Short Bio
Chairman, illycaffè S.p.A.
Andrea Illy is Chairman of illycaffè S.p.A., a company founded in Trieste in 1933 by Francesco Illy with the mission of offering the best coffee in the world. He served as CEO for twenty-two years and represents the third generation of the Illy family from Trieste.
He is Chair of the Regenerative Society Foundation, established in 2020 with the aim of engaging as many businesses as possible in the transition toward a new regenerative socio-economic development model.
He served as Chairman of Fondazione Altagamma (2013–2019).
Since 2013, he has been a member of the Superior Council of the Bank of Italy, and since 2022, Chairman of the Identity and Image Committee.
He is also Chairman of the International Advisory Board of the Trieste Laboratory on Quantitative Sustainability (LTSQ) and, since September 2023, a member of The Club of Rome.
Among his many accolades: Entrepreneur of the Year (Ernst & Young, 2004), Capo d'Orlando 2013, and Guido Carli Award 2014.
In 2018, he was awarded the title of Cavaliere del Lavoro by the President of the Italian Republic, and in 2021, he received the Leonardo Prize in the presence of the President.
He holds a degree in Chemistry from the University of Trieste, an Executive Master's from SDA Bocconi in Milan, and completed the Advanced Management Program at Harvard Business School. He studied Total Quality Management in Japan, Innovation at MIT in Boston, Exponential Technologies at Singularity University, and Complexity Science at the University of Oxford.
As one of the world’s leading coffee experts, he has held numerous roles:
In 2018, he published Italia Felix (Piemme) and co-edited with Marco Fortis Altagamma: Strategie per l’Italia d’Eccellenza (Skira).
He is Chair of the Regenerative Society Foundation, established in 2020 with the aim of engaging as many businesses as possible in the transition toward a new regenerative socio-economic development model.
He served as Chairman of Fondazione Altagamma (2013–2019).
Since 2013, he has been a member of the Superior Council of the Bank of Italy, and since 2022, Chairman of the Identity and Image Committee.
He is also Chairman of the International Advisory Board of the Trieste Laboratory on Quantitative Sustainability (LTSQ) and, since September 2023, a member of The Club of Rome.
Among his many accolades: Entrepreneur of the Year (Ernst & Young, 2004), Capo d'Orlando 2013, and Guido Carli Award 2014.
In 2018, he was awarded the title of Cavaliere del Lavoro by the President of the Italian Republic, and in 2021, he received the Leonardo Prize in the presence of the President.
He holds a degree in Chemistry from the University of Trieste, an Executive Master's from SDA Bocconi in Milan, and completed the Advanced Management Program at Harvard Business School. He studied Total Quality Management in Japan, Innovation at MIT in Boston, Exponential Technologies at Singularity University, and Complexity Science at the University of Oxford.
As one of the world’s leading coffee experts, he has held numerous roles:
- President of ASIC (1999–2014),
- Board Member and Chairman of the Sustainability Committee of D.E. Master Blenders 1753 (2012–2013),
- Chairman of the Promotion and Market Development Committee of the International Coffee Organization (2012–2015), where he led the largest celebration in coffee history during EXPO Milano 2015.
In 2018, he published Italia Felix (Piemme) and co-edited with Marco Fortis Altagamma: Strategie per l’Italia d’Eccellenza (Skira).
