About Antonio Baravalle
Antonio Baravalle, CEO of Lavazza, has described the company as "the biggest of the small" among global coffee players, noting that it competes with much larger corporations such as Nestlé, Coca-Cola (which acquired Costa Coffee), and JDE. He has stated that the coffee market will face a "tsunami of consolidation" and that Lavazza must evolve its governance and management to avoid being acquired by larger competitors. Baravalle has emphasized the need for continuous change, saying that when a company performs well, it should immediately ask itself what it is doing to stay ahead, because other firms are already planning how to overtake it.
Baravalle has also spoken about the importance of investing in people and education, arguing that innovation is not just about supporting startups but about creating a culture that accepts failure and encourages trying new things. He has called for greater transparency and professionalism in the relationship between companies and advertising agencies, opposing the practice of agencies being paid through media negotiation rights and arguing that clients should not try to replace agencies with in-house capabilities. He has noted that Lavazza's ownership structure, with two families holding 100% of the shares, allows the company to take a long-term view without the pressure of quarterly earnings reports.
Source: AI-verified profile updated from Antonio Baravalle's recent appearances.
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Transcript (6 segments)
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Host0:07
We talked a little earlier about the manager, the role of hands, of putting hand in this relationship of building trust and expressing operational leadership. And the story of Antonio Baravalle seems to me particularly interesting to address this last segment of reflection. He joined Fiat in 1999, a long history in automotive, CEO of Lancia in 2005, Alfa Romeo in 2008, this editorial passage with Einaudi, and then from 2011 Lavazza. So many experiences, also a change in the content of the companies he managed, with an internationalization of the Lavazza group that is evident to everyone. Like all our companies looking outward, also this area now traversed by conflict clearly face a complex part. Complexity defines this moment. I would first like to ask him: we talk about leadership and trust. The CEO must work on a trust relationship upwards towards the shareholder and shareholders, but also around towards the public who then has to choose that product. How does this double step work?
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Antonio Baravalle1:55
Good morning everyone. So there is a fact, then a complexity that can increase or decrease depending on the type of company and context. If we talk about a listed public company, that's one thing. In my case, we talk about a family with a single shareholder since 1895. So the context is made of many stakeholders: shareholders, employees, those who are part of the group, and consumers. And then I also add the territory where a company operates. We saw it very importantly during the pandemic, how the bond with the territory is fundamental. Building trust with shareholders is almost simple: sharing vision, achieving results, and continuing on the agreed path. My shareholders twelve years ago, seeing a complex context, decided to step back and bring in external managers. They brought in strong independent board members who enabled an incredible leap. With employees, it's similar, but leadership must adapt to context. In my career, I experienced different leadership styles: at Diageo, a public company; at Fiat; at Mondadori; and now at Lavazza. Trust is built by example. During COVID, I never missed a day in the office, and our team was present. With consumers, trust is critical because brand reputation takes years to build and seconds to lose. Consistency between values, quality, and actions is key. Our president told me: never lower quality because Lavazza is our surname. We are fortunate not to have short-term analysts; we can focus on long-term values like sustainability and territory. The bond with the territory is fundamental, especially in Turin, where we are one of the few large players with deep local commitment. So shareholders, employees, territory, and consumers are all essential for trust and leadership.
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Host10:56
I would like to ask one more question. You worked with Sergio Marchionne. Today we talk a lot about change, about the aesthetics of the leader. Marchionne did something disruptive in how he presented himself. How much did his leadership represent a discontinuity for the companies?
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Antonio Baravalle11:28
He was a tough one. He arrived at a technically bankrupt company, with the banking world ready to carve it up. He chose his team directly with tough interviews. He always said: technical skills you can buy, leadership you either have or you don't. He gave trust to people, cutting hierarchical levels. We initially saw him with question marks, but he transferred awareness of our past, present, and future vision. He made us challenge the obvious and not worry about processes. He said: if we have to die, better die having fun. He wore a sweater, no tie, in a rigid company. That was an extremely important message. We were ready to walk through fire for that vision. Four years later, Times celebrated Fiat in 2008. It was a very particular moment.
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Host14:06
Also with Dr. Muti, we talked earlier about what Italy needs as it changes. I would like to ask you, who have traversed so many sectors and production spaces, what is needed? If you had to say one or two things, aware of how critical and partly unpredictable the context is.
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Antonio Baravalle14:33
Beyond the enormous difficulty we are living through, but which we already had before the war, looking at our costs: transportation, aluminum, wood, cardboard have increased 50-70%, raw materials doubled. This before the war. Looking to the future, the biggest problem is having a truly different managerial class. One of the greatest tasks is to help the context by building in new generations of managers with more visionary roles, willing to change and not tied to past visions. Investment in school, education, culture is crucial. We are one of the countries that invests the least in Europe. For young people, we must invest in their culture and create a mentality that accepts failure and encourages change. It's not just supporting startups, but giving people space to try, make mistakes, and start again. Thank you, truly, thanks.
