Massimo Imperiali
Investment Manager
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- Full Name
- Massimo Imperiali
- Title
- Investment Manager, Team Equity (Private Equity)
- Firm
- Azimut Libera Impresa SGR (part of the Azimut Group / Azimut Holding)
- Firm Type
- Institutional alternative asset manager (regulated Italian SGR) — private equity, venture capital, real estate and infrastructure funds. Note: the original stub labeled him an "Angel Investor," but the verifiable record places him in the institutional private-equity team of an asset-management firm, not as an individual angel.
- Investment Stage
- Primarily growth / expansion / buyout of established Italian SMEs (the firm's separate Venture Capital desk, headed by Guido Bocchio, covers early-stage; Imperiali sits on the private-equity "Team Equity")
- Check Size
- Fund-level; the Demos 2 private-equity program targets Italian SMEs with EBITDA of roughly €5–20 million (fund raising target €360m total across two vehicles)
- Target Company Profile
- Small and mid-sized Italian companies with high growth potential
- Sector Focus
- Sector-agnostic across Italian manufacturing, industrials, consumer/luxury supply chain, and real-economy SMEs
- Geographic Focus
- Italy (historically strong in Lombardy and, more recently, Tuscany)
- Location
- Milan, Italy
Background
Massimo Imperiali is an Investment Manager on the private-equity ("Team Equity") desk at Azimut Libera Impresa SGR, the alternative-asset arm of Italy's largest independent asset manager, the Azimut Group. He graduated with top marks in Business Administration (Economia Aziendale) from Università Commerciale Luigi Bocconi in Milan.
He has more than 14 years of private-equity experience. Per his firm bio, he worked in the private-equity team of Interbanca from 2003 to 2009, then in the Equity Investment division of GE Capital from 2009 to 2011, before joining Azimut Libera Impresa SGR (formerly Futurimpresa SGR) in October 2011, where he has served as Investment Manager since. Over his career he has participated in numerous investment and divestment transactions across multiple sectors, in some cases serving as a board member (Consigliere d'Amministrazione) of portfolio companies. His LinkedIn summary describes involvement in the execution of 15+ private-equity transactions totaling more than €230 million, alongside structured-finance and M&A work.
Azimut Libera Impresa positions itself as a platform for channeling private capital into the "real economy," democratizing access to private markets for Italian retail and professional investors. Its private-equity strategy runs through ELTIF-structured vehicles — notably the Demos and Demos 2 programs — which co-invest in growth-stage Italian SMEs. Imperiali operates within this institutional structure rather than as an independent angel investor.
Investment Thesis & Focus
- Invests through institutional, ELTIF-structured private-equity funds (e.g., the Demos / Demos 2 programs) rather than personal angel checks.
- The Demos 2 program targets Italian SMEs with EBITDA of ~€5–20 million and "high growth potential," making co-investments and minority-to-control stakes; it is PIR-compliant and the professional-investor vehicle is classified Article 8 SFDR.
- Core thesis is putting private capital to work in the Italian "real economy" — supporting entrepreneurs and mid-market manufacturers, often via buy-and-build / supply-chain aggregation platforms.
- Sector-agnostic but with demonstrated appetite for Italian industrial and luxury/consumer supply-chain assets (e.g., the Tuscan footwear district).
- Comfortable taking board seats and playing an active, hands-on ownership role in portfolio companies.
Notable Investments
- FTC – Filiera Toscana della Calzatura (2024): Azimut Libera Impresa (via its AZIMUT ELTIF Private Equity – Ophelia and Valsabbina funds) subscribed a capital increase to take a 30%+ minority stake in FTC, a new luxury-footwear supply-chain aggregation platform promoted by Michele Paris/P4, bundling four Tuscan companies (Iannelli, Danimarc, Apam International, Fagiolini) with ~€30m combined revenue. Imperiali was named as part of the deal team (alongside Pietro Muzio, Giacomo Nava and Andreas Nota). Deal supported with ~€30m from Azimut Libera Impresa and illimity SGR.
- Value Group (Milan): Taken under control by Azimut Libera Impresa's Ophelia (AZ ELTIF / Demos I) fund, with financing from Eurazeo.
- Demos I fund (launched late 2019): A pioneer of direct retail private equity in Italy; reported to have made 6 investments with one successful exit.
- Demos 2 program (first closing July 2025 at €120m; €360m total target): The current flagship private-equity vehicle co-investing in Italian mid-market SMEs.
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