Cycle World is reporting that Massimo Bordi has retired from his post as CEO of MV Agusta, as his contract has not been extended by the Italian motorcycle maker. If you recall, Bordi was brought into MV Agusta by the late Claudio Castiglioni, after the Castiglioni family bought MV Agusta from Harley-Davidson.
Making his son Giovanni Castiglioni President of the company, and Bordi the CEO of MV Agusta, many saw Claudio Castiglioni’s choices in management appointments as a way to help ensure that there was a steady hand was on the wheel as the young Giovanni learned the ropes of his father’s business.
So, for many involved with the company in Italy, Bordi’s departure is perhaps less of a surprise than it is a natural and expected evolution at MV Agusta. For many outside of Italy, who are not caught up in the romanticism of the brand, the news could require a bit more than a casual glance though.
In many ways, MV Agusta is operating on the final bullet points of Harley Davidson’s game plan for the Italian brand. With product development cycles taking years to come to fruition, much of what we have seen from MV in the past few years was pitched during the company’s ownership by the goof folk in Milwaukee — most notably the MV Agusta F3 675, MV Agusta Brutale 675, and MV Agusta Rivale 800 owe their existence to Harley-Davidson.
Modernizing its operations, and clearing its debt, Harley-Davison is immensely responsible for the current state of MV Agusta, though the American company is reaping few of those rewards (we would still argue that the Harely’s circling the wagons around its core brand was the correct business move at the time).
With the plans set in motion by Harley-Davidson’s now reaching their realization, the next chapter of MV Agusta will come from its current leaders. Bordi’s influence will certainly be there, and their is a wealth of experience that comes from the former Ducati CEO. However, we think the coming years will surely be marked as Giovanni’s reign at MV Agusta.
Now officially in charge, it will be interesting to see what the 33-year-old CEO does with the iconic motorcycle brand.
Source: Cycle World
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