Vincenzo Finizzola, opening GM of Four Seasons Milano, bowed out on April 10 after 22 years. “It was time to move on,” he said. “With no family ties and still with lots of energy and passion, I now need time to think and plan what comes next.”
As would be expected, the phone has not stopped ringing, but he is in no hurry. He is helping with the transition to his successor, Mauro Governato, until July 31, after which comes his annual all-August vacation with long-time pals, in St-Tropez.
To dispel growing rumors, on March 20 he had summoned his heads of department at 3 p.m., told them he was leaving and immediately circulated the news to all 230 employees, 35 of whom have been with him from the start. Many were in tears. Some line staff describe him as their honorary father.
“Since then I have often asked myself how I will use what has been ‘my hotel,'” admitted Finizzola, who lives next door. “I will greet doormen and bellmen as I go by, but out of respect for all concerned I will not go in, although I will appreciate the occasional invitation from my successor to come and have a coffee.”
Finizzola had been perfectly happy running the Gritti Palace in Venice until first-time guest Bob Burns stayed there with his wife and son and did that typical Burns assessment — shake hands, look in the eyes and hire. Burns wanted Finizzola to run Regent’s Milan project, but Regent pulled out, and Four Seasons came in.
Thanks to Burns’ disciple Wolfgang Nitschke, plus Four Seasons’ Antoine Corinthios and Ramon Pajares, then GM of Four Seasons’ Inn on the Park, London, Finizzola was finally hired in November 1992. “I had five months, before our April 1, 1993, opening, to hire 167 staff for what was originally a 98-room hotel (20 more rooms were added in 2000),” Finizzola recalled.
Then, there was much more use of telephone operators, security was less crucial and a spa was not even thought of until 2003. The hotel opened with a fine-dining restaurant, the lobby lounge and a Veranda coffee shop that after two days switched from sandwiches to pastas.
On a desert island, Vincenzo Finizzola said he would himself opt for pasta, with Parmigiano Reggiano, basil and olive oil, but, showing his international side, he breakfasts off croissants and American coffee. “I am really looking forward to my next challenge,” he said with his characteristic smile. “I love to travel, and not only to the French Riviera.”