Ernesto Pellegrini
{{Short description|Italian businessman (born 1940)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2022}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name = Ernesto Pellegrini
| image = Ernesto_Pellegrini.jpg
| imagesize =
| caption = | office = Chairman of Inter Milan
| term_start = 1984
| predecessor = Ivanoe Fraizzoli
| term_end = 1995
| successor = Massimo Moratti
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1940|12|14|df=y}}
| birth_place = Milan, Kingdom of Italy
| occupation = Businessman
| known_for = {{ubl|Former chairman of Inter Milan}}
| nationality = Italian
| net worth =
| spouse =
| children =
}}
Ernesto Pellegrini (born 14 December 1940) is an Italian catering businessman and the former owner of Inter Milan from 1984 to 1995.
Life and career
The son of a farmer, Pellegrini worked as an accountant in the early 1960s for the bicycle manufacturing company Bianchi, earning L50,000 per month.{{Cite web |last=Piva |first=Gianni |date=8 July 1994 |title=Dalle mense alle luci di San Siro |url=https://ricerca.repubblica.it/repubblica/archivio/repubblica/1994/07/08/dalle-mense-alle-luci-di-san-siro.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305073831/https://ricerca.repubblica.it/repubblica/archivio/repubblica/1994/07/08/dalle-mense-alle-luci-di-san-siro.html |archive-date=5 March 2016 |access-date=14 March 2021 |work=La Repubblica |language=it}} In 1964, he was promoted to chief accountant, but instead, he asked for more work within the company, becoming the manager of the canteen.{{Cite web |last=Giojelli |first=Caterina |date=4 January 2015 |title=La conquista della ristorazione, l'Inter dei record, il ristorante per nuovi poveri. La bella storia di Ernesto Pellegrini |url=https://www.tempi.it/la-conquista-della-ristorazione-inter-dei-record-il-ristorante-per-nuovi-poveri-la-bella-storia-di-ernesto-pellegrini/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150602091320if_/https://www.tempi.it/la-conquista-della-ristorazione-inter-dei-record-il-ristorante-per-nuovi-poveri-la-bella-storia-di-ernesto-pellegrini/#.VW1zs2P7SUk |archive-date=2 June 2015 |access-date=14 March 2021 |website=Tempi |language=it-IT}} Here, he started his ascendancy in the catering industry, and in 1965 he founded the Organizzazione Mense Pellegrini following the realisation that the Italian economic miracle was facilitating the expansion of the Italian food industry, thanks to Italian population's more disposable income and new food habits. In 1975, his company changed its status to Pellegrini S.p.A.,{{Cite web |title=La nostra storia |url=https://www.gruppopellegrini.it/chi-siamo/la-nostra-storia/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210314014507/https://www.gruppopellegrini.it/chi-siamo/la-nostra-storia/ |archive-date=14 March 2021 |access-date=14 March 2021 |website=Gruppo Pellegrini |language=it-IT}} which over time expanded to include services such as meal tickets, corporate, health, and school catering services, sanitation and industrial cleaning services, and welfare services in Italy.{{Cite web |title=Pellegrini SpA – Company Profile and News |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/profile/company/874900Z:IM |access-date=14 March 2021 |website=Bloomberg.com |language=en}}
In 2019, Pellegrini S.p.A. made €600 million profit and employed circa 6,500 people.{{Cite web |title=La Pellegrini in cifre |url=https://www.gruppopellegrini.it/chi-siamo/la-pellegrini-in-cifre/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200414130246/https://www.gruppopellegrini.it/chi-siamo/la-pellegrini-in-cifre/ |archive-date=14 April 2020 |access-date=14 March 2021 |website=Gruppo Pellegrini |language=it-IT}}
Chairman of Inter Milan
In 1979, Pellegrini wrote a letter to the Inter's chairman Ivanoe Fraizzoli, asking to be allowed to contribute financially to the club. As a result, he was admitted as a member of the board.{{Cite web |last=Beha |first=Oliviero |date=20 June 1984 |title=I conti di Pellegrini |url=https://ricerca.repubblica.it/repubblica/archivio/repubblica/1984/06/20/conti-di-pellegrini.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150610193850/https://ricerca.repubblica.it/repubblica/archivio/repubblica/1984/06/20/conti-di-pellegrini.html |archive-date=10 June 2015 |access-date=14 March 2021 |work=La Repubblica |language=it}} Pellegrini purchased Inter from Ivanoe Fraizzoli in 1984, becoming the club's 17th chairman.{{Cite web |date=14 December 2020 |title=Ernesto Pellegrini: an Interista for 80 years |url=https://www.inter.it/en/news/2020/12/14/ernesto-pellegrini-inter-80-years.html |access-date=14 March 2021 |website=Inter Official Site}}
Under his ownership, Inter purchased players such as Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, Lothar Matthäus, Jürgen Klinsmann and Andreas Brehme, winning the record-breaking 1988–89 Serie A together with two UEFA Cups and one Supercoppa Italiana.
In 2020, he was inducted into Inter Milan Hall of Fame.{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qwhz9iuDou8&ab_channel=Inter |title=Inter Hall of Fame 2020 Timeless Edition Awards Ceremony |date=9 March 2021 |language=it |publisher=Inter Milan |access-date=9 March 2021}} In 2022, he was inducted into the Italian Football Hall of Fame.{{Cite web |date=16 March 2023 |title=Da Zola a Mourinho e Zidane: le nuove leggende della Hall of fame del calcio italiano|url=https://sport.sky.it/calcio/serie-a/figc-hall-of-fame-giocatori-allenatori#00 |access-date=23 April 2023 |website=Sky Italia |language=it}}
Orders
References
{{Reflist}}
{{Inter Milan Hall of Fame}}
{{Italian Football Hall of Fame}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pellegrini, Ernesto}}
Category:Italian football chairmen and investors
Category:20th-century Italian businesspeople