still located there today. Celebrities also trust the name, for example football star Cristiano Ronaldo bought an Azimut Grande 27 in 2020.
Paolo Vitelli, founder with a mind of his own
Vitelli comes from a family of entrepreneurs, but did not want to follow in the footsteps of his father, who ran the chocolate brand Talmone Venchi Unica and a cotton spinning mill. "I wanted to start my own company," "La Repubblica" quotes him as saying. He made the money for Azimut from the sale of a nightclub that he ran with friends in Turin - as a student of economics. In 1970, with his degree in his pocket, the young man wanted to turn his passion for sailing into a career. Even as a child, he explored the coast off Antibes and Saint-Tropez in a dinghy.
Vitelli started out with a small sailboat hire business and turned it into a brokerage business. In 1969, he founded his shipyard on a site in Avigliana, 20 kilometres from Turin and even further from the sea. Business got rolling when the Dutch shipyard Amerglass entrusted him with the sale of its products in Italy. Further dealer contracts followed. As Vitelli primarily wanted to sell a family-friendly, affordable boat, he created the AZ 43 Bali, one of the largest fibreglass production boats of the time.
AZ 32: the Ford T of the yachting world
In 1977, a small low-budget boat was launched on the market, the AZ 32 Targa was regarded as the Ford Model T of the yacht industry and became a bestseller. From then on, the brand developed rapidly, expanding almost exclusively through internal growth. In 1985, however, Paolo Vitelli took over the faltering Fratelli Benetti brand and with it another symbol of yacht building "made in Italy".
In 1997, the Italian President honoured the entrepreneur with the title "Cavaliere del Lavoro" "for his outstanding contribution to the shipbuilding industry". Vitelli served as President of Ucina, the Italian shipbuilding industry association, from 1998 to 2006. During this time, the law N°.172/2003 on the authorisation of leasing in the yacht industry was also passed.
Paolo Vitelli was an honorary doctor and member of parliament
In 2004, he received an honorary doctorate in mechanical engineering from the Politecnico di Torino. Later, Dr Paolo Vitelli even got involved in politics and was a member of the Italian parliament from 2013 to 2015.
His daughter Giovanna has been at the helm of Azimut Benetti since 2023, and the group now comprises six shipyards: Avigliana in Piedmont, Savona in Liguria, Viareggio and Livorno in Tuscany, Fano in the Marche region and Itajaí in Brazil - a total of 526,000 square metres of production space. The portfolio also includes marinas in Italy, Malta and Russia as well as a small hotel chain. Today, Azimut Benetti has more than 2,300 employees and employs over 4,000 people in related industries.
An obituary by Managing Director Marco Valle
Marco Valle, CEO of the Group, bids farewell to Paolo Vitelli with touching words and sent them via LinkedIn. Here is an extract:
"Dr Vitelli was not only a master of innovation, but also a man who loved his country very much. He brought Italy and the excellence of 'made in Italy' to the world and set the standard for our entire industry. Just as he loved the mountains, we will continue to move forward in his honour, taking on new challenges and reaching new heights."
Uske Berndt
Editor News & Panorama
