Lessons from the Mazzei multi-generational family business

A family legacy from the 15th century to today

Even by the standards of old European companies, the Mazzei family has been running its vineyard estate in Tuscany for a long time. Francesco Mazzei, one of the current family principals, represents the 24th generation since their wine estates began in 1435. His nephews, Lapo and Giovanni, now active in the business, are the 25th.

But continuity does not mean complacency – far from it. Francesco’s father, Lapo, modernised the operation, and when Francesco and his brother Filippo took over in the late 1980s they grew it from being, essentially, a local wine farm in a hamlet south of Florence to a professionally run estate. They introduced premium wines at a higher price level than the estate had ever produced, and expanded their national and international reach.

“It’s true to say that we didn’t exactly take over the family business; we did something entirely new,” says Francesco. 

Francesco says the handover to him and his brother was atypical of family businesses in this way: “My father had other businesses and he didn’t have time to develop this one, and so he asked me and my brother if we wanted to. 

“So we started to organise the company, to hire people, to grow the vineyard holdings, the property, and turn it into a new business.” They changed Mazzei “from a farming to a wine company… we developed and empowered the brand, and found distribution all over the world.”

From Tuscany to the world: Mazzei’s expanding wine empire

Mazzei now has three wineries in Italy, as well as a restaurant and hospitality operation in its home territory, the hamlet of Fonterutoli in the Tuscan hills – a 45-minute drive from Florence – and plans for restaurants in Brazil and, potentially, Japan.

While Francesco and Filippo run the business now, their generation comprises four siblings, all of whom sit on the management board, and between them they have 11 children. Two of them are actively involved in the business: Giovanni, Filippo’s son, who currently has responsibility for the export side and Lapo, Iacopo’s son, who runs the consumer side of the business. 

How does the 24th generation of a family decide which of its children will run the company as the 25th generation? “The most important part is to talk to everybody, not to assume that just because they are our children that they will want to be involved,” Francesco says. “You have to have the passion, and also the skills, to do it.”  

As with many family businesses, he says, children who plan to work in the company are asked to work at outside companies first, “where they are not the son of the owner. You have to prove yourself in an [outside] organisation where you have to report to someone else.” 

When they started at Mazzei, both Giovanni and Lapo started in sales, “as this is a relationship-driven business,” before specialising in the branches they now run. It was evident, he says, that they had different skill sets: Giovanni having the “nose for an opportunity” combined with the ability to bring it home, and Lapo driving digital engagement, events and hospitality. 

Balancing heritage and professionalism in the family business

Francesco says his key piece of advice for a family business is to understand that it has to run professionally, both in terms of operations and equity structure. “In a family, there are relationships, there is love, there are structures.” In a business, these structures are different. For example, he says, an older brother might make decisions on behalf of the family – but that doesn’t mean he can make decisions for the business.

As equity is handed down and spread through generations, with cousins all owning parts of a family company, he says it is useful professionally to think of them not as family members, but as company shareholders. 

Francesco, at 66, says that he and Filippo have already signalled to their children that they would expect them to take over, progressively, within the next two to three years. This will start with formal positions on the board of directors, after which they will see if either Giovanni or Lapo, or both, will run the company – “or if there is a need for someone else to come in to lead them to that position. Let’s see”. 

Lapo says that he already feels the responsibility to pass down the “entrepreneurial spirit of 25 generations” to ensure it continues to thrive. He says he is also aware of the need to innovate, to take into account changes in both nature and markets. “In an era marked by climate change, technological revolution, and evolving consumer habits, standing still means being left behind: it is a complex yet opportunity-rich time, one we face with courage and vision.”

Innovation and adaptability evidently run deep in a family that’s been making wine for Florence, and beyond, since before Michelangelo’s time.