Giuseppe Caprotti tells his story at the event organised by the Soroptimist Club Monza
4 November 2025 | 18:10
The event, evocatively entitled ‘An Italian Story’, was designed to offer those present an immersion in the entrepreneurial journey of the Caprotti family and Giuseppe Caprotti in particular.
Giuseppe Caprotti tells his story at the event organised by the Soroptimist Club Monza
The evening of 29 October 2025, organised by the Soroptimist Club Monza at the Sporting Club, took the form of a prominent event in the cultural and entrepreneurial panorama, having as its guest Giuseppe Caprotti, a protagonist in the history of Esselunga and current president of the Guido Venosta Foundation . The meeting, with the emblematic title ‘An Italian Story‘ offered a deep immersion in the Caprotti family’s journey, analysing the crucial themes of vision, innovation and social responsibility.
The guest was introduced by President Zizeth Maroun, who highlighted how Giuseppe Caprotti’s strategic vision and constant commitment to excellence have contributed significantly to the innovation and growth of Esselunga, a brand recognised as a model of quality and reliability.
The interview [ conducted by Sabrina Colantoni ] retraced Caprotti’s life at Esselunga, citing his pioneering projects in Italian retail, from the introduction of organic products to loyalty programmes and early corporate responsibility initiatives. However, this contribution came to an abrupt end in 2004, when he was fired by his father. The narrative has suggested that this separation, which occurred after years of work in the company, was perhaps due to differences of ideas or a character incompatibility with an austere father who, according to him, never recognised his great achievements. Giuseppe Caprotti openly shared his conviction that Esselunga could have achieved even better results if only certain strategic choices suggested by him but systematically rejected by his father had been accepted, describing their relationship as ‘two tracks of a train, two parallels that never meet’.
It was precisely to prevent his contribution to the birth and growth of one of Italy’s most prestigious brands from being forgotten, and to counter the spread of false news about his name, that Caprotti, who graduated in History from the Sorbonne in Paris in 1960, decided to write ‘Le Ossa dei Caprotti’. The book, published in 2023 with Feltrinelli and whose cover reproduces a 1908 fabric from the former Manifattura Caprotti factory in Brianza , is a historical-documentary project that also lives on the web and, with the subtitle ‘between Garibaldi, the Cia and Esselunga’, tells the story of the family that revolutionised the habits of Italians. The evening also touched on the more intimate aspects of his story, such as his adolescence marked by moments of tension, the attempted kidnapping and the controversial relationship with his father figure. With the presentation of the book, Caprotti wanted to reaffirm his own value and, ideally addressing the entrepreneurs present, he wanted to emphasise that family relationships in a company must represent an added value and not an obstacle to business development.
Today, Giuseppe Caprotti’s commitment also focuses on the Guido Venosta Foundation, named after his maternal grandfather, which he chairs. The Foundation is dedicated to spreading the highest ideals of culture and solidarity, operating in four fundamental areas: health protection and scientific research, solidarity, promotion of culture and environmental protection. The interview highlighted how this current commitment to memory, culture and social support is closely linked to the central themes of the evening, including the relationship between business and territory, with a specific reference to Brianza, the value of the ‘social pact’ between the company and the community understood as an ethical commitment, and the role that business must assume today as the guardian of memory and responsible towards the future.
The Soroptimist Club Monza, as an international association of women committed to promoting rights and sustainable development, promoted the event as an invitation to reflect on the value of courage and individual responsibility in building better communities. The Club reiterated that telling the story of business through people means transmitting values, and that the evening was designed to offer the territory an opportunity to reflect on the culture of work, innovation and civic commitment. The meeting developed through a sixty-minute dialogue, at the end of which a space was reserved for questions from the audience.
