Throughout his long, prestigious career, the mantra of one of Italy’s most visionary company executives, Paolo Fresco, was simple. Known as “the American” in his home country and internationally as “Mr. Globalization”, he believed that “you must not appear to be too cunning or too aggressive. You win together, it is the ‘win-win’ that works”, something he practiced successfully in his business negotiations.
Born in Milan on July 12, 1932, Fresco grew up and was educated in Genoa. He attended the Andrea D’Oria classical high school, together with other Genoese companions who would also become famous including the Villaggio twins, Paolo and Piero, and musicians, Fabrizio De André and Gino Paoli. He graduated university there with a law degree and began his career as a maritime lawyer with the Lefebvre D’Ovidio firm in Genoa, followed by a move to Rome. Liguria would always remain important for him and he would later buy a second home in Portofino, which he called “the place of my heart”.
Through his father’s colleague, he joined the legal department of the CGE (Compagnia Generale di Elettricità S.p.A.) aged 28. His big break came in 1991, leading the way to his ascent to global renown. He moved to General Electric, the parent company of CGE, where he was promoted as vice chairman of GE’s New York headquarters, becoming the right-hand man to Jack Welch (1935-2020), the president and CEO of General Electric from 1981 until 2001. Under Fresco’s guidance, the Florentine factory of Nuovo Pignone was acquired by General Electric in 1993. As Eugenio Giani, the president of the Tuscany Region, said after Fresco’s death at 93 on July 12, 2026, “Fresco did not limit himself to saving the factory. He had the vision to reposition a provincial asset, making it a global keystone in the energy sector. Under his aegis, Tuscan excellence became a local treasure and a global standard, guaranteeing innovation and employment stability that continues to this day.”
Fresco was in his mid-sixties when he received another challenging proposal in 1998, at a time when other executives of his age were probably contemplating a comfortable retirement. Instead, he had answered a phone call from Gianni Agnelli, the chairman of the Fiat Auto group, which was experiencing a serious financial crisis. It was urgently in need of reorganization, reconstruction and new, dynamic business strategies. As Fiat chairman from 1998 until 2003, Fresco engineered a joint venture agreement with the U.S. group General Motors in 2000, which provided Fiat with the economic breathing space it required, as well as opening it up with a global approach to corporate affairs. The agreement remained in place until 2005.
After his time at Fiat came to an end, Fresco retired with his Mauritius-born wife of French origin and former Dior model, Marie Edmée Jacquilin, known as Marlene. Their home was Villa Allodola, in Fiesole, where Fresco enjoyed playing chess and producing award-winning olive oil. But most of his energy was devoted to the Paolo and Marlene Fresco Foundation for research into a cure for Parkinson’s disease from which his wife suffered. The couple founded and backed it financially primarily by themselves. Due to his extensive contacts, the charity became part of the network of excellence connected to the American Parkinson’s Foundation, but Marlene died of complications related to the illness in 2015.
Casa Parkinson soon followed, a model clinic for the comprehensive care of Parkinson’s patients, their families and caregivers, based on collaboration between the public and private sectors, comprising the Paolo and Marlene Fresco Foundation, the Tuscany Region, the local health authority for central Tuscany and the Fondazione CR Firenze.
Fresco’s funeral was held in the San Romolo Cathedral in Fiesole and was attended by members of Florence city council, which had awarded him with the Keys of the City earlier in the year. Other leading members of the financial and business worlds were also present, including the Agnelli heir, John Elkin, whom Fresco had mentored during his time at Fiat. After his cremation, Paolo Fresco was laid to rest alongside his beloved wife in the family chapel in Sant’Apollinare in Fiesole.
