Lamborghini's Future FAB Award: Brand Strategy or Genuine Talent Pipeline?
A supercar company dedicates institutional resources to art, sustainability, and technology — and targets women under 30.
Automobili Lamborghini has launched the Future FAB Innovation and Transformation Award, a global competition for women under 30 with original projects in technology, sustainability, and art.
The CMO who framed the award as brand evolution
Katia Bassi, Lamborghini's Chief Marketing Officer and reportedly the first woman to join the company's Management Board, framed the award explicitly as an extension of the company's evolution.
The FAB network convenes at Sant'Agata Bolognese
The first 2019 FAB meeting took place in May at Lamborghini's headquarters in Sant'Agata Bolognese, where members toured the factory and exchanged ideas on innovation and what Lamborghini describes as informal luxury.
No direct rival match in scope
McLaren and Aston Martin run educational partnerships and STEM outreach, but these are typically aimed at engineering recruitment rather than building a branded community of external advisors who feed back into marketing strategy.
The Urus effect on Lamborghini's customer base
Over 70% of Urus buyers are new to Lamborghini, forcing the company to answer a strategic question: how do you retain and deepen loyalty among customers who arrived through a very different entry point than the traditional V12 enthusiast?
FAB members gather under the Lamborghini banner
Winners receive formal recognition endorsing their professional potential, candidacy for the roughly 200-member FAB network, and an in-house educational experience at Lamborghini headquarters in Sant'Agata Bolognese.
Simultaneous transformations across the brand
Lamborghini in 2019 is a company managing simultaneous transformations: the Urus has redefined its production volume and customer demographics, hybrid technology is on the horizon, and the brand is actively cultivating audiences that previous leadership would never have prioritized.
Shaping the next generation of luxury consumers
The Future FAB Award is one of the clearest signs yet that Sant'Agata Bolognese intends to shape the next generation of luxury consumers rather than wait for them to arrive.
Market intelligence through the FAB
Bassi pointed to the FAB as a mechanism that provides market intelligence on luxury trends and purchasing behavior while positioning Lamborghini as a company that invests in future leaders.
Institutional commitment beyond seasonal marketing
A named, 200-member international board with its own digital infrastructure and a formal awards program attached to it represents a level of institutional commitment that goes well beyond a seasonal marketing campaign.
How rivals compare — and where they fall short
Ferrari operates its own philanthropic and cultural programs, but these tend to center on motorsport heritage, the Ferrari Museum, and the Maranello community rather than a structured talent-development pipeline for young women in technology or sustainability.
Senior leadership on the jury panel
CTO Maurizio Reggiani judges the Technology category, CFO Paolo Poma and CMO Ranieri Niccoli sit on the Sustainability panel, and Bassi herself evaluates Art entries alongside Chief Human Capital Officer Umberto Tossini.
From award to business case
Lamborghini says the in-house educational experience will develop the skills needed to build a complete business case in support of the winning project, drawing on management know-how and the FAB network.
Consistent with the founding ethos
For a brand built on the legend of Ferruccio Lamborghini's refusal to accept conventional wisdom about what a car company should be, investing in young women's innovation projects outside the automotive sphere is, at minimum, consistent with the founding ethos.