He joined Random House, Inc. as Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer in November 1989, becoming Chairman and Chief Executive Officer in 1996. 

Mr. Vitale earned a degree in economics from the University of Turin in 1956 and attended the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School on a Fulbright Scholarship in 1958.

He served as a Mercy Trustee from 2000-2006 and in 2009, he was awarded an honorary degree from Mercy. Vitale and his wife, Gioetta, established the Gioietta and Alberto Vitale Endowed Scholarship to support incoming Mercy honors students who demonstrate extraordinary academic ability.  They also sponsored the creation of a technologically-sophisticated Vitale Life Skills Lab which provides students with a rich array of resources to help them prepare for entering the job market. Additionally, their support made possible Mercy’s first Anatomage Table, significantly enhancing student learning through interactive, three-dimensional exploration of human anatomy.

They have also sponsored the Vitale Center for Academic Excellence and Innovation, a reimagined physical space and cutting-edge technologies for students in need of tutoring. Mr. Vitale also collaborated with Mercy to establish a career mentoring database for alumni. 

Mr. Vitale has also served on the board of overseers of the Libraries of the University of Pennsylvania, the Economic Club of New York, the Council on Foreign Relations, and the Century Club of New York.