Patrizio Bertelli (born 6 April 1946) is an Italian businessman and former co-chief executive officer (

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 Prada Group, a role he shared with his wife

Miuccia Prada Miuccia Bianchi Prada (; born Maria Bianchi on 10 May 1949) is an Italian billionaire fashion designer and businesswoman. She is the head designer of Prada and the founder of its subsidiary Miu Miu. As of October 2021, ''Forbes'' estimated her n ...

Life and career

Born in the Tuscan city of

Arezzo Arezzo ( , ; ) is a city and ''comune'' in Italy and the capital of the Province of Arezzo, province of the same name located in Tuscany. Arezzo is about southeast of Florence at an elevation of Above mean sea level, above sea level. As of 2 ...

in 1946, Patrizio Bertelli started his career in the leather goods industry before transitioning to the luxury sector. At age 21, while attending university, he founded Sir Robert, a small leather goods company. In 1978, Bertelli met

, granddaughter of

Mario Prada Mario Prada (died in 1958) was the founder and original designer of the fashion label Prada, a company specializing in many high-fashion goods for men and women, including shoes, handbags, luggage, and leather goods. Prada was founded in 1913. ...

, founder of the

Prada Prada S.p.A. (, ; ) is an Italian luxury fashion house founded in 1913 in Milan by Mario Prada. It specializes in leather handbags, travel accessories, shoes, ready-to-wear, and other fashion accessories. Prada licenses its name and branding ...

brand. Their professional relationship later evolved into marriage. In the 1980s, Bertelli introduced changes to Prada's production processes, aiming to improve quality control and efficiency in the luxury goods sector. These changes played a role in the company’s expansion during the 1980s and 1990s. In the late 1990s, Bertelli and Miuccia Prada collaborated with architects such as

Rem Koolhaas Remment Lucas Koolhaas (; born 17 November 1944) is a Dutch architect, architectural theory, architectural theorist, urbanist and Professor in Practice of Architecture and Urban Design at the Harvard Graduate School of Design, Graduate School of ...

and

Herzog & de Meuron Herzog & de Meuron Basel Ltd. is an international architecture firm headquartered in Basel, Switzerland, with additional offices in Berlin, Hong Kong, London, Munich, New York City, Paris, and San Francisco. Founded in 1978 by Jacques Herzog and ...

to launch the "Prada Epicentres" project. As of 2023, Bertelli is co-chief executive officer of the Prada Group, which includes

Miu Miu Miu Miu is an Italian high fashion women's clothing and accessory brand and a fully owned subsidiary of Prada. It is headed by Miuccia Prada and headquartered in Milan, Italy. Silvia Onofri is its CEO. History Miu Miu was established in 1992 ...

, Church’s,

Car Shoe The Original Car Shoe, or simply Car Shoe, is an Italian high fashion brand owned by Prada. Early years Car Shoe was founded in 1963 by Gianni Mostile. The brand soon became best known for its signature moccasin which feature tiny rubber nubs. ...

, and Marchesi 1824. As of May 2025, his net worth was estimated at US$5.4 billion.

Awards and honours

In 2000, Bertelli was awarded an

honorary degree An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or '' ad hon ...

by the

University of Florence The University of Florence ( Italian: ''Università degli Studi di Firenze'') (in acronym UNIFI) is an Italian public research university located in Florence, Italy. It comprises 12 schools and has around 50,000 students enrolled. History The f ...

. In 2013, ''

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine founded by B. C. Forbes in 1917. It has been owned by the Hong Kong–based investment group Integrated Whale Media Investments since 2014. Its chairman and editor-in-chief is Steve Forbes. The co ...

'' included Bertelli and his wife among the most "influential" couples in the world. On 29 June 2012, Bertelli became the first Italian inducted into the

America's Cup Hall of Fame The America's Cup Hall of Fame, located at the Herreshoff Marine Museum of Bristol, Rhode Island, USA, honors individuals for outstanding achievement in the America's Cup sailing competition. Candidates eligible for consideration include skippers ...

Further interests

Bertelli and his wife co-founded

Fondazione Prada Fondazione Prada, co-chaired by Miuccia Prada and Patrizio Bertelli since 1995, is an institution dedicated to contemporary art and culture. From 1993 to 2010, the Fondazione has organised 24 solo shows at its exhibition spaces in Milan, concei ...

in 1993. In 1997, Bertelli established the sailing team Prada Challenge to compete in the America’s Cup 2000.

Personal life

Patrizio Bertelli and Miuccia Prada have two children, Giulio and Lorenzo, and reside in

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

, Italy. Lorenzo Bertelli holds key ownership stakes in the Prada Group.

References

External links

Prada GroupFondazione Prada
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bertelli, Patrizio 1946 births Living people Italian businesspeople in fashion Italian billionaires Italian chief executives Businesspeople from Milan Prada