Paolo Vitelli (businessman)

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Paolo Vitelli, Italian politician

Paolo Vitelli was born in Turin on October 4, 1947. He founded Azimut in 1969, while still a university student in the Faculty of Economics and Business. He is currently president of Azimut Benetti Group.

From March 2013 to September 2015, he was a member of parliament in Italy’s Legislature XVII, after being elected in the Civic Choice List with Monti for Italy.

He was Honorary Consul of Norway from 1974 to 2018.

Career[]

Paolo Vitelli graduated in June 1970 with a degree in economics and business, after a four-year course of study.

Azimut[]

Paolo Vitelli’s business career began in March 1969, when at the age of 22 and still at university he set up Azimut to build and market pleasure boats, using money saved while working student jobs. The following year he graduated with a degree in economics and business and took his company to the Genoa International Boat Show, where it was noticed by Amerglass, Europe’s most advanced shipyard at the time, which chose Azimut to import its models into Italy. Vitelli then started to build boats under his own brand, which enjoyed continuous growth and evolved into Azimut Yachts. 1988 saw the creation in Avigliana of a new and extremely modern shipyard that was to become an industry leader, with one of the world’s widest and most comprehensive ranges in the market.

Azimut|Benetti Group[]

In over half a century, the Company has grown rapidly to become the world’s leading builder of motor yachts over 24 metres in length, while remaining a private business with a great capacity for innovation and technology. The company’s growth has been almost entirely organic, with the exception of the 1985 rescue of the Benetti shipyard in Viareggio, an emblem of Italian excellence, resulting in the company name being changed to Azimut|Benetti. The Group now builds motor yachts from 10 to over 100 metres in length, under the Azimut Yachts and Benetti brands, in six shipyards: Avigliana in Piemonte, Savona in Liguria, Viareggio and Livorno in Tuscany, Fano in Le Marche and Itajai in Brazil. It posts annual sales of around one million euros and employs around 2,000 people in its shipyards, while nearly 5,000 people work in its permanent supply chain. Azimut|Benetti sells 95% of its production abroad through a global network of dealers in 70 countries, supported by offices managed directly by the company in the world’s main yachting centres.  Paolo Vitelli currently manages the Company, led by Group CEO Marco Valle ^[2][3][4], with his daughter Giovanna.  

Over half a century of yachting industry innovation[]

Under the guidance of Paolo Vitelli, Azimut|Benetti Group has become prominent over the years for a series of technological and design innovations introduced on board models that have written the history of Italian yachting.  

• 1975: AZ 43 Bali is the first model produced by Azimut, in collaboration with Amerglass;
• 1978: nicknamed the “Ford Model T” of the seas, AZ 32 Targa is the smallest boat for safe cruising on a limited budget. Packed with smart solutions inspired by the car industry, including an opening sunroof, it enables helmsmen to steer the boat in a standing position, with the wind in their hair;
•  1982: building of the first megayacht over 30 metres in length made entirely of fibreglass, AZ 105 Falaika;
• 1988: Azimut|Benetti competes in the Blue Ribband, the gripping transatlantic challenge that allows no refuelling, with the 27-metre Azimut Atlantic Challenger, built for the occasion to a design by Pininfarina. The rules require at least one paying passenger, so billionaire Winthrop Rockefeller climbs on board for the price of one dollar. The boat comes very close to beating the record for the crossing, but in any case enjoys worldwide attention thanks to its technological prowess and avant-garde design;
• 1991: using a solution borrowed from the car industry, windows are now glued rather than fixed to the frames, making it possible to increase their surface area;
• 1998: introduction of the Benetti Classic range, a line of semi-custom fibreglass yachts featuring the quality and exclusiveness of the shipyard’s bespoke megayachts. It is an unprecedented success, with over 100 units sold;
•  2000: Azimut|Benetti Group takes over refit and repair specialist Lusben, with shipyards in Viareggio and Livorno;
• 2001: launch of the Atlantis Collection following the acquisition of Cantiere Gobbi. The brand immediately develops its identity by specialising in the construction of open yachts between 10 and 18 metres in length;
• 2003: Azimut Yachts presents the new S line, with models featuring an unprecedented hull window in the master cabin;
• 2004: after becoming Azimut Benetti SpA in 2003, the Group also takes over Fraser Yachts, a company specialising in yacht brokerage, superyacht chartering and services for owners;
•  2005: with the new Atlantis line models, the shipyard introduces infusion technology to manufacture hulls and decks;
• 2006: Benetti launches the 65-metre Ambrosia, the first yacht with a hybrid propulsion system (Azipod diesel-electric);
• 2009: Azimut Yachts launches the Magellano 74, a new model with a Dual Mode hull designed for long, comfortable and contemplative cruises, but also capable of over 20 knots when speed is of the essence;
• 2010: after operating for years through partnerships with Brazilian shipyards, the Group sets up a Brazilian company, Azimut do Brasil, to build and market boats under the Azimut brand;
• 2015: with the Azimut 72 Flybridge, the shipyard starts making massive use of carbon fibre to build its models, with the twofold benefit of cutting fuel consumption and increasing internal volumes to offer more liveable space on board;
• 2019: Azimut|Benetti Group celebrates its 50th anniversary, culminating in the spectacular display of the Azimut S6 in New York’s Times Square, one of the world’s most iconic locations (the year before, the Azimut S7 had been exhibited at the Triennale di Milano during Milano Design Week). 2019 is also the year of the Giga Season for Benetti, which completes the multi-year process to build three Giga yachts, each over 100 metres. These three yachts are launched one after the other in the space of just 100 days. One of them, the MY Luminosity, has the distinction of being the world’s largest hybrid yacht;
• 2020: Azimut Yachts commissions award-winning director Gabriele Muccino to make a short film to launch the new Magellano 25 Metri. In the same year, Benetti launches the Oasis 40M, a stunningly designed superyacht featuring the revolutionary Oasis Deck®, with wings that open out to create extra space;
• 2021: for the 22nd year running, according to the Global Order Book 2021, the annual ranking drawn up by the highly reputed UK magazine Boat International, Azimut|Benetti Group is the world’s leading builder of yachts over 24 metres in length, with a record 128 projects under construction (equivalent to 4,601 metres in length, far more than any other player in the sector);
• 2021: Azimut Yachts launches Trideck, the largest yacht ever built by the brand, with extremely innovative architectural solutions, such as its cascaded terraces.

Other projects[]

Paolo Vitelli has always diversified his business interests, with a series of major industrial projects including the construction of modern tourist ports in Varazze, Viareggio and Livorno in Italy, in the old town in La Valletta, Malta, and on Lake Chimki (Moscow) in Russia.

He has also created a small chain of “Hotels de Charme” by restoring old buildings in Chamonix in France and Champoluc and Mascognaz in the Italian region of Valle d’Aosta, which conferred on him the title of “Amis de la Vallée d’Aoste”.

From 1974 to 2018, he was the Honorary Consul of Norway.

From 1998 to 2006, he was the president of Ucina (now Confindustria Nautica), a Confindustria (Confederation of Italian Industry) association grouping businesses in the Italian yachting industry. In this period he did much to boost the industry’s development, promoting the introduction of law 172/2003 and the approval of yacht leasing and other measures that have contributed to the sector’s success.

From March 2013 to September 2015, he was a member of the Italian parliament, elected in the Civic Choice List with Monti for Italy. He was a member of the Parliamentary Committee for the Security of the Republic (COPASIR) and the Transport and Finance Commissions.

Honours[]

• 1996 - Cavaliere del lavoro (Order of Merit for Labour)
• “An economics and business graduate, he founded Azimut SpA in 1969, when still only 21, to build and market pleasure craft. In its 27 years in business, the company has grown into Europe’s leading industrial group in the yachting sector. In this period, continual research and an unwavering focus on product quality has enabled the company to grow at annual rates of between 20% and 25%, even in the years of crisis in the industry (1992-1994), increasing exports to account for 95% of sales .
• 2004 - Honorary degree^[15] in mechanical engineering from Politecnico di Torino
• 2006 – Confindustria “Champions of growth” award as best Italian business in the five-year period 2001-2006 in terms of growth, innovation and internationalisation;
• 2011 - Amis de la Vallée d’Aoste “for his contribution to the development of tourism in various locations by creating quality hotels in old rural buildings.

External links[]

• "Mega-yacht maker pushes out the boat" by Jorn Madslien, BBC News.

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