Henri Pigozzi

Henri Théodore Pigozzi (born Enrico Teodoro Pigozzi; 26 June 1898, in Turin – 18 November 1964, in Neuilly-sur-Seine) was a car merchant and industrialist who is best known for having founded Société Industrielle de Mécanique et Carrosserie Automobile (Simca).

In 1912 his father disappeared, leaving Pigozzi, then aged 14, to take responsibility for his mother, his sister, and a small transport business.

In 1918, after the war, he secured the distribution rights for British and US motorcycles in the Piedmont region, selling surplus machines from the military stocks of the allied armies.

According to his son Jean (see below), all three of Henri's children were borne by his mistress but raised by his wife, Loisette, as her own.

(Cite profile by Ingrid Sischy, "Living Large Is The Best Revenge", Vanity Fair, December 2010) [1] He died suddenly, aged 66 from a heart-attack at Neuilly-sur-Seine, a suburb of Paris, on 18 November 1964, eighteen months later.