Diego Graffi: An Industry Expert Turning Challenges Into Opportunities
Diego Graffi
Chairman & Managing Director
Over course of half a decade Diego Graffi has successfully furthered Piaggio into a distinguished motor vehicle manufacturing with a dextrous team. Today it is a trusted company with passionate employees delivering innovative products and quality experiences, creating value for stake holders.
In an interview with CEO Insights Asia, Graffi highlights the distinctive details of his journey and how he is redefining corporate performance in the automobile sector through his expertise.
Describe your leadership style and what has been your success mantra.
The ability to adapt and pivot is key to achieving any success. Primarily, your instincts and habits will always impact how you lead, and I don’t think any particular leadership style triumphs over the other. As a leader, one needs to embrace different styles for different situations.
Empower your team, provide them
with the needed resources, support them and correct them when deviating fr om goals. A leader is measured not on how good he is in his work, but on how good he is in making his team perform. Challenge always your limits and the limits of your team, motivate them to outperform always, and reward them when they overcome their goals be creative, always.
What are the fundamental factors you look into when developing effective corporate growth strategies?
Any good growth strategy should be coherent with the company’s mission and legacy. Some key factors that should be taken into consideration while undertaking such an exercise are:
Investing capital and its expected return on investment in a favourable time frame Developing an acquisition plan to explore new opportunities and create multiple revenue streams Envisioning potential conflicts of new businesses with the current portfolio and having a plan to mitigate issues Leveraging the power of brands to drive growth Actively contributing to policies for sustained growth of the industry. And, encouraging learning and equipping personnel with the required skill set to follow through with the strategy.
How are you helping the company stay afloat in the international market? What are the measures you have been implementing to uphold CSR?
Our state-of-the-art Baramati plant manufactures and exports our ICE products to approximately 50 countries in the world. We have also begun the export of our 3-wheeler EVs to the international markets and are happy with the positive response
What are the fundamental factors you look into when developing effective corporate growth strategies?
Any good growth strategy should be coherent with the company’s mission and legacy. Some key factors that should be taken into consideration while undertaking such an exercise are:
Investing capital and its expected return on investment in a favourable time frame Developing an acquisition plan to explore new opportunities and create multiple revenue streams Envisioning potential conflicts of new businesses with the current portfolio and having a plan to mitigate issues Leveraging the power of brands to drive growth Actively contributing to policies for sustained growth of the industry. And, encouraging learning and equipping personnel with the required skill set to follow through with the strategy.
How are you helping the company stay afloat in the international market? What are the measures you have been implementing to uphold CSR?
Our state-of-the-art Baramati plant manufactures and exports our ICE products to approximately 50 countries in the world. We have also begun the export of our 3-wheeler EVs to the international markets and are happy with the positive response
we are receiving.
We have a robust CSR function that works towards community upliftment, environment, healthcare, and education. Our CSR team has dedicatedly with a resourceful outlook reached out to the necessitous to help and enhance their lives. Our purpose as a firm is to help create a positive and uplifting change in the communities, in which we operate. We continue to pursue the goal of being an economically and socially responsible corporate.
Where are you headed in the next five years and what are the impacts you strive to create through your future goals?
We are extremely focused on the future and the direction we wish to take for Piaggio Vehicles in India. We continue to be a fuel agnostic brand with Apé and aim to be the leader in last mile mobility through innovation and technological development. We are also excited about the opportunities we see in the business of export of our products. With EVs, we are already the market leader in the L5 category and aim to continue our dominance through product prowess. For our iconic Vespa and sporty Aprilia, we are working towards becoming a prominent player in the category through exclusive product introductions.
Diego Graffi, Chairman and Managing Director Piaggio Vehicles (India)
Graffi began his career with Fiat Automobiles in Torino, Italy and after a decade long stint with Fiat, he joined Moto Guzzi in 2005. In 2006, he joined Piaggio as the Head of Vehicle Purchasing by 2012, Graffi was the Global Purchasing Head for the entire Piaggio Group. As Chairman and Managing Director of Piaggio Vehicles Pvt. Ltd India since 2017 he is responsible for the overall business development, exports to over 50 countries, and India operations of the iconic Vespa and Aprilia brands, as well as Apé.
We have a robust CSR function that works towards community upliftment, environment, healthcare, and education. Our CSR team has dedicatedly with a resourceful outlook reached out to the necessitous to help and enhance their lives. Our purpose as a firm is to help create a positive and uplifting change in the communities, in which we operate. We continue to pursue the goal of being an economically and socially responsible corporate.
Where are you headed in the next five years and what are the impacts you strive to create through your future goals?
We are extremely focused on the future and the direction we wish to take for Piaggio Vehicles in India. We continue to be a fuel agnostic brand with Apé and aim to be the leader in last mile mobility through innovation and technological development. We are also excited about the opportunities we see in the business of export of our products. With EVs, we are already the market leader in the L5 category and aim to continue our dominance through product prowess. For our iconic Vespa and sporty Aprilia, we are working towards becoming a prominent player in the category through exclusive product introductions.
Diego Graffi, Chairman and Managing Director Piaggio Vehicles (India)
Graffi began his career with Fiat Automobiles in Torino, Italy and after a decade long stint with Fiat, he joined Moto Guzzi in 2005. In 2006, he joined Piaggio as the Head of Vehicle Purchasing by 2012, Graffi was the Global Purchasing Head for the entire Piaggio Group. As Chairman and Managing Director of Piaggio Vehicles Pvt. Ltd India since 2017 he is responsible for the overall business development, exports to over 50 countries, and India operations of the iconic Vespa and Aprilia brands, as well as Apé.