Giuseppe Montano

There are some people in the history of Ducati whose stories will never be forgotten, no matter how many years have passed. These individuals had a significant impact on the company, not only in terms of management style, but also as individuals. One such person is Giuseppe Montano, the Managing Director of Ducati in the 1950s. 

Giuseppe Montano was appointed Managing Director of the Bolognese company in 1952, arriving as the company was undergoing major expansions. Ducati was opening new commercial initiatives in various directions, and the whole place was alive with excitement and activity. 

Colleagues warmly remember Montano for his authoritative management style, for the strategic changes he implemented, and, above all, for hiring the man who revolutionized Ducati Meccanica: Fabio Taglioni. 

Montano believed in the mechanical innovations that Taglioni proposed, and gave him the time, space, and resources to transform his ideas into real motorcycles that later became major commercial successes.

Montano’s arrival at Ducati coincided with the strains being felt by the European economy in the years after World War II. A year before Taglioni’s arrival in 1954, Ducati divided the company into two separate divisions: Ducati Elettrotecnica (electronics and radios) and Ducati Meccanica (diesel engines, boat engines and last but not least, motorcycles). Montano was placed in charge of Ducati Mecchanica, where he was able to express how much he liked motorcycles and loved racing. With Montano’s lead, Ducati was able to create a solid name for itself in the world of competitive motorcycle racing. 

Montano had a unique and innovative approach to racing: he saw competitive racing as a trial ground to develop Ducati’s production models.

Other companies typically used an alternative approach: first they made their street bikes, and then used them as racing prototypes. Ducati’s alternative approach was a bit more risky, because the failure of a single racing bike meant the failure of a much larger project. As a result of Montano’s creative approach, Ducati became famous for creating sports-oriented production models with the same high quality as those used on the competitive racetracks. Ducati’s sporty approach has attracted fans who appreciate riding on bikes like those the professionals ride.