Born in Tombolo, a small village near Padova, Italy on 3 July 1940, Mr. Doris entered the Retail asset management field in 1969 when he became a salesman for Fideuram. In 1971 he joined Dival, where he rose to be the head of a 700-person sales force. In 1982 he started his own company "Programma Italia" and convinced Silvio Berlusconi to invest 250,000 Euro in return for a half share of the company. His strategy was to focus on Retail client relationships, while subcontracting the management of invested funds to other firms. Under his charismatic leadership his network of salesmen grew rapidly as did the funds under management. He added insurance and banking and renamed the firm Mediolanum. In June 1996 the company was floated on the Italian stock market. Mr. Berlusconi described it as the best investment he had ever made.