Gianni Radici, former chairman and CEO of RadiciGroup passed away on October 5 in Leffe, near Bergamo, Italy, after a long illness. He was 81.

Mr Radici was chairman and CEO of RadiciGroup, the Italian chemicals and textiles producer, until the mid-90s, when he still retained the position of honorary chairman. He inherited the business from his father, Pietro, in the 1940s, and subsequently developed it into a truly global company. RadiciGroup's initial activity was in the home textiles sector; it subsequently diversified into synthetic fibres and fabrics, plastics, engineering, chemicals, packaging and textile machinery.

The company is now managed by his sons Angelo, Maurizio and Paolo. It has five divisions - textiles, fibres, plastics, chemicals and energy - and 49 manufacturing plants in Italy, Europe, and also in China, the USA and South America. The group employs 5,600 people.