Carlo De Benedetti holds a degree in Electrotechnical Engineering from the Polytechnic in Turin, where he graduated in 1958.  He began his entrepreneurial career in 1959 in his family’s enterprise, the “Compagnia Italiana Tubi Metallici Flessibili”, then transformed it in “Gilardini”, where he held the position of Chairman and CEO from 1972 and 1976.

In 1976 he founded CIR (Compagnie Industriali Riunite), one of the most important Italian private holding companies, with approximately 14,000 employees, listed on the Milan Stock Exchange, and operating in various sectors. He is currently Honorary Chairman of CIR and Cofide. From 1978 to 1996 Carlo De Benedetti was President of Olivetti, and Honorary Chairman from 1996 to 1999.

Since 2006 he is President of the editorial group L’Espresso. He is currently member of the Reuters Institute Advisory Board (Oxford) and of other international institutions. He is President of the Foundation Together To Go (TOG), that he founded in 2011 to help the rehabilitation of children suffering from neurological disorders. He is Honorary President of Make in Italy – CDB Foundation (created in 2014), a non-profit organization for the development of innovation and the support to growth of the Italian FatLabs.

He was awarded with the title of Cavaliere del Lavoro in 1983, he received the French Légion d’Honneur in 1987, the Silver Medal of Merit of the Republic of Austria in 2006 and the title of Commandeur de la Légion d'Honneur in 2015.

In 1998 he created the Fondazione RODOLFO DEBENEDETTI, in memory of his father, where he holds the position of President.