holding company traded as delisted november 2015 1 industry automotive founded milan italy 1872 1872 founder giovanni battista pirelli headquarters milan italy area served worldwide key people ren jianxin chairman marco tronchetti provera executive deputy chairman and ceo products car moto industrial tyres revenue 6.310 billion 2015 2 operating income 850.0 million 2015 2 profit 384.0 million 2015 2 owner chemchina 100 % 3 number of employees 36 753 2015 subsidiaries pirelli tyre s.p.a website www.pirelli.com pirelli & c. spa is a multinational company based in milan italy formerly listed on the milan stock exchange since 1922 . 4 it was acquired in 2015 by chemchina . the company the world s fifth largest tyre manufacturer behind bridgestone michelin continental and goodyear is present in over 160 countries has 19 manufacturing sites 5 around the world and a network of around 10 000 distributors and retailers . 6 7 pirelli has been sponsoring sport competitions since 1907 and is the exclusive tyre supplier for the formula one championship for 2011 2019 8 and for the fim world superbike championship . 9 pirelli is now a pure tyre manufacturing company . in the past it has also launched fashion project pzero a high tech sportswear brand 10 and operated in renewable energy and sustainable mobility through pirelli prodotti e servizi per l ambiente . pirelli has published its pirelli calendar since 1964 which has featured the contribution of famous photographers over the years . the 2013 edition was commissioned to war photographer steve mccurry . 11 pirelli s headquarters are located in milan s bicocca district an area that is home to the rapidly growing italian university universit degli studi di milano bicocca and cultural locations such as the teatro degli arcimboldi and hangar bicocca an exhibition centre for contemporary art that pirelli founded . contents 1 history 2 corporate affairs 2.1 major shareholders 2.2 board of directors 3 financial information 4 marketing 5 sponsorship 5.1 football 5.2 formula one 5.3 rally 6 motorsport 7 overseas investment 8 see also 9 references 10 external links history edit pirelli headquarters founded in milan in 1872 by giovanni battista pirelli the company initially specialised in rubber and derivative processes and also made scuba diving rebreathers . 12 thereafter pirelli s activities were primarily focused on the production of tyres and cables for energy and telecommunications . in 2005 pirelli sold its cable division to goldman sachs which changed the new group s name to prysmian . in the 1950s alberto pirelli commissioned the building of a famous milanese skyscraper in the same area that housed the very first pirelli factory during the 19th century see pirelli tower . 13 in 1974 pirelli invented the wide radial tyre upon a request from the lancia rally racing team for a tyre strong enough to withstand the power of the new lancia stratos . at that time racing tyres were either slick tyres made with the cross ply technique very wide tyres with a reduced sidewall height or radial tyres which were too narrow to withstand the stratos power and did not provide enough grip . both were unusable for the lancia stratos as the radials were destroyed within 10 km and the slicks too stiff . lancia asked pirelli for a solution and in 1975 pirelli created a wide tyre with a reduced sidewall height like a slick but with a radial structure . subsequently porsche started using the same tyres with the award winning porsche 911 turbo . citation needed in 1988 pirelli acquired the armstrong rubber company which was headquartered in new haven connecticut for 190 million . 14 in 2002 the company started a range of pirelli branded clothing watches and eyewear . 15 in march 2015 it was announced that pirelli shareholders has accepted a 7.1 billion bid from chemchina for the company . 16 the transaction was completed and the company was delisted in november 2015 . 1 corporate affairs edit major shareholders edit this article needs to be updated . please update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information . january 2016 the list of pirelli main shareholders 17 18 shareholder stake % chemchina 100.00 % as of september 2016 board of directors edit the list of pirelli board of directors 19 position name chairman ren jianxin executive deputy chairman and ceo marco tronchetti provera director alberto pirelli director bai xinping director ze ev goldberg independent director andrey kostin independent director elisabetta magistretti independent director paolo pietrogrande independent director luigi roth director igor sechin independent director manuela soffientini independent director tao haisu director wang dan director yang xingqiang independent director zhang junfang as of october 2015 . financial information edit financial data 20 2013 million 2012 million 2011 million 2010 million 2009 million net sales 6 146 6 072 5 655 4 848 4 067 gross operating profit 1 080 1 064 restated 807 629 453 ebit 791 792 restated 582 408 250 net income 306 398 441 4 23 net invested capital 4 455 4 427 3 727 3 281 3 818 equity 2 437 2 389 2 192 2 028 2 495 employees 37 979 37 338 34 259 29 573 29 570 marketing edit the pirelli calendar is published annually and regularly features famous actresses and fashion models . the calendar also features the work of many of the most respected fashion photographers in the world including herb ritz richard avedon mert & marcus peter lindbergh annie leibovitz and patrick demarchelier . the pirelli internetional award is given annually for the best international multimedia involving the communication of science and technology conducted entirely on the internet . power is nothing without control is the well known slogan of pirelli tyre company and is featured in numerous television and print advertisements . pirelli is the long serving main sponsor of italian football club f.c. internazionale milano having sponsored the italian team since the 1995 96 season . sponsorship edit football edit pirelli has a history of sponsoring football teams . pirelli is well known for its long term primary sponsorship of the italian football team internazionale . pirelli previously appeared as a sponsor on the shirts of the maltese football club valletta for a short time . pirelli s sponsorship of football teams is not limited to europe south america is a key market and as a result successful clubs have also been sponsored by the tyre company . the brazilian team palmeiras uruguayan team pe arol and argentinian side v lez s rsfield all had pirelli as a shirt sponsor . when english football league one side burton albion football club built their new stadium in 2005 pirelli became the title sponsor of the new ground . this was because the new stadium named pirelli stadium lies next to the pirelli factory in burton upon trent staffordshire england . in 2009 pirelli became the title sponsor of the chinese super league csl china s top tier football league . in 2012 the company become a major sponsor of the russian cup . formula one edit pirelli is currently the event title sponsor of the spanish and hungarian grand prix . rally edit pirelli supports rally with their fia pirelli star driver program as an initiative to support young rally drivers . motorsport edit pirelli is the only allowed tyre brand in the fim world superbike championship since 2007 along with its support classes such as the supersport world championship . pirelli has also been awarded the contract for the control tyre supply in the british superbike championship from 2008 until at least 2010 . 21 pirelli were also the official tyre supplier of the world rally championship from 2008 to 2010 until the company withdrew to focus on its formula 1 commitments . pirelli returned to the championship in 2014 however they only supply tyres for a few private teams as michelin is the major tyre supplier . pirelli was also supplied grand am rolex sports car series from 2008 until at least 2010 before replaced by continental ag in 2011 . pirelli is sponsor of rally and gymkhana driver ken block s hoonigan racing division since 2010 . pirelli is the sole tyre supplier in formula one following bridgestone s decision to withdraw from the role at the end of 2010 . 22 23 24 pirelli previously competed in formula one from 1950 1958 1981 1986 and 1989 1991 . controversy surrounded pirelli s formula 1 tyres as at the 2013 british grand prix seven pirelli tyres failed p rez twice alonso hamilton gutierrez vergne and massa . following a safety car period drivers were instructed to stay off the kerbs that were later found to be razor sharp and may have been the cause but the president of the british racing drivers club rejected the idea that the kerbs could be at fault saying that these kerbs have been in since 2009 and we have had thousands and thousands of cars go over these kerbs and they have been absolutely fine . 25 the incidents were described as unacceptable by f1 drivers . 26 it was later suggested that the cause of the tyre failures could be the teams putting them on the wrong side of the car . pirelli stressed that the tyres are of an asymmetrical construction and are not interchangeable and that if they are used correctly they do not pose a threat to safety . 27 however the fault was ultimately found to be in pirelli s design of the tyres so pirelli changed the construction of the tyres to prevent further incidents . pirelli suffered further tyre problems at the 2013 belgian grand prix . during the second practice two tyres failed vettel and alonso . one senior figure at pirelli described the failures as a big concern whilst pirelli s motorsport director paul hembery admitted the tyre failures were a worry for the sport . 28 following these issues just one day later michelin announced that they could replace pirelli as the tyre supplier for 2014 . in october 2013 fernando alonso complained that the quality of the tyres is very on the limit and that they will not do 5km . pirelli motorsport director paul hembery said of course alonso is one of the great f1 drivers so to hear such comments is disappointing and below the standards you would expect from such a champion . 29 in the korean grand prix p rez locked a front tyre heavily and then suffered a dramatic failure on the subsequent long straight . 30 pirelli hit controversy at the indian grand prix where they requested the teams run the tyres a limited number of laps due to their fragility . one senior engineer at a top team said this was the worst blistering ever experienced . 31 in pre season testing for the 2014 season the tyre on rosberg s car failed sending rosberg into a 200 mph 322 km h spin . 32 the incident prompted considerable alarm and pirelli stated that the tyre will not be proposed again . 33 in january 2014 it was revealed that pirelli had signed a contract with the fia to supply tyres to formula one for the 2014 2015 and 2016 seasons . 34 the pirelli 2014 wet tyre was criticised by adrian sutil as the worst i have driven and jenson button twitchy and they take away that grip that they gave you . 35 later in 2014 lewis hamilton described the pirelli wet weather tyres as they re not great tyres . that s no secret . 36 pirelli suffered further tyre problems at the 2015 belgian grand prix . during practice rosberg suffered a dangerous tyre delamination at 200 mph 322 km h . rosberg said the incident was quite a shock . during the subsequent drivers briefing double world champion lewis hamilton raised concerns in a drivers briefing about tyre safety following the high