How Nerio Alessandri founded Technogym in his parents’ garage and turned it into a billion-dollar company that spearheaded the Paris Olympics

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Nerio Alessandri, founder and CEO of Technogym, likes to let his products speak for themselves. The fitness company Alessandri founded is still headquartered in Cesena, Emilia-Romagna in northern Italy, where he was born and founded the company. His strong Italian accent in English is a stark contrast to the elegant, world-renowned designs his products are famous for.

Technogym supplies all the athletes’ training centers in Paris, he told me, and that’s by far the best product placement and feedback mechanism he could imagine. He’s happy to accept the fact that such a presence costs Technogym – which has sales of around $1 billion – millions of dollars in marketing fees.

15,000

Numerous Olympic and Paralympic athletes have been equipped with Technogym.

The passionate, well-connected Italian shows more of his face in this exclusive interview with Assets. WhatsApp, he told us, is one of his favorite productivity tools. His children and their friends are on the 60-year-old’s personal board. It allows the man who founded Technogym in his parents’ garage in 1982 to get “feedback from the younger generations.”

This interview has been edited for brevity.

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Down to business

Assets: What is the most important project you are working on with your company?

The Olympic Games in Paris. Technogym has been chosen as the official supplier of the Olympic and Paralympic Games for sports training for the 9th time. In Paris, Technogym has equipped 29 training centers for the 15,000 Olympic and Paralympic athletes with the most innovative equipment and digital technologies.

Athletes using Technogym equipment at the Olympia gym:

Which long-term trend for society and the economy as a whole makes you most optimistic?

Health and longevity are currently among the most important consumer trends.

If you were an economic policymaker, what would be your top priority?

When it comes to health, we need to move from today’s approach, which is mainly based on cure, to one based on prevention. There is a lot of scientific evidence that shows that physical exercise is a real cure for many metabolic and cardiovascular diseases.

Be productive

When do you get up and what part of your morning routine prepares you for the day?

I get up around 6:30 a.m. I always exercise, have breakfast and then start my workday.

What time do you work until? Do you still send emails at night and/or on weekends?

I usually work in the office until 7pm… but I’m lucky enough to work in a very exciting industry, so my work often mixes with my personal life in exciting ways. For example, right now I’m in Paris to watch the Olympics… which is a lot of fun, but also offers the opportunity to make business contacts in the sports industry.

What apps or methods do you use to be more productive?

Nothing really special, technologies and organizational tools are becoming more and more commonplace. I believe that creativity is the number one technology today that can make a difference. Personally, I use WhatsApp a lot. The group chats are extremely useful for quickly updating and sharing information with the different teams in the different projects.

“I believe the best way to learn and improve is to be able to ask the right questions and be humble enough to listen.”

Nerio Alessandri

Who is on your “personal board”?

My children Erica and Edoardo and their friends. For me it is fundamental to have the views and feedback of the younger generations in order to be able to work on a long-term plan.

Get personal

What book you have read recently or in the past has inspired you?:

Opened by Andre Agassi.

If you could ask your idol one question, who would it be and what would you ask?

Very difficult question. I don’t have a real idol, but I love listening and asking questions to everyone… from top CEOs or political leaders to everyday people. I believe that the ability to ask the right questions and be humble enough to listen is the best way to learn and improve.

As a consumer, what is your favorite company and why?

Apple for its combination of excellent design, products, content and community. When it comes to fitness and sport, at Technogym we have created a unique ecosystem to connect people with their personal training experience: in the gym, at home, in hotels, at work, at the doctor’s office and outdoors. People can log into their personal profile on Technogym equipment or in our app anytime, anywhere.

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