MILAN (AP) — AC Milan named Massimo Calvelli as chief executive officer on Friday in a bid to “bring a winning culture” back to the club.
The 51-year-old Calvelli replaces Giorgio Furlani, who was fired by U.S. owner, RedBird Capital Partners, last month as it cleaned house after what it deemed “an unequivocal failure” of a season.
“The mandate is clear — we will play to win, instead of playing not to lose — in everything that AC Milan touches, but most importantly on the field,” RedBird managing partner Gerry Cardinale said in a statement.
“The entire organization at AC Milan will now benefit tremendously from his full time appointment and sense of urgency to bring a winning culture and results back to the club.”
Calvelli will continue to serve as CEO International at RedBird Development Group and Operating Partner at RedBird Capital Partners. A former professional tennis player, he was previously ATP CEO from 2020-25.
“Since joining RedBird last year, Massimo has distinguished himself as a leader and driver of organizational design that brings people together and establishes a culture of collaboration and professionalism,” Cardinale added.
“Our model at RedBird often requires our senior leadership to go “in house” in our most important investments to ensure best in class execution, especially in situations requiring change and innovation.”
Milan spent much of last season in the top two positions and fighting for the Serie A title. But a run of only two wins in its last eight matches dropped it to fifth on the last day of the campaign and saw it miss out on Champions League qualification.
That led to a number of dismissals, including coach Massimiliano Allegri. He was replaced by Rúben Amorim earlier this month.
“The opportunity to lead AC Milan as it navigates this critical moment in its football trajectory, as well as within the overall state of Italian football, is something I take very seriously and with a profound sense of urgency,” Calvelli said.
“The mandate from Gerry is to bring a culture of winning and results both on and off the field back to AC Milan … I’ve had a full year working collaboratively with the senior leadership of the club across all functions and have a hands-on sense of what needs to be fixed and innovated.”
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