Silvio Angori, CEO of Pininfarina, becomes publisher as the first shareholder of the Book of the Month Index. To write the Turin spine of the Corriere della Sera. Angori is president of the board of directors of the magazine, but will also have an operational role.
The Index of Books of the Month, literary magazine founded in 1984 by Cesare Cases, Gian Giacomo Migone and Gianni Rondolino, recalls the Corriere Torino, “navigates in troubled waters. Mimmo Càndito was directed for 17 years, until the death, in March 2018, of the great Italian reporter and writer. Now the monthly is going through a transition phase: the leadership has been entrusted by the shareholders to a quadrumvirate composed of Massimo Vallerani, Giovanni Filoramo, Santina Mobiglia and Beatrice Manetti. Approximately 1.300 subscriptions and 10.000 copies on newsstands”. But "resources are needed (a new capital increase) to balance accounts, pay off creditors and employees and above all start new businesses".
"I've always been a compulsive reader", says Angori who reads up to "200 books a year, mainly at night". “I love fiction, historical essays, philosophy: I devour three books a week”. And the Index “since I was a boy has been my reference compass. When I learned from the CEO of the company Mario Montalcini that there was some difficulty, I immediately made myself available”.
“Making up losses is of little use if there is no strategic plan”, declares the CEO of Pininfarina. “And my contribution will be in this direction: more effort than money”. “I am convinced that the Index can stand on its own two legs. It has a formidable cultural heritage and human capital made up of over 300 volunteer collaborators".
“The model for the relaunch of the Index is the New York Review of Books”, concludes Angori: “Our magazine's website will no longer be 100% free, we will implement a paywall and some content will be paid. Paper will represent the best of our production”. And an edition of the Index dedicated to children will also be released in the coming months. “To return to profit in the balance sheet, it is enough to double the number of subscriptions. We can do it".
