Brunello Cucinelli was born in Castel Rigone, Umbria, in 1953 to a family of farmers and founded his cashmere business in 1978. Over four decades he built it into one of the most distinctive luxury houses in Italy, listed on the Milan stock exchange and headquartered in the restored medieval hamlet of Solomeo, which the company has progressively refurbished as a working and cultural centre.
Cucinelli has codified what he calls 'humanistic capitalism', combining stable employment, profit-sharing, restricted working hours and a sustained investment in cultural and educational institutions in the surrounding region. The model has become a reference point in the broader debate about the social architecture of luxury.
His writing and public lectures have made him one of the most philosophically reflective chief executives of the contemporary luxury sector.