Lamborghini has appointed Francesco Milicia as its new marketing director, handing him charge of the brand’s marketing across the markets it serves. He takes up the post in September, with the appointment following Christian Mastro’s move to become chief executive of Automobili Lamborghini America. The decision places a seasoned operator at the centre of one of the leading names in luxury super sports cars.
His arrival comes at a busy time for the Sant’Agata Bolognese company, which has moved its entire range onto hybrid power within two years. Marketing now has the task of taking that change to buyers who value the badge for its performance, its design and the feeling it stirs. Milicia’s route to the role sits a little apart from the usual marketing path, and that difference is part of what makes the choice interesting.
An engineer by training who has spent much of his working life in operations, sales and international management, he brings a picture of the business that runs from the factory to the showroom floor. A good deal of that experience was gained in Asia, where he built much of his understanding of how international markets work. His record suggests someone at ease with both the product and the numbers behind it.
Marketing Leadership
The appointment forms part of a wider reshaping of senior roles at the company. Mastro’s departure for the top job in the Americas opens the marketing seat, and Milicia steps in to lead the brand’s global marketing strategy and support its standing across international markets. His work will centre on turning the values of the company into marketing that sharpens its distinctiveness, its steady flow of innovation and the bond it holds with customers and enthusiasts worldwide.
“We welcome Francesco Milicia to Lamborghini as Marketing Director, his managerial experience, gained in an environment of excellence such as Ducati, combined with the international vision and strategic expertise he has developed throughout his career, will make a valuable contribution to the further strengthening of the brand’s positioning and to supporting the development of our global marketing strategy.”
Federico Foschini, Chief Marketing & Sales Officer, Lamborhini
A Career Built Between Europe and Asia
Milicia comes to the marque from Ducati, the motorcycle maker held within the Volkswagen Group. He began his working life at the company in its operations area, then spent a long period abroad. From 2005 to 2012 he held a series of managerial positions in China within a multinational group, a stretch that gave him a close reading of how international markets behave.
He returned to Ducati at the end of 2012 as managing director of Ducati Motor Thailand, where he led the introduction of an advanced vertical production process. A move back to Italy came in 2015, when he joined the Ducati board of management as purchasing director. Three years later, in 2018, he took on global responsibility for the company’s sales and after-sales activities, broadening his view of how the business reaches its customers.
An engineer’s route into marketing
His education runs from engineering into business. He holds a degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Bologna alongside a Master of Business Administration, and he completed executive courses across Europe and China at INSEAD, CEIBS and the London Business School. That mix of technical and commercial study fits a career that has moved between the two.
The choice of a leader with this profile makes sense on its own terms. A person who has managed production, purchasing and sales understands the product and the economics that sit beneath it, which gives marketing a firm base to build on. Foschini’s remarks made the same case, linking Milicia’s managerial record and international outlook to the task of strengthening how the brand sits in the market.
Selling the hybrid era
The company Milicia joins has moved its whole line-up to hybrid power, a change that reshapes how each model reaches the market. Founded in 1963 in Sant’Agata Bolognese, near Bologna, it has built its name on luxury super sports cars and a 100% Italian identity, with motorsport working as both a testing ground and a public face for the brand. Its past runs through the Miura, Countach, Diablo and Aventador, along with limited editions such as the Sesto Elemento and Fenomeno, cars that held their value through rarity, personalisation and craftsmanship.
Today the range sits across three families. The Revuelto is the first HPEV to use a V12 engine, the Urus SE is the first plug-in hybrid Super SUV, and the Temerario is the benchmark V8 HPEV in its class, with harder-edged versions such as the Urus SE Performante drawn from the same lines. Reaching buyers for these cars is where the marketing work now sits, and it will fall to Milicia to shape it.
“Joining Automobili Lamborghini is an honour and a privilege, I have always admired the brand and I am thrilled to contribute to the journey of a company that inspires people around the world through innovation, audacity and uncompromising excellence. I look forward to working alongside the Lamborghini team, learning from their experience and contributing together to writing the next chapter of the brand’s growth and success.”
Francesco Milicia, Marketing Director, Lamborghini