Team size: 12 

Major legal advisers: Allen & Overy, Legance, Loyens & Loeff, Modiano & Partners, Orrick, Orsingher Ortu, Pedersoli, R&P Legal and Sullivan & Cromwell  

Could you share an example of a time when you came up with an innovation that improved how your legal team works and did not come at a large expense? 

I think the biggest innovation in our company is connected to IP. We implemented a new digital tool in order to enhance out IP strategy without incurring significant expenses. 

We constantly propose and welcome new ideas. This determination is also reflected in the significant increase in the number of patent proposals submitted by colleagues in recent years. If an employee of our company has a novel technical solution that may be patentable, they can easily become an inventor. They log into our digital platform to submit their proposal, which could evolve into a valuable patent.  

Simpler, more effective patents are not only about radical inventions, but they are also often improvements to an existing technology. Even a seemingly simple invention can generate a patent of great value because it is easy to implement. In addition, with the goal of defending our brand, another innovation in IP was the recent launch of the “Ferrari Reward Anticounterfeiting” initiative that we created to incentivise the detection of infringing activities of Ferrari brands. Anyone who identifies and reports a product for sale on a digital platform, that appears to be counterfeit or a violation in the use of our trademarks, they can receive a reward. This contribution will concretely help us in combating counterfeiting activities to protect our brand. 

Can you foresee any key developments to the way general counsel work over the next five years? 

I see my job as becoming much more digitalised. I believe that digital tools can help in-house legal teams to better manage daily legal matters. In particular, digital tools could assist in-house counsel to archive and search legal documents more efficiently, using document management tools; this can be done by utilising an AI contract management tool. We are currently developing this tool to be launched in 2024. However, I also think that artificial intelligence should be considered very carefully in order to reduce and mitigate the potential risks of such technology not used correctly and properly, such as the risk of losing highly confidential information. 

What measures has your company taken to embed sustainability practices into its core business operations, and how does the role of the general counsel contribute to driving and ensuring sustainable practices within the company? 

Sustainability is a very important topic that our group is managing carefully. Ferrari’s main commitment in such respect is to reach carbon neutrality by 2030 and our company continues to carry out several intermediate steps towards such commitment. For example, a recent step towards this aim is the new 1 MW solid oxide fuel cell plant at its Maranello facilities. Ferrari also built new photovoltaic system on the roofs of its Maranello factory buildings, further expanding its independent energy production and reducing its CO2e emissions.