Riccardo Silva

Riccardo Silva (born June 4, 1970 in Milan ) is an Italian businessman. He is president and major shareholder of MP & Silva, a London- based media and television rights group with annual sales of $ 650 million, and co-owner of Italsilva Gruppo Desa, an Italy- based chemical company and owner of several companies in the Real estate, music and restaurant industries, mainly in the US and UK .

childhood and education

Riccardo Silva was born in Milan in 1970, the grandson of the founder of Italsilva Gruppo Desa, one of the largest Italian chemical groups. His maternal family, Fabbri, is known for the Fabbri Editori publishing house, now part of the RCS Media group. Silva graduated from Bocconi University and Tulane University.

Early career

In 1998 Riccardo Silva started MP Web, an internet start-up company of the Milan-based Media Partners Group (now Infront Media), which deals with sports rights and content for mobile and internet platforms. The company first gained fame in the 1990s. In 2001 Riccardo Silva became CEO of Milan Channel, the official TV channel of AC Milan football club, and he led the channel's international development.

MP & Silva

In 2004 Riccardo Silva founded the company MP & Silva. Since then, it has grown into a 'rival to the big beasts in sports rights agencies'. MP & Silva is an international media rights company based in London with 18 offices around the world. The company manages the TV sports rights for several international sporting events and distributes around 10,000 hours of programming to around 500 broadcasters worldwide. The company's portfolio includes FIFA World Cup rights, major European football leagues, Grand Slam tennis tournaments, motor sports, handball, baseball, volleyball, boxing and the Asian Games. MP & Silva is also a major distributor of the English Premier League in several countries around the world. The company's revenues for 2014-15 are estimated at $ 750 million.

Other business interests

In 2016 Riccardo Silva founded Silva International Investments, which he is now the owner. Silva International Investments is an investment firm owned by Riccardo Silva that manages and invests in assets in a variety of areas, including sports, media, fashion, restaurants and the arts. Silva International Investments is based in Mayfair, London. In 2015 Riccardo Silva became president and co-owner of Miami FC, a soccer club that plays with legendary AC Milan star and Italian international, Paolo Maldini, in the USA's North American Football League (NASL). Miami FC was founded in May 2015 and will start playing in April 2016 at Ocean Bank Field at Florida International University. Miami FC's head coach is Alessandro Nesta, a legend of AC Milan and the Italian national team, and the club signed a real star in 2015 with Wilson Palacios, the Honduran who previously played for English clubs Stoke City and Tottenham Hotspur. Riccardo Silva is also best known as the initiator of the project to establish the American Champions League (ACL), a tournament in which teams from North and South America and the Caribbean take part. The aim is to create a 64-team competition modeled on the UEFA Champions League that could generate an estimated $ 500 million in television and marketing rights, five times the current annual revenue for CONCACAF's Champions League and CONMEBOL's Copa Libertadores combined. This competition is on the verge of becoming the version of the popular European Champions League for the entire American continent and has been described as a 'vehicle to help the US rise to the top of the sport'. Riccardo Silva also has other business interests, including fashion, art, and restaurants. He is the owner of the Forte Dei Marmi restaurant group, which will open restaurants in London and Miami in 2016. Riccardo Silva also owns the MP Modellagentur, which manages models and talents through its branches in Milan, Miami and Paris. MP acquired the Paris office from Major Model Management in August 2015.