MILAN—Ferrari NV hired a top executive from the semiconductor industry as its new CEO, as car makers focus on microchips and digital technologies that increasingly control everything from brakes to entertainment systems.
Benedetto Vigna, 52, will take over at Ferrari on Sept. 1. Until then, John Elkann, the company’s chairman, will continue as interim chief executive. Mr. Vigna is currently a divisional president at French-Italian semiconductor manufacturer STMicroelectronics NV, where he has worked for more than 25 years.
In announcing the appointment, Mr. Elkann cited Mr. Vigna’s “deep understanding of the technologies driving much of the change in our industry.”
The global chip shortage that has led to production delays in the auto industry is expected to continue for months to come. That has called into question the auto sector’s rebound as the severity of the coronavirus pandemic recedes in many countries.
The pandemic’s economic fallout has hit orders for Ferraris and other luxury cars. Ferrari issued a profit warning in May, saying that because of the pandemic it wouldn’t meet profit targets it had set for next year. The company pushed back the target to 2023.
