BY ALAN CATHCART
PHOTOGRAPHY BY KEL EDGE
M
V Agusta's President/
CEO Giovanni Casti-
glioni, 35, is the only
son of the late Claudio Casti-
glioni, the man whose love affair
with the Italian trophy brand
was such that he acquired, sold
and repurchased it no less than
three times in the space of 20
years. In the months leading
up to his father's sad passing
in August 2011, Giovanni took
over responsibility for running
MV Agusta, assuming control
of the privately owned company
from his father. A graduate of
the London Business School
who joined MV Agusta in 2002
as director of communication
after working in the U.S. for a
year with the company's then-
importer for North America, Fast
by Ferracci, Giovanni Castiglioni
had previously fulfilled this role
part time, in between running his
own fashion business. But with
his father already struggling with
the illness that would eventually
lead to his death, that diversion
from the family's core motorcycle
business was sidelined after the
opportunity to reacquire MV from
Harley-Davidson first arose in
October 2009.
Harley had purchased MV
Agusta in July 2008 for a re-
ported $109 million, including
$70 million in assumed debt. But
after throwing millions of dol-
lars at its new Italian acquisition
to clean up the balance sheet,
VOL. 53 ISSUE 21 JUNE 1, 2016 P85
Much has been said about the future of MV
Agusta - not all of it nice. In our in-depth, two-
part interview with MV Agusta President and
CEO Giovanni Castiglioni, Alan Cathcart asks
the man who solely holds responsibility of the
brand himself to clarify the big rumors
that surround the company.
Much has been said of
MV Agusta's fate of late,
not much from the man in
charge, until now.
Strategic Thought
