Massimo Zanetti (born 12 February 1948 in Treviso) is an Italian entrepreneur and former politician, owner of Segafredo, a global coffee company.Massimo Zanetti Beverage Group Since 2016, Zanetti has also owned the Italian basketball team Virtus Bologna, one of the most successful teams in Europe, of which he formally became president in October 2021.Zanetti conquista la Virtus. È il primo socio con il 40% He is often called, by the media, the "King of Coffee".Massimo Zanetti, il re del caffè e il matrimonio in vista: è a capo di un impero del caffèEcco Zanetti, il re del caffè per salvare il Bologna

Biography

Massimo Zanetti was born in Treviso in 1948. During 1970s, he moved to Bologna where he acquired the local company Segafredo, a historic coffee producer with a fairly well known brand.Zanetti: "Segafredo è il caffè di Obama e degli atelti Zanetti gave impulse and new vitality to the company, to which he added its own brand "Segafredo Zanetti", opening it to international markets, diversifying it with the creation of a worldwide network, making it, in a few years, one of the top coffee producers in the world.Il filosofo del caffè The holding company, Massimo Zanetti Beverage Group (MZB), coordinates the group's activities and invests about 1,200 million dollars.Nella tazzina una miscela di miliardi The Segafredo headquarter is based in Pianoro, in the Bologna hinterland.Segafredo – Dove siamo

In the 1994 general election, he was elected Senator for Forza Italia, the liberal conservative party founded by the media magnate Silvio Berlusconi. The legislature ended in 1996, after the fall of Berlusconi's government in 1995 and the short-lived technocratic cabinet of Lamberto Dini. Zanetti decided not to run for a second term in the 1996 general election.

In the 2013 local elections, Zanetti ran for mayor of Treviso, supported by Civic Choice, a liberal and centrist party of former Prime Minister Mario Monti, getting 10.57% and arriving third, not accessing the ballot.Gentilini-Zanetti è fatta, il re del caffè sarà vice After a first attempt to agree with the center-right candidate Giancarlo Gentilini, he decided not to give voting instructions to his voters.Salta l'accordo tra Gentilini e Zanetti. Il re del caffè: "Decidano gli elettori"

Sports activities The Segafredo brand appeared as the main sponsor on the jerseys of Bologna F.C. between 1986 and 1989, on those of Gorizia Basketball between 1984 and 1988 and on those of A.C.D. Treviso in different years between 1986 and 2006.

On 23 December 2010, after a long and troubled negotiation lasting about a month, the Bologna 2010 entrepreneurial group, led by Giovanni Consorte, bought 100% of the Bologna football team from Sergio Porcedda and Francesca Menarini. At the same time, Zanetti assumed the position of president. The office of honorary president, not operative, was held by the popular singer Gianni Morandi.Il Bologna a Zanetti e Consorte

On 21 January 2011, Zanetti unexpectedly resigned as chairman of Bologna and as a director of the holding company due to contrasts with the other shareholders. After his resignation, Zanetti still remained the relative majority shareholder of the club. In March 2011, the entrepreneur and former president Alfredo Cazzola tried to take over the shares of Zanetti, but the negotiations were not successful, so Zanetti remained a shareholder, although no longer intending to participate in the club's life.Cazzola, da traditore a eroe. I misteri del Bologna calcio

However, on 25 September 2014, he announced his willingness to become the majority shareholder again. The negotiations that would have provided for the acquisition of 51% of the club's shares and the return of Zanetti as president of the club failed in October 2014, when the club was bought by the Canadian entrepreneur Joey Saputo.Zanetti: "Deluso da Morandi, sento che Saputo si è un po' stufato

In 2016, Segafredo entered Trek–Segafredo, a professional road bicycle racing team, which signed, among others Alberto Contador, John Degenkolb, Ivan Basso and Ryder Hesjedal.

Virtus Bologna In 2016, Segafredo Zanetti became the main sponsor of Virtus Bologna, the main basketball team in the town and one of the most successful ones in Italy and Europe.Zanetti fra calcio e basket: "Virtus, tornerai in alto. Bologna, per fortuna c'è Joey", la Repubblica On 23 March 2017, he participated in the capital increase of the club, with 47% of shares, becoming de facto the club's owner.Zanetti conquista la Virtus, Corriere di Bologna Under Zanetti's ownership, on 5 May 2019, Virtus won its fifth European title, the Basketball Champions League in Antwerp,Basket, Champions League: Virtus Bologna qualificata alle Final Four, Sky Sport defeating Iberostar Tenerife 73–61. The BCL was the team's first European title after ten years.La Virtus Bologna conquista la Champions League: Tenerife ko in finale 73-61, Sky Sport In June 2021, after having knocked out 3–0 both Basket Treviso in the quarterfinals and New Basket Brindisi in the semifinals, Virtus defeated 4–0 its historic rival Olimpia Milano in the national finals, winning its 16th national title and the first one after twenty years.Virtus, sei magnifica! Bologna, scudetto dopo 20 anni, Milano schiacciata 4-0, Gazzetta dello Sport

In July 2019, Virtus opened a women's basketball wing, to participate in the Serie A1 championship,Bologna ora ha anche le donne in A-1: obiettivo salvezza, poi le ambizioni winning its first ever title two years later, with the Italian Basketball Supercup.

On 28 October 2021, Zanetti was elected president of Virtus, succeeding Giuseppe Sermasi as the head of the club, and became the only shareholder after a €2 million capital increase.Assemblea Soci Virtus: Zanetti presidente, Baraldi CEO, Sermasi e Gualandi Consiglieri, SportandoVirtus Segafredo Bologna, lanciato un aumento di capitale da 2 milioni di euro, Sportando After having ousted Lietkabelis, Ulm and Valencia in the first three rounds of the playoffs, on 11 May 2022, Virtus defeated Frutti Extra Bursaspor by 80–67 at the Segafredo Arena, winning its first EuroCup and qualifying for the EuroLeague after 14 years.

In January 2025, following disputes regarding the club's management, Zanetti removed his long-time associate Luca Baraldi as CEO of Virtus, ending his 6 years-long tenure. In June 2025, after having eliminated Reyer Venezia 3–2 and their arch-rival Milan 3–1, Virtus reached its fifth finals in a row, where it defeated Brescia 3–0, claiming the Italian championship title for the 17th time.La Virtus Bologna vince il suo 17° scudetto: 3-0 a Brescia in finale playoff. Sky Sport For Zanetti, this was the second scudetto of his presidency.La Virtus Bologna ha vinto la Serie A di basket. Il Post

Electoral history ElectionHouseConstituencyPartyVotesResult 1994 Senate of the Republic Veneto – Treviso FI 67,210

First-past-the-post elections 1994 general election (S): Veneto — TrevisoCandidateCoalitionVotes%Massimo ZanettiPole of Freedoms67,21042.5Ulderico BernardiPact for Italy32,79020.7Domenico LucianoAlliance of Progressives31,71820.1Others26,51510.8Total158,233100.0

Municipal elections 2013 municipal election: TrevisoCandidateCoalitionVotes%Votes%Giovanni ManildoCentre-left coalition17,46142.621,40355.5Giancarlo GentiliniCentre-right coalition14,28334.817,15944.5Massimo ZanettiCentrist coalition4,33710.6Others4.94912.0Total41,030100.038,562100.0

References