Michele Colaninno
ACEM Vice-President
In June 2022, Michele Colaninno was appointed the President of the European Association of Motorcycle Manufacturers (ACEM), the Brussels-based trade association representing the motorcycle industry in Europe.
At present, he is Chief Executive Officer of Omniaholding S.p.A., the company that controls Immsi S.p.A., an industrial holding with interests in finance, real estate and manufacturing, listed on the Milan Stock Exchange (IMS.MI) and which reported a turnover of more than 1.7 billion euro in 2021. Mr Colaninno is also Chief Executive Officer and Chief Operating Officer of the Immsi Group, which controls the Piaggio Group and also holds investments in a number of important Italian industrial groups.
In the Piaggio Group, Mr Colaninno is a Director, Chief Executive of global strategy, product, marketing and innovation. He is also the Founder and Chair of the US robotics company Piaggio Fast Forward.
In 2017, Mr Colaninno delivered a lecture to the Harvard University I-Lab on the impact of robotic technologies and artificial intelligence on daily life, linking the new innovations to the Piaggio Group Design Thinking process.
Mr Colaninno was born on 23 November 1976 in Mantua, Italy. He holds a degree in Business & Economics from the Catholic University of Milan, and has held executive roles in many organisations since.
Stefan Pierer
ACEM President
An Austrian national, Mr Stefan Pierer is CEO and a majority shareholder of KTM Industries AGE. This group is the successor to the CROSS holding group, which Mr Pierer founded in 1987. He also serves as Chairman of the Board of Pankl Racing Systems AG, as well as Deputy Chairman of the Supervisory Board of WP AG.
Mr Pierer began his career in 1982 at HOVAL GmbH in Marchtrenk, Austria, after graduating in Business and Energy Management from the Montan University in Leoben.
Eric de Seynes
ACEM Vice-President
After graduating from a French business school, Eric de Seynes started his career in the motor sport business, which brought him to MotoGP and F1. He joined Yamaha Sonauto as Marketing Department Manager in June 1990, and later, in 1994, as Sales & Marketing Division Manager of Yamaha Motor France.
In 2009 he became the General Manager of Yamaha Motor France and CEO in 2010. In 2012 Eric de Seynes joined the General Executive Committee of Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd.
In January 2014, Yamaha Motor Europe called Eric de Seynes for a newly created role, Operational Director of Yamaha Motor Europe. In 2015, he was nominated Chief Operating Officer of Yamaha Motor Europe and on 25th March 2016, Mr. Eric de Seynes was nominated Executive Officer of Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd., before becoming the first non-Japanese President and CEO of Yamaha Motor Europe on 1st January 2018. Since 2020, he has been a Senior Executive Officer of Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd.
In addition to his position at Yamaha Motor Europe, Mr. Eric de Seynes is the President of the Supervisory Board of Hermès International (since 2011), and a member of the Executive Committee of ACEM (European Association of Motorcycle Manufacturers).
Antonio Perlot
Secretary General
An Italian-Swedish national, Antonio Perlot has been Secretary General of ACEM since 2014. In this capacity, he is responsible for leading and coordinating the work of the association and representing the motorcycle industry at European and international levels. Prior to this, from 2006 to 2014, Mr Perlot served as ACEM Public Affairs Manager, advising the motorcycle industry on public and regulatory affairs.
Between 2001 and 2006, Mr Perlot worked for the Federation of European Motorcyclists’ Associations (FEMA), first as Campaigns Officer, then as Secretary General. Prior to that, he worked at EPRO as a public affairs consultant representing clients from different industry sectors. He has also worked in the NGO sector.
Mr Perlot holds a BA in Political Science (with a specialisation in European integration) from La Sapienza University and a MA in Diplomatic Studies from Società Italiana per l’Organizzazione Internazionale (SIOI).
Contact details
+32 (0)22 30 97 32
José Díez
Manager EU Affairs and Communications
José Diez joined ACEM in 2023 to coordinate the public affairs and communication areas. Under his position, he will ensure a continuous dialogue with EU institutions and relevant stakeholders to promote the role of motorcycles towards EU goals in safety, sustainability and digitalisation.
Before ACEM, Mr Diez has mainly spent his professional career in transport and mobility representing road infrastructure and automotive aftermarket sectors. His experience includes contribution to EU expert groups sharing knowledge from industry, development of communication activities building trust and visibility, and involvement in several research projects with benefits for motorcycling. Previously, he held other positions in private sector and the European Parliament.
Born in Madrid, Mr Diez holds a Law Degree with EU specialisation from University Complutense of Madrid (Spain) and a LLM in International Commercial Law from the University of Leicester (United Kingdom).
Dr. Veneta Vassileva
Safety Manager
Dr Veneta Vassileva is responsible for coordinating the road safety activities of ACEM and its members. She also acts as ACEM representative within several bodies including the International Motorcycle Manufacturers Association’s (IMMA) Road Safety Working Group, the Vulnerable Road Users Working Group of the iMobility Forum, and the Cooperative Intelligent Transport Systems (C-ITS) platform created by the European Commission.
Dr Vassileva has coordinated several European research projects including eSUM (European Safer Urban Motorcycling) and prepared IMMA’s policy document ‘The Shared Road to Safety – A global approach for safer motorcycling’.
Prior to joining ACEM, Dr Vassileva worked as a Project Manager at the European Red Cross Office, where she was in charge of coordinating the IV European Red Cross Road Safety Campaign and for the Bulgarian Red Cross as an expert on health promotion and prevention.
Ms Vassileva holds a Doctor of Medicine (MD) from Sofia Medical University (Bulgaria).
Thomas Vercammen
Technical Manager
A Belgian national, Thomas Vercammen joined ACEM in 2013 as Technical Officer. His main role is to monitor EU and worldwide regulatory developments and to coordinate related challenges and opportunities for the motorcycle’s industry.
Before joining ACEM, Mr Vercammen Thomas worked for Honda Motor Europe, an ACEM member, as homologation and regulation expert for both motorcycles and cars. He specialises in combustion engine emissions development for small and large bore engines, and has worked in the past for FEV Motorentechnik as a diesel calibration engineer and for the Anglo Belgian Corporation as a R&D engineer.
Mr Vercammen obtained a degree in automotive engineering from the HTS- Autotechniek (HAN) in the Netherlands.
Pierluca Cialoni
Regulatory Officer
Pierluca Cialoni joined ACEM secretariat in February 2024 as Regulatory Officer.
Under his role, he is working on technical developments to ensure the motorcycle sector properly addresses risks and opportunities for the benefit of the vehicle and therefore the user. His assignments also include coordination of working groups dealing with sustainability and safety strategic priorities within our strategic Vision2030+.
Before ACEM, Mr Cialoni worked as Design Engineer and Product Regulations Expert in a global automotive component supplier company, specialising in brake system development with a focus on market implementation of legislations related to two-wheel and three-wheel vehicles.
Mr Cialoni was born in Italy and obtained a Master of Mechanical Engineering from Università degli Studi di Padova (Italy).
Contact details
@acem.eu
+32 (0)22 30 97 32