Ferrero Group CEO Pietro Ferrero Dies at 47

Pietro Ferrero, a joint CEO and heir of the Italian chocolate company Ferrero SpA, has died. Ferrero was on a business trip to South Africa when he fell from his bicycle and passed away. The cause of death was not released. He was 47.

"Ferrero confirms the death of Pietro Ferrero, the CEO of the group, following an accident in South Africa where he was on a business trip. The exact circumstances of the incident are not yet clear," Ferrero SpA said in a statement.

Ferrero SpA owns Ferrero Rocher, Nutella, Kinder, Tic Tac and Mon Cheri. The company was started in the 1940s by Ferrero’s grandparents, Piera and Pietro, and was eventually taken over by his father, Michele Ferrero. Michele, 85, is Italy’s richest man.

"Italy has lost a businessman who represented the best qualities of our economic history,” Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini said in a statement.

Pietro Ferrero is survived by his wife and three children.

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