Having met with journalists at the Allianz Stadium, these are the first words from Damien Comolli after his appointment as the Chief Executive Officer of Juventus.
“I would firstly like to thank John Elkann and the shareholders for giving me the opportunity to help lead this club. It’s an immense privilege and honour to be in the position of CEO, and I feel incredibly humbled by the opportunity and challenge. I am a passionate football fan and know what Juventus means in the world of football - I know the magnitude of this club, how immense it is not only in Italy, but on the global stage. I am extremely ambitious, the only thing that drives me is winning, so all my focus now is on how we can to get back to winning.
“I would like to specifically thank Maurizio Scanavino, who gave me a lot of advice, and helped me a lot in the months we worked together. He did a great job, especially in terms of financial sustainability, and we are trying to add to that now.
GEARED TOWARD SUCCESS
“We are self-driven every day to make the club a winning club again. John Elkann’s passion and commitment, from a personal perspective, but also from a financial one, is unmatchable, and we should all keep that in mind. Everything we have at the club is geared for all our teams to achieve success. We have the third-youngest team in Serie A with a bright future and a good mix of young and experienced players, and everything we do is geared towards making us successful.
“We all have the same approach in the leadership team - we are open to ideas, suggestions and collaboration to help us reach our objectives. From the sports, physical, and business perspective, there are some very good people who were here before and who have arrived now. We have experts in every area, we've seen the progress we've made so far, and we’re now obsessed with working towards our goals.
PERSONAL OBJECTIVES
“Winning – I can't think of anything else. Every day I wake up, I think of how I and we can start winning again. The people, the experts, the stadium, our revenue, the coach, the processes – all those contribute to winning. I have an obsession with winning, and when you’re at a Club like this, it makes you think even more about winning.
“Every leader comes with a lot of baggage and scars, and also with a lot of experience. Good leaders lead with authenticity, are genuine and don’t try be what they are not. I will try lead with my authenticity - I want to bring people together, and what I’ve learnt in the past is that good leaders are good communicators, are humble, they don’t work in isolation but listen to people. I will try to bring all of this into my new position – collaboration, communication, innovation and competitiveness.
BIANCONERO PASSION
“This club has infinite potential. I’ve been in the business for 33 years, and I’ve never seen such passion, such community, such togetherness, such respect and such rich history in a club. All of this makes it extremely special.
“We have a long-term project which we feel will be unique, which will help us to compete on the European stage in future, but first, our aim is to dominate Serie A once again.”
