Pietro Ferrero, 47 year old head of Italian company Ferrero SpA, died near Oudekraal on the scenic coastal road between Camps Bay and Llandudno in Cape Town this afternoon, from an heart attack he suffered whilst cycling, the Camps Bay police station has confirmed.

Ferrero and his Ferrero Rocher colleagues were in Cape Town to attend a conference, which was held in different venues around Cape Town, including the Bay Hotel in Camps Bay, where they met for the conference yesterday.

Mr Ferrero was the Chairman and President of Ferrero SpA, a private company manufacturing Ferrero Rocher chocolates, Nutella, Kinder and Tic-Tac.  The company, founded by Ferrero’s grandfather with the same name,  has 18 factories around the world, with 21000 employees.

It is sad that our beautiful city Cape Town should be associated with the death of this prominent business leader, especially as reports, even from our local Mail & Guardian, state that he was “killed in SA accident”, over-dramatising the sad event. 

Chris von Ulmenstein, Whale Cottage Portfolio: www.whalecottage.com  Twitter: @WhaleCottage