Days ahead of the planned release of a new retro-inspired Ferrari, a key personnel at Ferrari’s Maranello base had decided to step away. 

Ferrari CEO Benedetto Vigna was at a dealer conference in Las Vegas, and he dropped hints of a special Ferrari lineup for its release on July 4th to coincide with American Independence Day. 

Ferrari’s leadership hinted that the upcoming model will blend elements of the brand’s heritage with modern technology. There are also murmurs around a manual-transmission version of the Ferrari 12Cilindri powering the latest  Ferrari. 

While the excitement around the upcoming launch grabbed the spotlight, there was a change happening in Ferrari’s corporate ladder with Massimiliano Di Silvestre taking over as Chief Marketing and Commercial Officer from July 1, as Enrico Galliera ends his 16-year-long tenure with the Italian carmaker. 

The Ferrari released a statement that read, “Massimiliano Di Silvestre will succeed Enrico Galliera, who, after more than sixteen years at Ferrari, has decided to embark on a new chapter in his professional journey — a decision shared with the Company some time ago.”

Along with the announcement of the news of Ferrari hiring former BMW Italy CEO Massimiliano Di Silvestere, came a quote from Ferrari CEO Benedetto Vigna.

Vigna said, “I would like to thank Enrico for the extraordinary contribution he has made to Ferrari throughout his long career. With passion and expertise, he has played a significant role in the Company’s growth and in strengthening the Ferrari brand worldwide. He has the gratitude of the entire Ferrari team and my personal best wishes for the future.”

While reasons behind Galliera’s departure have been noted as personal, there is an eerie feeling that someone needed to take the fall for the Luce, which has seen Ferrari shares plunge 8 per cent in a single day. 

While Galliera exits, it is expected that his successor comes with the right skill sets to revamp Ferrari’s electric car game as EU regulators press on for automobile companies to cut back on their emissions. 

Who is Massimiliano Di Silvestre?

Ferrari is in the process of figuring out how best it can capture the EV market, and what happened with the Luce has given them a reality check that just because it’s Ferrari doesn’t mean it will work. 

Enter Massimiliano Di Silvestre, who doesn’t just bring an outside perspective but also a dearth of experience in the luxury EV market.  

Di Silvestre, according to BMWblog, is a University of Bologna graduate in Economics and Business who first joined BMW in 2001. He has held various roles with the German carmaker’s operations in Italy and Hungary. 

Di Silvestre left BMW in 2009 and rejoined in 2012 and has donned multiple hats, including a dual role as BMW Italy’s CEO and President, a role he assumed in 2019 and left at the end of May 2026. 

At the time of his departure, it was unknown where Di Silvestre would head next, and that has just been cleared up by Ferrari’s announcement. 

Ferrari CEO Benedetto Vigna said, “I am pleased to welcome Massimiliano to Ferrari. Hos international experience and leadership will be an important asset as we guide the company into its next phase of growth.”

It is assumed that Di Silvestre’s first call to action will be to clear up the bad press surrounding the Luce before taking charge of the next line of EV’s to come out of Maranello. 

Do you think Ferrari can up their EV game?

Read more at Motor Culture!

Written by

Debrup Chaudhuri

Edited by

Suyashdeep Sason