Gian Luca Rana - CEO of Pastificio Rana

In 1986 Gian Luca Rana joined the company and began working in purchasing management, subsequently in production processes and then in industrial development.

All these experiences in the different departments of the company have allowed Gian Luca to develop a great sensitivity and a complete and precise vision of the products at every stage of processing.

With a look towards the future, Gian Luca Rana understands the great potential of Pastificio Rana, at the time still a small family business and decides to create the Research & Development Center: a place to create and experiment with new products and new recipes to be offered on the market. In addition to innovating the products, Gian Luca also decides to revolutionize the production process by studying and designing machines and production processes patented entirely by Rana.

Gian Luca Rana first becomes General Manager and then CEO, a role that allows him to continue to innovate the sales and production strategy.

Subsequently, the success of Rana reached the whole of Europe and then, in 2012, reached the United States with the opening of the first overseas plant in Chicago with the aim of producing and distributing the range of fresh Rana products also in America

In just 5 years, the USA turnover reaches 300 million dollars.

His vision led Gian Luca to choose innovation as the philosophy on which to build the future of the company and in 2018 he created a real development hub: “Innovation House.” A multidisciplinary laboratory, involving different business functions to cultivate and grow new ideas and where constant research and exchange lead to the creation of new recipes, products, technologies, and production processes that are increasingly cutting-edge and able to anticipate the demands of tomorrow’s consumers. This is the place where, in 2023, the extraordinary “Italian Food in Space” project was born: a gourmet and nutritionally balanced food program, created by combining the know-how of Rana researchers and the experience of the chefs of Famiglia Rana Restaurant, exclusively for the crew of the Ax-3 space mission, in which Air Force Colonel Walter Villadei also took part.

In 2007 Gian Luca Rana wants to make the consumption of Rana products daily and accessible even outside the home. Thus was born the idea of the Rana restaurants, which are currently present throughout the country and in Berlin.

In Rana restaurants, it is possible to savor all the freshness and quality of Rana products through recipes that are tested daily by professional chefs.

Gian Luca Rana's goal is to offer its customers the opportunity to taste fresh dishes prepared with high quality raw ingredients in an open kitchen.

The restaurants offer a complete menu where there are not only first courses but also cold dishes and desserts.

In 2022 came the most prestigious recognition in the restaurant business: the “Famiglia Rana” restaurant in Vallese Oppeano, in the province of Verona, conceived by Gian Luca Rana as a place for experimentation and creative research obtained a MICHELIN Star in the Italy Guide 2023. The achievement marks the success of an important project that took its first steps precisely during the difficult months of the pandemic. In 2024, Ristorante Famiglia Rana gets a makeover and returns in a completely renovated house, thanks to Gian Luca’s meeting with exceptional chef Francesco Sodano.

Gian Luca Rana was Chairman of Confindustria Verona and Director of the Banco Popolare di Verona.

Gian Luca Rana is a member of the Board of Insead in Fontainbleau, the first Business School in the world according to the Financial Times ranking.

Since 2019 Gian Luca is President of the Athesis Publishing Group, which includes newspapers, radio, television broadcasters and digital platforms.

Gian Luca has also created the “Festival del Futuro”, an event dedicated to global market innovations that have an impact on society and the economy.

Among the numerous awards recognized to Gian Luca Rana are the 2018 Business Excellence award promoted by Harvard Business Review Italy and the prestigious "International Awareness Award" by Fordham University in New York for his entrepreneurial career in the USA.

Thanks to Gian Luca Rana's continued focus on the territory, in 2024 Pastificio Rana is among the protagonists of "Identitalia, the iconic Italian Brands": an exhibition organized to celebrate the historic brands that have made and continue to make the history of Italy.