It’s official: Chiara Ferragni and Fabio Maria Damato part ways. The confirmation comes from a press release from the companies of the well-known influencer, Fenice and Tbs Crew. “Starting from 16 June 2024, Fabio Maria Damato will cease to act as general manager and advisor of both companies to pursue other professional opportunities – reads the note – The change is part of a process of corporate renewal”.
Damato: “I thank Chiara, embittered by chance Pandoro”
From his social profiles Fabio Maria Damato clarifies his exit from Chiara Ferragni’s group. “Tomorrow will be my last day as general manager of Tbs Crew and Chiara Ferragni brand and for this I want to thank all the professionals who, with their experience and humanity, wanted to support me in this adventure. In addition, obviously, to Chiara Ferragni who more than 7 years ago she called me to support her in the evolution of her business project, believing in my vision”, writes the manager in a story on Instagram a few hours after the official announcement of the companies Fenice and Tbs Crew. “I also thank all the talents I followed in their evolution, from Marina Diguardo to Francesca and Valentina Ferragni, but also Pietro Terzini, Manuele Mameli and Luca Vezil”, writes Damato who clarifies his choice to leave the group.
“In fact, last February, after careful and inevitable reflections, I decided to resign (so no, I was not fired) from the companies with which I have shared an incredible professional path, and for which over the years I have given my all in terms of absolute dedication, ideas, heart and head, always honoring the values of honesty and correctness that distinguish me”. Demonstrating this, adds Damato, “I accepted to the end the needs of the companies that asked me to stay until June, despite the fact that the communication operations implemented from 17 December 2023 onwards did not see my involvement”.
And on the legal matter relating to Pandoro-gate he writes: “I am not allowed at this moment to go into the merits of pandoro case but since some e-mails insistently attributed to me have become public, I must point out that none of these e-mails were mine. However, I remain saddened by how this affair has overshadowed years of hard and honest work done by the companies and people involved. An always uphill job, dotted with many obstacles and just as many successes, which anyone who considers themselves intellectually honest cannot attribute only to chance or luck.” Then there is the disappointment for the many collaborators and Chiara Ferragni herself: “It hurts me the suffering inflicted on employees of all companies who felt publicly attacked and saw the companies they work for and consequently their jobs endangered. I emerge exhausted from a certain violence that we have all suffered, especially Chiara Ferragni who I have always respected as a person and leader and for whom the honesty, dedication and affection that I have dedicated no one will ever be able to question”.
“In the months I read a certain obsession about my supposedly incredible earnings – the manager also states – Unfortunately (for me) not only are the figures circulated on my salary as an employee far from reality, but as a member of the two boards of directors I have never even received those fantastic salaries that are written about, because they are roles that I held for free until my voluntary exit”.
Damato then clarifies that he has not received any extraordinary severance pay: “To finish in the spirit of consistency, at the time of my voluntary resignation from all positions I did not request any additional severance pay, much less 4 million euros and nothing more was paid to me if not the social security contributions payable by law to any employee”.
The manager also specifies that Chiara Ferragni’s decision to leave the group was completely “autonomous and voluntary” and disputes the official version provided by the company: “In these difficult months I have never responded to provocations or incorrect information circulated on my I count because as an employee I believed it wasn’t correct to do so given the respect for people, hierarchies and the companies I worked for”.
However, things have changed now and today, continues the manager, “It is also appropriate to rectify how my exit was an autonomous and voluntary choiceand not, as spread by the company, that ‘the change is part of a process of corporate renewal'”, says Damato who concludes the post with a “thank you”.
What Fedez had said about the manager
The news of Damato’s exit comes a few months after the declarations of Fedez, Chiara Ferragni’s husband, during an interview on Francesca Fagnani’s ‘Belve’ programme. On that occasion, Fedez had mentioned Damato in the context of the so-called ‘Pandoro-gate’, a case which turned his wife’s professional life upside down and also negatively affected the couple’s relationship.
“I don’t want to go into the merits of the legal matter,” Fedez had said, “but I want to say one thing about Chiara. I’ve always wanted to defend her. It’s right that I took the shit for this matter, we chose to be The Ferragnez.. .”. Fedez had expressed his discomfort at the impossibility of immediately responding to the accusations: “It made me feel bad, in this situation, the inability to answer for something I didn’t commit. To respond, I had to wait for another person to handle everything. I would have defended myself straight away, I would have done completely different things”, clearly referring to the strategy adopted by the influencer and his management team.
The rapper had also clarified that, although the management of the crisis had contributed to creating a heavy climate, this had not been the main reason for the end of their marriage: “Chiara could have managed the situation better, everyone sees the bad faith: I am sure that there is no bad faith. You have chosen to take all the responsibility, you could and should have explained that the responsibilities are not all yours”. Even managers? “Only one manager”, claimed Fedez, making a clear reference to Damato, who never responded to the rapper’s accusations.
