ROME, GA – Leopoldo Pirelli, former president of his family’s business, died yesterday afternoon at his home in Portofino, Italy. He was 81.

Born in 1925 in Velate Varesino (Varese), Pirelli graduated in mechanical engineering from the Politecnico di Milano when he was 25 and immediately entered the business founded in 1872 by his grandfather Giovanni Battista Pirelli. Leopoldo became president of Pirelli SpA in 1965, leading the company through some of its most successful years as the Pirelli Cinturato became a world-wide icon within the industry.

Leopoldo Pirelli is survived by his son Alberto and daughter Cecilia.