Born in Turin on 31 May 1964, he has lived mainly abroad: first in Colombia and then in Brazil and Scotland, where he attended Gordonstoun School.

After his Bachelor of Arts in International Relations at Brown University (Providence, Rhode Island), he completed his education with an MBA at the Harvard Business School.

After initial experience as a fixed income trader in New York with Drexel Burnham Lambert, he continued his career in the world of finance, working in particular in the field of investment banking in Latin America at Bear Stearns & Co., then moving to the M&A department of Credit Suisse First Boston of New York in 1994. He moved to London in 2001, where he became first European head of the pharmaceuticals M&A sector and then, in 2004, Chief Operating Officer of all M&A activities in Europe.

He was Chief Executive Officer and General Manager of IFIL Investments S.p.A. until the merger and is currently Chief Executive Officer of Exor S.p.A.. He is also a Director of Fiat S.p.A., Cushman & Wakefield Inc., Sequana S.A. and SGS S.A.; he is a member of the Board of Surveillance of Banca Intesa Sanpaolo S.p.A.. He speaks five languages: Italian, English French, Portuguese and Spanish.