Giuseppe Panini

Giuseppe Panini (9 November 1925 – 18 October 1996) was an Italian entrepreneur, known for founding the Panini Group. He led the company bearing his name for many years, which became known for its stickers, trading cards and other collectibles. He was also involved in volleyball, establishing the successful club Modena Volley, and was inducted into the International Volleyball Hall of Fame in 2024.

Early life Panini was born on 9 November 1925 in Maranello, Modena, Italy, as one of eight children. He left school at age 11. He was a worker for Ferrari in 1940 and then for Fiat from 1941 to 1943. He earned 10 million lire in his first year and then began producing more stickers.

Panini hired his three brothers to the business, the Panini Group, and began producing stickers on an "industrial" scale. In 1973, he also was a co-founder of the Italian Volleyball League, which he later served as president of for eight years.

Panini led his club to eight Italian championships, six Italian cups, three Confederation Cups and one Championship Cup title. His club featured 14 players who were later inducted into the IVHF and Modena Volley also won 13 European trophies, including CEV Champions League title four times. He sold the club to industrialist Giovanni Vandelli in 1993.

Personal life and death Panini married Maria Maddalena Schiavi in 1956 and had four children with her. He served as president of the Modena Chamber of Commerce from 1985 to 1992 and was the founder of a school for business managers as well as a high school. He also ran a restaurant. A member of the Italian Socialist Party, Panini ran for election to the Senate of the Republic in 1992, but did not win a seat.

Panini had a personal collection of over 750,000 stickers from his company, which he donated to the Modena city council in 1992. He also collected accordions and newspapers; by the time of his death, he held every copy of La Gazzetta dello Sport that had been produced since 1929.

Panini died in Modena on 18 October 1996, at the age of 70. After his death, the court for the Modena Volley club was renamed PalaPanini in his honor. He was inducted into the International Volleyball Hall of Fame in 2024 as a leader.