He may now be the top man at Pirelli's motorsport section – charged with supplying the tyres for all the F1 cars in the paddock – but he hasn't forgotten his North Somerset roots, or his passion for Bristol City.
"I was raised in Cleeve, and went to Backwell Comprehensive School," the 45-year-old says. "I'm old enough to remember when Bristol City were in the top flight, beating teams like Liverpool. But that all seems a long time ago now.
"I still get to as many games as I can at Ashton Gate," he adds. "But it's not easy to get home these days, because my F1 commitments mean a lot of world travel.
"My main base is now Milan, but I have a holiday home in Cheltenham – so that makes it easier to get back to Bristol whenever I can.
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The divorced father-of-three had already carved out a glamorous lifestyle for himself, as head of Pirelli Motorsport in Milan, but he admits his life stepped up a gear after he managed to talk Bernie Ecclestone into bringing Pirelli into Formula One.