Andrea Pininfarina (26 June 1957 – 7 August 2008) was an

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

engineer and manager, former

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

of the

coachbuilder A coachbuilder manufactures bodies for passenger-carrying vehicles. The trade of producing coachwork began with bodies for horse-drawn vehicles. Today it includes custom automobiles, buses, Coach (bus), motor coaches, and passenger car (rai ...

Pininfarina Pininfarina S.p.A. (; ; short for Pininfarina Società per Azioni) is an Italian automotive design, car design firm and coachbuilder, with headquarters in Cambiano, Turin, Italy. The company was founded by Battista "Pinin" Farina in 1930. On 14 ...

, founded by his grandfather

Battista "Pinin" Farina Battista Pininfarina (born Battista Farina, nicknamed "Pinin"; 2 November 1893 – 3 April 1966) was an Italian automobile designer and the founder of the Carrozzeria Pininfarina coachbuilding company, a name associated with many well known ...

in 1930 and still controlled by the family. He was the son of

Sergio Pininfarina Sergio Pininfarina (born Sergio Farina; 8 September 1926
. – 3 July 2012) was an Italian

and was married to Italian aristocrat Cristina Maddalena Pellion di Persano, with whom he had three children, Benedetta, Sergio and Luca. Pininfarina was born in

Turin Turin ( , ; ; , then ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The city is main ...

. In 1981, he graduated from the

Polytechnic of Turin The Polytechnic University of Turin (, abbreviated as PoliTO) is the oldest Italian public technical university. The university offers several courses in the fields of Engineering, Architecture, Urban Planning and Industrial Design, and is consi ...

as a

mechanical engineer Mechanical may refer to: Machine * Machine (mechanical), a system of mechanisms that shape the actuator input to achieve a specific application of output forces and movement * Mechanical calculator, a device used to perform the basic operations o ...

, and in 1982, he was employed by the Fruehauf Corporation in the

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. In 1983, he joined the family business as Program Manager of the

Cadillac Allanté The Cadillac Allanté is a two-door, two-seater luxury roadster marketed by Cadillac from 1987 until 1993. The Allanté was based on a Cadillac chassis and running gear with a convertible body style with a folding soft top and an available re ...

project at Pininfarina. In 1987, he was promoted to Co-General Manager of the company, and in 1988, he became General Manager. In 1994, he was again promoted to managing director, and in 2001, he assumed the responsibility of

Chief Executive Officer A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

. Pininfarina briefly served as vice president of Italy's Confindustria industry lobby before his death in 2008. In 2004, he was named by

Businessweek ''Bloomberg Businessweek'', previously known as ''BusinessWeek'' (and before that ''Business Week'' and ''The Business Week''), is an American monthly business magazine published 12 times a year. The magazine debuted in New York City in Septembe ...

as one of the "25 Stars of Europe" in the category dedicated to innovators, while in 2005, he received the ''Eurostar 2005 Award'' from The Automotive News Europe, awarded to top managers who have particularly distinguished themselves in the business sectors covered by their respective automotive companies. Pininfarina died while riding a

Vespa Vespa () is an Italian brand of scooters and mopeds manufactured by Piaggio. The name means wasp in Italian. The Vespa has evolved from a single model motor scooter manufactured in 1946 by Piaggio & Co. S.p.A. of Pontedera, Italy, to a ...

near the company's headquarters in

Cambiano Cambiano () is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Turin in the Italy, Italian region Piedmont, located about southeast of Turin. Cambiano borders the following municipalities: Pino Torinese, Chieri, Pecetto Torinese, Moncalie ...

outside

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

, on the morning of 7 August 2008. According to the police, a car driven by a 78-year-old man maneuvered from a side street around a parked lorry and pulled directly in front of Pininfarina.Translation
Conditions at the time of the accident were very foggy.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pininfarina, Andrea 1957 births 2008 deaths Polytechnic University of Turin alumni Italian chief executives Italian mechanical engineers Motorcycle road incident deaths Automotive engineers from Turin Pininfarina people Road incident deaths in Italy 21st-century Italian engineers 20th-century Italian engineers