One year later, in 1975, he starts to work in watchmaking when he is hired by an Italian distributor of prestigious Swiss brands. In 1982, he starts his entrepreneurial career by founding MGA, which will later become Tradema. The company distributes Swiss and American brands Blancpain, Breitling and Hamilton in Italy. Just seven years later, in 1989, he becomes a shareholder of the historical Girard-Perregaux manufacture in Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland, and in 1992 he becomes its President. Shortly afterwards, he adds the Daniel Jean Richard brand – created by one of the founders of Swiss watchmaking – to Girard-Perregaux. The two companies together converge into the Sowind Group. In just a few years, Gino becomes known for his ability to give new life to historic brands, and as an ambassador of the huge cultural, aesthetic and technical value of mechanical watches. Most importantly, he proves his entrepreneurial skills and, at the same time, is able to express his creativity as a designer of dials, cases and bracelets for the new collections. In 1998, he wins the “Esprit d’Enterprise-industrie” GAIA award, the most prestigious acknowledgement in Swiss watchmaking. In 1999, he becomes President of the Association Interprofessionelle de la Haute Horlogerie (AIHH) – the association representing the best producers and distributors in the industry – and remains in office for three terms.

Despite his hard work and achievements in watchmaking, Gino does not forget his first love: the world of cars and racing competitions. In 1987, he joins Club Italia, an association of Italian car manufacturing lovers. A few years later, at the beginning of the 1990’s, he becomes President and remains in office for almost two decades.
In his efforts to promote the cultural, social, aesthetic and historical values of automobiles, he decides to restore rally cars from the golden years of rallying. It’s the beginning of what is still one of the most relevant collections in this field.
Despite the great interest in the history of motorsport, Gino is equally passionate about his times. In 1997 he joins the Commissione Sportiva Automobilistica Italiana (CSAI) – which acts as the Italian federation of motorsport within the Automobile Club d’Italia (ACI) – with specific roles related to rallying. In 2001, he becomes President of CSAI. In 2000, he founds a team to compete in the Junior World Championship (Junior WRC) under the Italian flag. It’s the beginning, in Turin, of R&D Motorsport: with Andrea Dallavilla driving a Fiat Punto Rally Super 1600, the team wins the silver medal in the 2001 edition of the JWRC. In 2005, Gino is elected President of the Commission Internationale de Karting, a body of the International Automobile Federation (FIA), and represents Italy at the FIA World Council.