MARCO BASSETTI (10 JULY 1957, VARESE) IS AN ITALIAN ENTREPRENEUR AND MANAGER.
1985: he starts working for Rete 4 (Mondadori Group) as executive producer, then moves to Mediaset.
1986: he founds his own production company, La Italiana Produzioni, creating for the first time on the market new entertainment programs, game shows, talk shows and advertising.
1989: he creates Aran, which quickly establishes itself as the leading production company in Italy capable of providing the main TV networks with new programs and content such as sitcoms, soap operas, light entertainment and TV movies.
1994-1997: he is appointed as CEO of the Joint Venture with Grundy, the Australian media group, which later on becomes Freemantle TV Italy.
1997 : he founds Endemol Italia, working as Managing Director and Chairman of the company, which over time gains value and is then later sold entirely to Endemol Group B.V.
May 2004 : he leaves Endemol Italia to pursue other business ventures, remaining Senior Member of the International Board.
October 2007: He resumes an operational role in Group Endemol as Chief Operating Officer, with responsibility for more than 20 countries and over 50 companies worldwide.
Over the course of a few years he carries out over 30 successful acquisitions in international markets, expanding Endemol’s global activities becoming leader in the global market of TV formats.
2009-2012 : he is appointed President of Endemol Group. When the company decides to restructure its debt, the Group nominates him as Group CEO to lead and manage the whole process.
Once the restructuring is completed successfully and the controlling stake of Apollo (the PE fund) is achieved, he steps down and leaves Endemol Group in April 2012.
November 2012: he launches a new business in the entertainment sector, founding Ambra Multimedia, a TV production company active mainly in the Italian market.
May 2013: he is nominated as Group CEO of Banijay, with the task of creating a frontrunner in the production industry. Today Banijay has become the global leader in its sector, in producing entertainment programs such as realities, game shows and dramas.
Currently, Marco Bassetti is one of the most respected and well-known Angel investors and Venture capitalists in Italy: as a private entrepreneur he’s launched countless new initiatives and invested and participated in successful business projects in the digital sector, in Gaming, Ecommerce, Food and Green Economy.