The European Business Press Federation (EBP), an association of Europe’s leading economic and finance publications, has named Luca di Montezemolo “European Manager of the Year” for 2012 during its annual meeting at Como.

The EBP, which celebrates its 50th anniversary this year, is made up of 48 of Europe’s leading business newspapers and magazines from 27 nations. Its members include The Wall Street Journal Europe, Handelsblatt, Les Echos, and Milano Finanza amongst others.

The “European Manager of the Year” award has been in existence since 1991 and is chosen by direct vote of the editors of the European Business Press Federation’s member publications. Luca di Montezemolo was selected because of the extraordinary work he has done in his 20 years as Chairman of Ferrari, work that has radically transformed the company and turned it into one of the world’s most famous and successful brands.

During the presentation ceremony, Mr Montezemolo was described as having completely renovated the Ferrari range, returned the Formula 1 team to victory and obtained incredible commercial results that doubled revenues yet retained the brand’s signature exclusivity, since 1991. Another achievement mentioned was his successful geographical expansion of Ferrari’s markets with the result that it is now present in 60 countries worldwide.

Mr Montezemolo’s work to improve the quality of life of workers at the Maranello facility was also lauded during the ceremony. The Ferrari factory has now become a symbol of excellence in that regard, thanks to its new employee-oriented production areas which were designed by leading architects and the services it offers its staff and their families. These achievements have already won Ferrari the title of Best Place to Work in Europe, in fact.

The award has been presented also because of his entrepreneurial activities in his role as President of NTV, the first private train company in Italy operating high-speed rail services, as well as of the Charme fund, controlling prestigious brands in the Italian design sector (Poltrona Frau, Cappellini), but also leader in the biomedical field and in telediagnosis of traffic data.