Henri Pigozzi
Henri Théodore Pigozzi (born Enrico Teodoro Pigozzi; 26 June 1898 – 18 November 1964) was an Italian–French merchant and industrialist who founded the automobile manufacturer SIMCA.
Biography
In 1912 his father disappeared, leaving the 14‑year‑old Pigozzi responsible for his mother, sister and a small transport business. After World War I, in 1918 he secured distribution rights for British and American motorcycles in Piedmont, selling surplus military machines from Allied stocks.
Between 1920 and 1922 he worked for a coal import firm in the Saar. In 1924 he began importing scrap steel from France for Piedmontese steel furnaces. His principal client was FIAT, whose owner Giovanni Agnelli sought a sales representative in France. In 1926, at age 28, Pigozzi was appointed FIAT’s General Representative in France.
That year he formed SAFAF (Société Anonyme Française des Automobiles FIAT) in Suresnes, near Paris, to import and later assemble FIAT cars. As SAFAF’s managing director, he assembled and sold about 30,000 FIAT vehicles between 1928 and 1934.
On 2 November 1934 Pigozzi acquired the former Donnet-Zédel factory in Nanterre and founded SIMCA (Société Industrielle de Mécanique et de Carrosserie Automobile). He led SIMCA as managing director from 1935 to 1954 and as chairman and CEO from 1954 until 1963, overseeing its greatest period of growth. In 1958 Chrysler purchased Ford’s 15% stake, increasing it to 64% five years later.
On 31 May 1963, with Chrysler in control, Pigozzi was forced to resign as SIMCA’s president.[1] He died suddenly of a heart attack on 18 November 1964 in Neuilly-sur-Seine at age 66, eighteen months after his departure.[2]
See also
- Jean Pigozzi, son of Henri Pigozzi, art collector and philanthropist
External links
Sources
- Jean‑Paul Rousseau and Jacques Rousseau: Simca Histoire d’une marque, Fontainebleau 1996, ISBN 2-84078-039-9