Business that “gives back”
A book has just been published that effectively recounts the life of Giovanni Cottino
Give back and do business. Look after others and make a profit. Be strict yet generous. Create wealth in a non-selfish way. These are attitudes shared by many more entrepreneurs than you might think. But they are attitudes that, when well communicated and therefore well known, educate, surprise, and excite. And maybe encourage others to do the same. The attitudes of teachers. Perhaps this is why Francesco Antonioli’s latest literary work is entitled “Il maestro silenzioso. Giovanni Cottino (1927-2022): l’imprenditore che ha saputo «restituire»”. (“The silent teacher. Giovanni Cottino (1927-2022): the entrepreneur who knew how to “give back”). Antonioli, for years a distinguished economic journalist at Sole 24 Ore and now a careful observer of the latest developments in economic and local news, wanted to tell the story of an entrepreneur who is on one hand unique and on the other exemplary of a large category people who are public-spirited.
Giovanni Cottino was an engineer turned philanthropist who demonstrated that profit and social commitment can coexist. Described by many as the enlightened entrepreneur of Turin, Cottino is held up as an example to those who wish to combine transparency, generosity and work ethic. Antonioli’s book describes how, from nothing, Cottino created one of the world’s largest manufacturers of components for household appliances, a group that, between the 1970s and 1990s, became a world leader in the “white goods” sector in Turin, a city dedicated to the automobile industry. After a life dedicated to manufacturing, Cottino then guided his grandchildren and great-grandchildren towards what is now called venture philanthropy – that is, giving back – by asking them to run the Giovanni and Annamaria Cottino Foundation. The purpose was to “give back” to the local area the best of what you had received in life.
Cottino is therefore a “silent teacher”, one of those individuals who have kept Italy afloat and who can still show public and private decision-makers a convincing way to build the common good. And you can understand this by reading Francesco Antonioli’s charming pages, where essays alternate with personal testimonies, economic news with the history of a company.
Il maestro silenzioso. Giovanni Cottino (1927-2022): l’imprenditore che ha saputo «restituire»
Francesco Antonioli
GueriniNEXT, 2025
A book has just been published that effectively recounts the life of Giovanni Cottino
Give back and do business. Look after others and make a profit. Be strict yet generous. Create wealth in a non-selfish way. These are attitudes shared by many more entrepreneurs than you might think. But they are attitudes that, when well communicated and therefore well known, educate, surprise, and excite. And maybe encourage others to do the same. The attitudes of teachers. Perhaps this is why Francesco Antonioli’s latest literary work is entitled “Il maestro silenzioso. Giovanni Cottino (1927-2022): l’imprenditore che ha saputo «restituire»”. (“The silent teacher. Giovanni Cottino (1927-2022): the entrepreneur who knew how to “give back”). Antonioli, for years a distinguished economic journalist at Sole 24 Ore and now a careful observer of the latest developments in economic and local news, wanted to tell the story of an entrepreneur who is on one hand unique and on the other exemplary of a large category people who are public-spirited.
Giovanni Cottino was an engineer turned philanthropist who demonstrated that profit and social commitment can coexist. Described by many as the enlightened entrepreneur of Turin, Cottino is held up as an example to those who wish to combine transparency, generosity and work ethic. Antonioli’s book describes how, from nothing, Cottino created one of the world’s largest manufacturers of components for household appliances, a group that, between the 1970s and 1990s, became a world leader in the “white goods” sector in Turin, a city dedicated to the automobile industry. After a life dedicated to manufacturing, Cottino then guided his grandchildren and great-grandchildren towards what is now called venture philanthropy – that is, giving back – by asking them to run the Giovanni and Annamaria Cottino Foundation. The purpose was to “give back” to the local area the best of what you had received in life.
Cottino is therefore a “silent teacher”, one of those individuals who have kept Italy afloat and who can still show public and private decision-makers a convincing way to build the common good. And you can understand this by reading Francesco Antonioli’s charming pages, where essays alternate with personal testimonies, economic news with the history of a company.
Il maestro silenzioso. Giovanni Cottino (1927-2022): l’imprenditore che ha saputo «restituire»
Francesco Antonioli
GueriniNEXT, 2025