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Giovanni Ferrero
Status
Born in 1955 (age –). Living in Italy.
Criminal status: No personal convictions; Ferrero Group subject to EU antitrust investigation opened April 2026
Summary
Giovanni Ferrero is the Executive Chairman of Ferrero Group, the world's second-largest chocolate company by revenue, with a consolidated turnover of EUR 19.3 billion in FY2024/25. The company was founded by his grandfather Pietro in Alba, Italy and is best known for Nutella, Kinder, Ferrero-Rocher, and Tic-Tac.
Ferrero has overseen aggressive global expansion, most recently acquiring WK Kellogg Co for USD 3.1 billion in September 2025, adding iconic cereal brands and bringing the Group's total employees to over 61,000 worldwide. He is Italy's wealthiest individual according to Forbes 2026.
Business Relationships
Giovanni assumed sole executive leadership of Ferrero Group after the death of his brother and co-CEO Pietro Ferrero Jr. in South Africa in April 2011. He later appointed Lapo Civiletti as Chief Executive Officer to manage day-to-day operations, retaining the Executive Chairman role for himself.
Following a board resolution approved 11 February 2026, Ferrero restructured Group governance effective 1 September 2026: Giovanni Ferrero becomes President of holding company Ferrero International S.A., overseeing overall growth strategy; Alessandro Nervegna, a nearly 30-year Ferrero veteran, becomes CEO of Ferrero Core (Confectionery, Biscuits and Bakery, Better-For-You); and Lapo Civiletti moves from Group CEO to President of Ferrero Ice Cream and WK Kellogg Co. while retaining a Vice President role at Ferrero International S.A.
Ownership
Ferrero Group is privately held by the Ferrero family through a Belgian holding structure consolidated under Giovanni's leadership. No public ownership percentages are disclosed for this private company. Giovanni Ferrero serves as Executive Chairman with strategic authority over the Group's global operations and acquisitions, transitioning to the newly created President of Ferrero International S.A. role effective September 2026.
Family & Heirs
Giovanni's brother Pietro Ferrero Jr. served as co-CEO until his death in April 2011 while cycling in South Africa. Their mother, Maria Franca Ferrero, presides over the Fondazione Piera, Pietro e Giovanni Ferrero, the family's charitable foundation established in 1983. Giovanni is married to Paola Rossi.
Evidence
2019-05-20 - 😈 - Ferrero and Nestle face allegations of labour rights abuses of Syrian refugee hazelnut workers in Turkey
2019-06-04 - 😈 - Ferrero imposes hourly fines on striking workers blocking French Nutella factory; union calls it a violation of the right to strike
2019-09-24 - 😈 - BBC investigation links Ferrero to child labour, low pay and long hours in Turkey hazelnut supply chain
2020-01-01 - 😈 - Hazelnuts in Ferrero Rocher supply chain linked to child labour: children as young as 11 working 12-hour days without contracts
2020-08-04 - 😇 - Ferrero pledges enhanced focus on racial inclusivity and support for social justice organizations in response to Black Lives Matter
2020-11-20 - 😇 - ILO-Ferrero partnership commits more than USD 4M to eliminate child labour in Turkish hazelnut harvesting
2022-04-07 - 😈 - Kinder chocolate recalled across 110+ countries after salmonella outbreak sickens hundreds of children
2022-12-09 - 😇 - Ferrero cocoa progress report: 83 schools built, 937 savings groups established for women, 27,000 farmers supported in West Africa
2023-07-01 - 😈 - Ferrero finds Salmonella again at Belgian factory one year after outbreak that sickened 450+ people
2023-11-14 - 😈 - Ferrero receives F grade in Keep Forests Standing Scorecard for failing to stop palm oil deforestation and human rights violations
2024-02-26 - 😇 - OAS and Ferrero Group sign cooperation agreement to promote sports activities and the rights of children, adolescents, and women across the Americas
2024-07-10 - 😇 - Ferrero ranked 2nd of 227 companies in WWF's 2024 Palm Oil Buyers Scorecard for sustainable palm oil sourcing
2024-07-18 - 😇 - Ferrero launches new hazelnut sustainability commitments with renewed ILO partnership, building on 18,000+ children engaged through programs
2024-11-15 - 😇 - Ferrero grants USD 350,000 to Rutgers and Oregon State University for hazelnut sustainability and disease-resistance research
2025-03-14 - 😇 - Ferrero human rights progress: 400+ migrant palm oil workers protected, SMETA+ audit framework launched, ranked 7th globally for child rights
2025-07-25 - 😈 - Ferrero 2024 sustainability report identifies 3,020 children still working in hazelnut farms in Turkey despite years of ILO programs
2026-02-10 - 😈 - Class action alleges Ferrara Candy, a Ferrero subsidiary, sold Nerds, Trolli, and SweeTarts products with arsenic levels far exceeding safe limits
2026-04-20 - 😈 - EU antitrust dawn raids target Ferrero for suspected restrictions on cross-border chocolate sales between member states
2026-06-30 - 😇 - Ferrero's 2025 Sustainability Report shows a 7.2% cut in Scope 1 and 2 emissions, 24 plants on 100% renewable electricity, and 98% cocoa traceability
Analysis
Ferrero Group's supply chain has documented child labour problems spanning more than seven years of investigations. Despite a USD 4M+ ILO partnership launched in 2020 and sustainability programs engaging over 18,000 children, the company's own 2024 sustainability report still identified 3,020 children working in Turkish hazelnut farms. Hazelnut farmers have told journalists that Ferrero's purchase prices force them to rely on cheap child labour to survive economically.
In 2019, Ferrero's own French factory drew criticism when the company imposed hourly fines on striking workers blocking the plant, which a union representative called a violation of the right to strike. Ferrero's US subsidiary Ferrara Candy has its own repeat workplace-safety problem: OSHA proposed a USD 201,000 fine in 2022 after finding the company exposed workers to amputation hazards at its Bellwood, Illinois factory, the third citation for the same hazard in five years.
The 2022 Kinder salmonella crisis revealed additional governance failures. Ferrero detected contamination at its Belgian Arlon factory in December 2021 but did not issue a recall until April 2022, ultimately sickening hundreds of children across more than 110 countries. Salmonella was detected again at the same facility in July 2023, raising questions about the completeness of remediation, and in 2026 Ferrara Candy faced a class-action lawsuit alleging that products including Nerds, Trolli, and SweeTarts contained arsenic levels far exceeding safe consumption limits, based on Florida state lab testing.
A separate dispute emerged in 2026 when Girl Scouts San Diego sued Ferrero USA and its subsidiary Little Brownie Bakers for breach of contract, alleging the company abruptly terminated a cookie-baking agreement a year early and demanded a 22% price increase, costing the nonprofit council more than USD 1.1 million and forcing 25 layoffs.
On environmental performance, Ferrero's record is mixed. The company received an F grade from the Rainforest Action Network in 2023 for failing to meet its own deforestation-free commitments across palm oil supply chains, yet the following year Ferrero ranked 2nd of 227 companies in WWF's 2024 Palm Oil Buyers Scorecard for sustainable sourcing. Its 2025 Sustainability Report reported a 7.2% cut in Scope 1 and 2 emissions and 98% cocoa traceability, with 24 plants running on fully renewable electricity.
A 2026 EU antitrust investigation into suspected restrictions on cross-border chocolate sales adds a new regulatory dimension to the company's conduct. On the social side, Ferrero has partnered with the Organization of American States since 2024 to promote sports activities and the rights of children, adolescents, and women across the Americas.
Questions
Does Ferrero's investment in the ILO partnership and school-building programs represent genuine remediation, or do these programs absorb accountability for harms the company's pricing model perpetuates? Hazelnut farmers have consistently told journalists that if Ferrero paid more for hazelnuts, they would not need to rely on child labour.
Is a food company responsible for product safety failures when contamination originates in a single factory? The Kinder recall's scope — over 110 countries, a months-long delay in disclosure, and a recurrence at the same facility the following year — suggests systemic quality oversight problems rather than an isolated incident.
Redemption Arc
Ferrero's programs on child labour, worker protection, and sustainability are materially funded and real in their scope, and its second-place finish in WWF's 2024 Palm Oil Buyers Scorecard shows real environmental progress in at least one supply chain. However, the persistence of child labour in the hazelnut supply chain through 2024 and a fresh EU antitrust probe opened in 2026 indicate that institutional governance is not keeping pace with the company's growth and market power.