Today we are talking about a man who made his creative flair into an internationally renowned company, we are talking about Ernesto Gismondi. "The engineer", born in Sanremo on 25/12/1931 and died on 31/12/2020, was the founder and President of Artemide Group. The most passionate about the sector know who we are talking about, just as they know very well that Artemide is one of the main producers of Italian design lighting items, in the catalog the group boasts collaborations with world-famous architects and designers such as Vico Magistretti, Claudio Dini, Richard Sapper, Michele De Lucchi, Achille Castiglioni, Gianfranco Frattini, Jan van Lierde, Zebulon, Andrea Anastasio, Peter Zegers, Adrien Gardere, Toni Corsero, Carlo Forcolini, Carlotta de Bevilacqua.

In 1957, Gismondi obtained a degree in Aeronautical Engineering at the Milan Polytechnic and in 1959 he graduated in Missile Engineering from the Higher School of Engineering in Rome. From then on he dedicated himself to the design and production of lighting items together with the designer Sergio Mazza, together with whom he founded Studio Artemide S.a.s., starting point of the Artemide Group. He is also one of the creators of the Memphis group, with which he writes the history of Italian design in the world.

He has distinguished himself over time as an internationally renowned designer and, thanks to his leadership, the Artemide Group grows in terms of market share and international presence. Eng. Gismondi's life has been full of prizes, prestigious positions and awards such as the Compasso d'Oro for Career Award (1994) and the European Design Prize (1997), and the Ernst & Young Awards as "Entrepreneur of the Year 2008" for the category Innovation, in addition to the prestigious appointment as Cavaliere del Lavoro conferred by the President of the Republic Giorgio Napolitano, and as “The Entrepreneur of the Year 2009” for the Communication category.