Even if you’re not necessarily familiar with the name Gino Pozzo, you’re no doubt aware of his work. In addition to being a famed Italian businessman, he’s also both the owner and the managing director of Watford Football Club.
In the years since he and his father took over the club in 2012, Watford has been positively transformed from a scrappy young group of upstarts into a legitimate sensation. Indeed, this has been a long time coming for someone who has deeply loved the sport of football for as long as he can remember.
Gino Pozzo: A Life in Sports
Gino Pozzo grew up in an Italian family and was surrounded by people who loved football. It’s something that couldn’t help but rub off on him, even at a young age. Going as far back as his early childhood, Pozzo was a staunch supporter of several football clubs based in Italy.
Then, in the mid-1980s, something extraordinary happened. His parents were able to use money that they had saved from their various successful business enterprises to purchase a club of their own.
As is so often true in life, Gino Pozzo’s journey took an interesting turn in his early 20s. It was then that he left his home country to spend time in the United States, where he attended the esteemed Harvard University. He was inspired to do so in part by his father, who was able to turn around the family woodworking business to the point where he was able to purchase a second club.
After graduation, Gino Pozzo returned to his native Italy with a decision to make. On the one hand, it was almost expected that he would take over the family woodworking business and continue on with his father’s legacy of success. Yet at the same time, he wanted to follow in another of his father’s many paths – that of a professional club owner.
He chose the latter route and the rest, as they say, is history.
For a time, Gino Pozzo moved to France and continued with his efforts to buy an affordable football club of his own. After careful consideration, he actually decided on purchasing the club in Watford when such a chance became available. At the time, Watford was equal parts poorly run and struggling from a financial perspective. Not only did Pozzo believe he could improve the club’s overall performance with his intimate participation in its day-to-day activities, but he was confident in his ability to turn it around financially as well.
Unlike other football club owners, Gino Pozzo didn’t want to take a passive approach to his new acquisition. He wanted to be totally immersed in virtually everything going on with the club at a base level. He practices a three tiered approach to management where all key decisions, financial or otherwise, go through him and two of his closest associates. That includes not only some of their current focuses like stadium improvements, but also talent acquisition as well.
In addition to being the owner of the Watford Football Club, Gino Pozzo has also used his passion to become a notable talent scout as well. Along with a team that is estimated to be between 25 and 30 people in size at any given time, he scours the world looking for the next big player to bring into the fold. He and his scouts are particularly focused on areas like South America and Africa – emerging markets where he can invest early in prominent players who may be considered high risk to others.
But more than anything, Gino Pozzo has always actively looked towards the future. He doesn’t just want to own a football club – it’s not actually that difficult to accomplish that goal. He wants to help grow the team into the competitive force that it was meant to be. Over the years he has become very fond of Watford – both the city and the fans who live there. He’s committed to doing whatever it takes to bringing home the Premier League title that everyone involved deserves.
All of this is possible because, once upon a time, Gino Pozzo was just a young boy who loved sports. There are countless like him, to be sure – but few could match the ingenuity, the entrepreneurial spirit, and the perseverance that he brings with him to everything that he sets out to accomplish.