Ernesto Gismondi was the founder of the Artemide Group. He designed some of his company's products himself.
Gismondi was born on 25 December 1931 in Sanremo in Italy. In 1957, he graduated in aeronautical engineering from the Politecnico di Milano, before completing a degree in missile engineering at the engineering school in Rome in 1959.
From the early 1960s, Ernesto Gismondi designed and produced lighting solutions. Together with the designer Sergio Mazza, he founded Studio Artemide S.a.s., from which the Artemide Group developed. He established himself as an international designer and was one of the founders involved in the avant-garde Memphis movement.
Under Ernesto Gismondi's leadership, Artemide's market share grew steadily over the years. The Italian company became internationally known and one of the most important companies in the lighting design sector. Gismondi received several major awards, including the Compasso d'Oro (1994) and the European Design Prize (1997).
Ernesto Gismondi: an impressive career
Gismondi's career was also impressive beyond design: from 1964 to 1984, he lectured in missile engineering at the Politecnico. He was vice president of ADI (the Italian association for industrial design) and held various positions: in the Lombardy industrial association (Assolombarda), Federmeccanica, Confindustria, the Autonomous Trade Fair Agency of Milan and the Ministry of Universities and Research. He was also appointed by the Ministry of Public Education as a member of the educational and scientific committee of I.S.I.A. (Higher Institute for Artistic Industries) in Florence. Gismondi was a member of the arbitration committee of COSMIT (the organising committee of the Milan Furniture Fair) and of CNEL (appointed by the Office of the President of the Republic). In Italy and abroad, he took part in and led workshops on design, its development and energy-saving lighting technologies.
In 2008 and 2009, Ernesto Gismondi received the Ernst & Young "Entrepreneur of the Year" award in the Innovation and Communication categories respectively, and Giorgio Napolitano, President of the Italian Republic, named him "Cavaliere del Lavoro", an honour for leading figures in Italian industry.
