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President

Gianni Lettieri’s career milestones, from his beginnings in the textile industry to running Atitech, via Meridie, Southern Italy’s first publicly traded investment company.

1956

Behind him a career of over forty years: Gianni Lettieri, entrepreneur and company manager, is today Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Meridie S.p.A., the first investment company in Southern Italy listed on the Italian Stock Exchange, and the Chairman of Atitech S.p.A., today the largest independent MRO in the EMEA market and a leading civil and military aircraft maintenance company.
Born in Naples in 1956, Gianni Lettieri graduated as a surveyor and subsequently enrolled in the Faculty of Business Economics.

1979

In these years he began working in the commercial field on behalf of a company based in La Spezia: in 1979, together with a Lombard industrialist, he set up a new production plant for the processing of fabrics, dyeing and finishing, active in Monza (Milan) and Casandrino (Naples).

1989

It was his first entrepreneurial experience: over the years Gianni Lettieri established himself professionally in the textile and clothing sector, until he created, in 1989, the first European company specialized in the production of denim-ring fabric.

The potential of the product, effectively exploited thanks to an in-depth and farsighted knowledge of the market and strong entrepreneurial skills, soon led him to make himself known also in the United States, as confirmed by the numerous articles dedicated to him. “Giovanni Lettieri selling Denim to the Americans” headlines a prestigious magazine, retracing his professional experience.

Gianni Lettieri also arrives in India, where in 1995 he starts a joint venture with the Raymond group, setting up Raymond Calitri India, the first denim fabric production company in India. In Italy, however, three years earlier he had participated in the public auction for the privatization of Manifatture Cotoniere Meridionali, surpassing two other historic and well-known entrepreneurs from Northern Italy.

1992

From 1992 to 1997 Gianni Lettieri was one of the board director of EDIME, publisher of the newspaper “Il Mattino” of Naples. In 2000 he became President of the Union of Industrialists of the Province of Avellino. President of the Union of Industrialists of the Province of Naples from 2004 to 2008, he was reconfirmed for a further two years (in the history of the Union he is the only one to have held the presidency for six consecutive years).

In those years he has also been involved in the Southern Italy committee of national Confindustria, in the Advisory Committee of the Fund for the Promotion of Risk Capital for Southern Italy NHS Mezzogiorno SGR APA and in the national Confindustria, both within the council and the board.

These roles allow Gianni Lettieri to give voice and visibility to numerous initiatives in support of companies, young people entering the world of work and to create projects born to fight crime: the memorandum of understanding with the Ministry of the Interior for the management of companies seized from the Camorra, the “pact for legality” for the fight against extortion, the protocol with the national ABI for the suspension of mortgage installments, the “Piccoli Imprenditori” (young entrepreneurs) award for secondary school children are just some of the initiatives he promotes.

2006

In 2006, through CO.S.E.R. S.r.l., a company for the development of renewable energy to which he gives life, Gianni Lettieri enters a sector with significant growth prospects: green energy.

The following year, the entrepreneur established Meridie S.p.A. (formerly Investimenti e Sviluppo Mediterraneo S.p.A.) through the family holding company: Meridie is the first investment company in Southern Italy to be listed on the MIV segment of Italian Stock Exchange. In 2008, through Meridie, Gianni Lettieri founded MEDSOLAR S.p.A., a start-up in the “Renewable Energy” sector.

In 2009, following the acquisition of Atitech S.p.A., he became its Chariman: in 2015 he acquired the Alenia plant in Capodichino, making Atitech the largest independent maintenance company in Europe with 20 active lines (20 aircraft under construction) and 15 in parking areas.

2008

From 2008 to 2010 Gianni Lettieri was a member of the Board of Directors of Il Sole24Ore S.p.A., in 2018 he was appointed Vice President of BusinessMed, the Association of Mediterranean Confindustries. He will hold this position until 2019. In 2011 Gianni Lettieri was awarded an honorary degree in Law, specialization “Corporate Administration and Legislation”, by the Parthenope University of Naples.

2020

In 2020, on the occasion of the first Christmas since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, Gianni Lettieri promotes a solidarity initiative by making the Atitech canteen available for 50 disadvantaged families from the neighborhoods of Secondigliano, San Pietro a Patierno and Rione Sanità. Every day, during the Christmas holidays, 150 hot meals are delivered free of charge thanks to the precious contribution of the Larsec association and its volunteers.

The initiative was repeated and strengthened in the following years, with the delivery of over 200 meals a day and the extension of the distribution period. Today we are working on the hypothesis of keeping the solidarity canteen open all year round with the involvement of the Municipality of Naples and other local institutions.

2021

In May 2021, Gianni Lettieri decides to convert one of Atitech’s 10,000 square meter hangars into a vaccination hub. Over 260,000 doses are administered in six months. Over 150 personnel employed daily, 14 acceptance boxes, 32 vaccination boxes, a safety waiting area after the administration of the vaccine and free parking.

A precious initiative for the city of Naples and for the local territory which continued what Atitech had already done with the donation of 20,000 FFP2 masks to the regional health system.

2022

In November 2022, Atitech acquires the Engineering and Maintenance assets of Alitalia in extraordinary administration. The capacity of the company thus doubles: the 5 hangars at Capodichino are joined by the 4 at Fiumicino with 6 additional production lines for narrow body aircraft and 5 for wide body aircraft. The certification portfolio expands, allowing Atitech to operate on a greater number of aircraft models.

The know-how on workshop activities is growing, such as, among others, the intervention on composite materials and non-destructive testing. Line maintenance activities – i.e. the maintenance that is carried out on an aircraft on a daily basis and also during the transits between landing and subsequent take-off – increase significantly: there are now 32 airports where Atitech offers this type of service to its customers: 21 in Italy and 11 abroad, in Europe, Africa, the Middle East, Asia and South America.


Throughout his career, Gianni Lettieri has been the recipient of various awards: the Mediterranean Economy and Business Award, which the Fondazione Mediterraneo awarded him for the goals achieved in the management of the Union of Industrialists of Naples; the Guido Dorso Prize XXIX Edition, awarded by the President of the Republic in 2008 in the Senate for the tenacity shown in the actions aimed at removing the obstacles that hold back the development of the southern area; the Golden Heart Award (2010-2011, Center Angels); the Masaniello Prize (2009, AIGE, European Youth Information Association).
Reading, music and Neapolitan tailoring are some of the passions that Gianni Lettieri cultivates in his free time, spent with his wife, three children and grandchildren.

Passionate about sports and, in particular, jogging, he took part in the New York Marathon, completing it with an excellent time.