Marco Durante (entrepreneur)

Marco Maria Durante (born March 24, 1962) is an Italian entrepreneur, media strategist, and university lecturer. He is the founder, CEO, and President of LaPresse SpA, an international multimedia news agency. For over three decades, Durante has established LaPresse SpA as an authority in the Italian and international media industries.
In 2005, Durante founded LaPresse Nuoto Torino, a swimming club in Turin, where he served as chairman. The team achieved notable results and attracted international athletes such as the French swimmer Laure Manadou, who joined the team in 2007.
In 2023, Durante received the Special Award for "Best Italian Entrepreneur in the United States of America" at the Business Care International Award ceremony held in New York. Additionally, Durante was awarded the Luiss Global Fellowship for his innovation and leadership.
==Early life and education==
Durante was born in Turin and raised between Italy and New York. His father, Silvio Durante, founded the historic photojournalism agency Publifoto Turin. Durante attended the scientific high school of Sacra Famiglia in Turin before enrolling at ISEF (Istituto Superiore di Educazione Fisica), where he earned a degree in motor sciences in 1988. During his time as an ISEF teacher in France, Durante pursued studies in sports disciplines at the Université Claude Bernard Lyon.
Durante's passion for sports led him to coach swimming in Turin. Durante coached Libertas SAFA alongside Corrado Rosso, achieving notable successes with the Turin swimming team stepping up to the first division from serie C. In football He actively participate as a midfielder in the youth team of Torino F.C. 
In 2013, Durante obtained a first-level Italian master's qualification in criminology and forensic Law in Naples. Subsequently, in 2015, Durante graduated with honors and distinction Law in Naples, specializing in tax law, with publication rights for his thesis.
In 2020, Durante obtained a Certificate in Corporate Finance from the NYU Stern School of Business in New York. In 2021, he completed the Coursera Certificate in Financial Markets at Yale University.
==Career==
In 1992, Durante started his career by collaborating with Publifoto Torino, his father's photo agency.
Marco Maria Durante is the protagonist of an entrepreneurial journey that in thirty years has led him to be among the leaders of the publishing scene in the world. 
===LaPresse SpA===
In 1994, Durante and his brother, Massimo Maria Durante, established LaPresse SpA. Initially, the company started as a photographic agency, acquiring the archives of Publifoto Torino. Over time, LaPresse SpA diversified its activities, introducing photo reporting activities, video news, press agencies, celebrity management, and television productions.
On August 31, 1996, Durante’s brother Massimo died in a car accident during his work at the Venice International Film Festival
In 2006, Durante oversaw the transformation of LaPresse into a public limited company, marking a pivotal moment in its development. Subsequently, in 2008, he started the internationalization plan by securing distribution rights in Italy for prominent content providers such as Associated Press (2010–2014), Reuters, Xinhua, EFE, the Press Association (2015–2017), and Agence France-Presse (2018–2020). LaPresse became the exclusive Italian partner of Associated Press, facilitating content distribution both domestically and internationally.
LaPresse SpA expanded its operations, establishing ten offices across Italy and venturing into international markets, including the United States, Spain, and Portugal.
In 2015, LaPresse SpA acquired AGR and A.G.A. (Agenzia Giornali Associati). In 2017, it concluded a multi-year partnership agreement with Agence France-Presse to distribute text, photos, and videos in Italy from 2018 to 2020. In 2018, it acquired the photojournalistic, journalistic, film, audiovisual, and photographic branches of Olycom, Publifoto Notizie, Olimpia, Franca Speranza, Archivio Bungaro, Archivio Bernardi. The archive has 15 MLN photos going from the beginning of 1900 until the 90’s. On February 18, 2019, it signed an agreement of partnership with the Associated Press for photos and videos in Italy.
From 1997 to 2017, LaPresse was the official agency for Juventus FC and the official broadcasting channel called Juventus Channel on the Sky platform. From 2018 to 2020, it held similar roles for AC Milan and operated the Milan Channel. LaPresse was the official photo agency for AS Roma from 2019 to 2022 and for Lazio FC from 2000 to 2005. Since 2013, it has been the official agency for Torino FC, overseeing the Torino Channel.
LaPresse pioneered video news in Italy and integrated industrial photography with historical archives. Durante has managed media operations involving prominent personalities and brands, including the Agnelli family, Kissinger, Ranieri di Monaco, and Silvio Berlusconi, and handled the Elkann/Corona case.
In 2018, LaPresse SpA established a specialized division for television productions led by Elisa Ambanelli. Concurrently, the celebrity management segment expanded to include notable personalities such as Barbara d'Urso, Elisabetta Gregoraci, Andrea Iannone, Manuela Arcuri, Gaia Bermani Amaral, Adriana Volpe, Giovanni Ciacci, and Rita dalla Chiesa. Paola Barale, Belen Rodriguez, Sarà Mancuso, Loredana Lecciso, Barbara Matera, Emanuela Titocchia, Eleonora Giorgi, Licia Nunez, Claudio Lippi, Monica Bertini, Luana Ravagnini and Tiberio Timperi. In 2015 he became board member of the 2B television production company of Luna Berlusconi and Barbara D’Urso. In March 2021 after 6 years he terminated the partnership management with Barbara D’Urso declaring: “at this point it no longer made sense to continue our working relationship”. It was a decision after years of good contract but at the point we did reach was the best decision for both parts.
Between 2020-2023, LaPressse expanded its global footprint with offices in New York, Washington, Miami, Brussels, London, Paris, Berlin, Madrid, Warsaw, Prague, Geneva, Vienna, Casablanca, Tokyo, and Hong Kong.
In January 2023, LaPresse launched its international expansion plan in Spain, distributing photos, videos, and texts from AP, APTN, and LaPresse in English and Spanish. Since July 1, 2023, LaPresse has expanded its distribution to Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Paraguay, Peru, and Uruguay.
On June 15, 2023, Durante assumed the role of CEO and President, overseeing operations from the company's New York headquarters. He assumed responsibility across the East to West Coast, including Washington and Los Angeles, and established corporate relations with the White House in America.
===LaPresse Nuoto Torino===
In 2005, Durante founded LaPresse Nuoto Torino, an Italian swimming club. Durante was the chairman and collaborated with Vice Chairs Lapo Elkann and Cristiano Fiorio to propel the team to success. The club attracted international athletes, including French swimmer Laure Manadou, who joined in 2007. Following a dispute with Manadou's entourage, Durante dissolved the team after the conclusion of the Manadou case, thereby releasing athletes from their contracts.
===Academia===
Durante has held positions within academia, contributing his expertise to various universities. In 2015, he assumed the role of professor of business communication strategies at the Faculty of Business Economics at Pegaso Telematic University. He teaches media and communications at The Universitas Mercatorum, a private online university accredited by the University of Italian Chambers of Commerce.
==Awards and recognitions==
* In September 2021, Durante was honored with the Global Fellowship by LUISS University.
* Learn Italy, the international Italian Communication, Promotion, and Business Agency, presented Durante with an award in May 2022.
* In 2023, Durante received the "Best Italian Entrepreneur in the United States of America" award at the Business Care International Award ceremony held in New York.
* In 2023, the docufilm produced by LaPresse on Gianni Agnelli won the Golden Globe award for best documentary.
==Personal life==
Durante lives between Milan and New York. Durante was an accomplished footballer and swimmer who did many marathons and many tennis tournaments and married to Thea Aprea. Durante have three children Vittoria, Edoardo and Ginevra.
His eldest daughter, Vittoria, is a marketing and media graduate from Southern Utah University, USA. She has worked for the Associated Press in America and then moved to London. She currently works at Mediaset Group.
==In the media==
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==References==
==External links==
* LaPresse SpA
* 
* Marco Maria Durante Italian Wikitia prolife
* Marco Maria Durante Spanish Wikitia prolife
Category:1962 births
Category:Italian businesspeople
Category:Italian media personalities
Category:Professors
Category:Italian people