John Elkann quotes

I learnt not to be desperate in bad times and am learning not to be bullish when times are good. (John Elkann)

As an entrepreneur you have responsibilities in trying to operate well in what you have to do. There is a positive effect if you end up doing that. That's where I try to spend most of my efforts.

John Elkann

I am a big believer of what Darwin discovered in the Galapagos, proving that the species most responsive to change will survive over apparently stronger or more intelligent competitors.

John Elkann

The lesson I have learnt is that when a family and a business function, they function together. You have to have a family that works and a business that works and the two will end up working well alongside.

John Elkann

I'm interested in avoiding two types of behaviour [in my children]: one is the sense of guilt and the other is a sense of entitlement. If these two are avoided, then the rest is up to them.

John Elkann

Artists have a sensibility that others don't have. They have a way of reading into the future.

John Elkann

I was born in New York, then I went to the UK, then I went to Brazil, then I went to France, then I studied in Italy. My life was always about being confronted with an environment where you had to adapt.

John Elkann

Many things are linked to being able to live with uncertainty, ...with paradoxes. But this can be a strength of an organisation and a situation.

John Elkann

John was in exactly the right place at the right time to understand manufacturing at its deepest level - at a cellular level. His apprenticeship culminated in an insight that was critical to Fiat's survival. He noticed a persistent gap between what happens on the factory floor of, say, a headlight plant in Birmingham, and what information filters up to headquarters.

John Elkann

LaStampa has always been a free newspaper because of its economical sustainability, and we're proud of it. It's the only way for a newspaper to be independent.

John Elkann

He is extremely intelligent and has a great sense of responsibility. I've seen, in the past few years, he has managed several crises with extreme dignity and wisdom. (John Elkann)

Re-structuring and modernizing a media business in the current environment is a challenge; if anybody can make it work in Italy, that is John. He has vision with no illusion, a great passion for Italy, a set of principles rooted in tradition, which helps him being an innovator, and has a great business sense about opportunities.” Robert Thomson La Dolce Vita dei Media, Air Mail, October 2020.

John Elkann