Diego Piacentini, a prominent tech executive who led stints at Apple and Amazon, is passionately devoted to Inter: `I had Macs installed at the headquarters and got to meet Ronaldo…`
In this beautiful house overlooking the tranquil waters of Lake Washington in Bellevue, precisely where whaling ships once moored for the winter before their spring journey north to Alaska, the sound is instantly familiar: Diego Piacentini, the 65-year-old Milanese tech veteran from Lambrate, along with his wife Monica, welcomes guests with the Inter anthem. On the sofa, the Nerazzurri couple have scattered jerseys from various eras, from Ronaldo to Barella, making it clear that the distance from San Siro is non-existent here. He began his career at Apple, eventually leading Apple Europe for Steve Jobs. He then became a long-time collaborator of Jeff Bezos from Amazon`s very early years. For two years, from 2016 to 2018, he held an office in Palazzo Chigi as extraordinary commissioner for the implementation of the government`s Digital Agenda. Piacentini now sits on several boards, including The Economist and DoorDash, and works as an advisor for investment funds and, notably, for Vento, a new fund for Italian startups. He is one of the most well-known Italians in the Seattle area, yet amidst his numerous commitments, there is one thing he always has time for: Inter.
Piacentini, what is FC Internazionale like when viewed from here?
“It`s family, something that belongs to me and Monica even before we were born. And then to our sons: Andrea, who now lives between Milan and Lerici and arrived in the USA at age 5, and Niccolò who lives in NY with his wife Hannah and has been in this country since he was eight. Just think, my father was at San Siro for the European Cup final against Benfica in 1965, while I saw my first stadium game in the early 1970s. It was a sad period after losing the final to Ajax: we were playing against Fiorentina, I remember being in the uncovered popular section, the second tier, an umbrella in the rain. A very sad game. But the `faith` was never affected. Today, I cross the ocean just to see my team…”.
Which Nerazzurri trips are the most memorable for you?
“The three Champions League finals from 2010 to today. The first one more than the other two… I always traveled from Seattle, which isn`t exactly close by. In Madrid, I risked not making it due to conflicting commitments. I was embarrassed to tell my wife I might not succeed, but she convinced me like this: `You work, don`t worry, I`ll go with the kids on my own…`. Of course, I resolved all my commitments… My son was supposed to go to the famous high school prom you see in movies, a very important moment, but he told his girlfriend: `Bye-bye, I`m going to see Inter…`. He lost a girlfriend, but he gained a Champions League.”
And the other two?
“Let`s start with the fact that it was, in any case, an achievement, an extraordinary double journey: we couldn`t have expected to reach two finals in three years. In Istanbul, we arrived with a direct flight and, for once, didn`t have a stopover. The Munich final, however, never happened for me: I prefer to think only of the beautiful day before the match, walking around Munich with the other fans. I remember the melancholic kebab afterwards all too well; it was the only place open downtown. Or rather, I think back to the semi-final with Acerbi`s incredible goal: I watched it here in Seattle, my wife was at San Siro. She had muscle pain for 4 days from the tension! But it`s not like I only go to finals: I go to San Siro when I`m in Milan, but I also remember, for example, a Europa League game in Glasgow in 2014-15 with Mancini on the bench.”
Now, however, Inter has come to play the World Cup near your home.
“I met Chairman Marotta and Oaktree at the training field they`re using, the Seattle Seahawks` facility: our team is in the hands of capable people with clear ideas. My first contact with the Inter club, however, dates back to 1999, it was the second year of The Phenomenon and I was head of Apple Europe. That time, Milly Moratti called me because she wanted to replace their old computers at the headquarters with Macintoshes and didn`t know I was an Inter fan, *so* much of an Inter fan. She hadn`t even finished speaking and I was already there. After that meeting, Ronaldo participated in a convention for our dealers: they couldn`t even believe it when he arrived.”
What`s Seattle like where Inter is based? What`s the city like from the inside after so many years?
“I did a high school exchange year in 1978 in Olympia, not far from here, in the state capital of Washington: to understand how much soccer was loved back then, I couldn`t even watch a minute of the Argentine World Cup on TV. By chance, 22 years later, in 2000, I happened to arrive in Seattle to join Amazon and I`ve been based here for the last 25 years. There`s an excellent balance between a very lively urban center and enchanting nature: I fish salmon in the lake in front of the house, there`s an eagle`s nest near the roof, and if I go a little further, I even find bears.”
Music, tech giants, international atmosphere: has it always been like this here?
“The city grew with the timber industry in the early 1900s, then Boeing was founded here, making history. Seattle then experienced a dark period with the sector crisis: people were leaving and the motto was `the last one to leave the city turn off the light`. The luck was then that Bill Gates was born here, thus Microsoft, and then Jeff arrived to create Amazon.”
To conclude, who is the face of Inter for you from the past and in today`s team?
“At Christmas in 2019, we exchanged Inter jerseys as gifts under the tree, and my son thought he was unlucky not to get Lukaku, but Barella. Today we can say it couldn`t have gone better; Nico is the face of these years! In the past, I loved Djorkaeff`s elegance, although the man who changed the perception of the club before my eyes is Kalle: Rummenigge, what a force of nature.”
