He graduated in Economics and Business in 1971 at Bocconi University in Milan. In the early 70s he began collaborating with the family business activities, where he developed in particular those related to the maritime transport sector.

In 1986 he joined Pirelli. In 1992 he took over the operational leadership.

From December 1996 to September 2001 he was President of “Il Sole 24 Ore” and from October 2001 to September 2005 Councillor of the “Teatro alla Scala”.

From September 2001 to September 2006 he held the position of Chairman of Telecom Italia S.p.A. and from October 2008 to October 2017 he held the position of Vice Chairman of Mediobanca – Banca di Credito Finanziario S.p.A. Until May 2013 he held the position of Chairman of Prelios S.p.A.

He is currently Executive Vice President and Chief Executive Officer of Pirelli & C. S.p.A. and Chairman of Marco Tronchetti Provera & C. S.p.A., a holding company that controls Camfin S.p.A., which in turn holds just over 10% of Pirelli & C. S.p.A.

He is the Director of RCS MediaGroup S.p.A..

He is Honorary Co-President for the Italian part of the Council for Relations between Italy and the United States, of which he was Italian Co-President for 15 years, he is part of the Italian Group of the Trilateral Commission and is Co-President for the Italian part of the Italian-Russian Business Committee for Economic Cooperation.

He is on the General Council and the Advisory Board of Assolombarda as well as on the General Council of Confindustria. He is a member of the Board of Directors of the Luigi Bocconi Commercial University.