Guido Barilla

Guido Barilla was born on 30 July 1958 in Milan, Italy.He studied in the United States and in Italy, where he studied Philosophy at the Università Statale di Milano.

He started his career in 1982 in the sales department of Barilla France. In 1986, he became a senior manager and led the international expansion of the company. In 1988 he became Barilla deputy chairman, and since October 1993 has been the chairman.

Since 2009, he has been chairman of the Barilla Center for Food & Nutrition, now the BCFN Foundation.

In 2013, he caused outrage when he stated that Barilla's advertising would only use the "classic family", and that "For us the concept of the sacred family remains one of the basic values of the company". This led to widespread calls for a consumer boycott. The negative reaction led to change, and a year later, Barilla received a top rating from the Human Rights Campaign's list of employers who are LGBT-friendly.

In 2015, Barilla became a part owner of the phoenix club Parma Calcio 1913

In May 2019, he was awarded the title Knight of the Order of Merit for Labour.