“Giancarlo Michellone: From Antiskid to the CRF and AREA TS: a 40-year career on the forefront of cutting-edge innovation … in collaboration with various organisations, both public and private.”

Giancarlo Michellone

As a mechanical engineer, Giancarlo Michellone entered FIAT towards the end of 1966

From 1971 to 1975, he headed up a group of Italian engineers from FIAT working on the use of ABS to American and French vehicles.
His Antiskid patents, now known as ABS, were not yet regulated by contemporary Italian legislation, and were therefore sold to companies outside of the FIAT group. Upon his return to Italy and the Centro Ricerche Fiat (CRF), the newly founded FIAT research centre, he focused on starting up business initiatives, even in the fields of alternative energies and bioconversion of urban waste, as well as environmental and agricultural engineering.

From 1979, while in IVECO, he dealt with the development of international alliances and, in 1980, become the Executive Director of Rockwell CVC, an Italian-American joint venture with plants and markets throughout Europe.
In 1984, he founded the Direzione Innovazione di Fiat Auto (FIAT Auto Innovation Office), even managing a research centre in Tokyo – and later assumed responsibility for Product Management.
In 1990, he became the Executive Director of the Centro Ricerche Fiat.
In 2004, he entered the Executive Committee for relaunching the FIAT Group, dealing with research and innovation groupwide. He was also President of the CRF and on the Board of Directors of Fiat Auto as Delegate for the environment and safety.
In 2007, Giancarlo became the CEO of the AREA Science Park in Trieste where, among other things, he launched the Enerplan project (eight innovative plants for renewable energy),  co-financed by the Italian Ministry of the Environment.
In these 4 years, he founded branch offices in the Italian regions of Basilicata, Campania, Sicilia, and Calabria, as well as established international connections with the USA and Eastern Europe.

In 2008, the Italian Ministry for Economic Development nominated him Project Manager of the nationwide «Industria 2015» project.
In 2009, the Italian Ministry of Education, Universities, and Research put him at the helm of a working group to draft the National Research Plan (PNR 2011-2013).
He also collaborated with the  Italian Ministry of Education, Universities, and Research and the Ministry of Innovation for the computerization of the Public Administration (Project i2012).
He holds 139 patents, has been granted honorary degrees in economics from the Polytechnic of Warsaw and the University of Udine, and has held various other positions, including: President of the European consulting group, EAG (External Advisory Group DGXII/UE) for Minister Busquin. He has also served as the President of the  ”Associazione Tecnica dell’Auto”, President of the Gruppo Dirigenti Fiat, on the Board of Directors di Marelli Autronica, Alfa Lancia S.p.a., Iveco, Fiat Auto, Fiat Avio, UTS/Comau, Illy Caffè, the General Scientific Council of the CNR (National Research Council),  of ENEA, and more.

To contact Giancarlo Michellone directly, write to:  giancarlo.michellone@gcmconsulting.it