Barilla has announced that Claudio Colzani will be stepping down as CEO in 2023, after ten years at the helm of the pasta producer.

The position will be taken over by Gianluca Di Tondo, former chief marketing officer for the company, in April next year.

Guido Barilla, chairman of Barilla, said: “I’d like to thank Claudio for these ten years we’ve spent together. He has provided us with significant growth and has solidified the Barilla Group to a great extent…Claudio has achieved major development in international markets and, at the same time, has invested in a pathway of sustainability. He has also created a more inclusive culture of valuing diversity.”

Barilla added: “With his vision and experience, Gianluca Di Tondo will drive the company through the transformation process required to become even more competitive on the international scene”. 

Soon-to-be CEO Di Tondo commented: “I’m incredibly happy, proud and grateful to the board of directors for this honour”.  

He continued: “I can definitely see three main priorities at the top of my agenda: to strengthen our brands even further in Italy and make them even better ambassadors of the Italian way of enjoying food around the world; to continue to nurture our values and diversity, to further improve the sense of belonging among our people and attract new talent; for our consumers all over the world to acknowledge us as the most trusted food company”.

Di Tondo has over 25 years of experience in the food and beverage industry, from positions in both sales and marketing. In March 2020, he joined Barilla as chief marketing officer.