Italy takes over fashion top management

While it is true that many international luxury giants now have many Italian brands in their portfolios, it is also true that more and more Italian managers are becoming the architects of the success of various foreign Maisons. A striking example is the recent appointment of Pietro Beccari (see MFF of January 11) as president and ceo of Louis Vuitton, the world’s biggest fashion brand. «Working in luxury today means knowing how to combine art, technology, and science. Italian managers stand out for their ability to combine organizational skills enriched by patience and negotiation abilities,» Erika Andreetta, Emea luxury community leader at Pwc Italia, told MFF. «A combination of core skills in the sector, where aesthetics and creativity are combined with practical and commercial requirements». In the shortlist of Italian managers at the helm of foreign giants, the most recent appointment is that of Stefano Corrado.

The ceo of Richemont Italia, the owner of the Italian division of the Swiss financial holding company that brings together brands such as Cartier, Van Cleef & Arpels, Vacheron Constantin, and Montblanc, has recently joined the board of director of Lionard luxury real estate, a company active in the real estate sector that boasts a portfolio of around 3,300 luxury properties worth almost 18 billion euros in total. At the same time, in Richemont, Gianluca Brozzetti from Perugia is now at the helm of the Buccellati brand, while Riccardo Bellini became the managing director of Chloé.

Returning to Bernard Arnault’s Group, Lvmh’s executive committee also includes Antonio Belloni, who joined in 2011 as general manager of the group for strategic and operational management. Alessandro Zanardo, who has been at the helm of the eyewear company Thélios since february last year, is another name under the Arnault’s brand. «Strategic planning, resource management, and leadership, with a distinctive inclination to deal with complex context in constant mutation, with market intuition and flexibility, are legacies of a horizontal scholastic education and a multidisciplinary cultural matrix such as the Italian one,» Andreetta added. «Italian managers are accustomed to setting clear objectives, creating effective action plans, and coordinating the necessary resources to achieve results in an entrepreneurial logic that sees them as the first players in the field. They are strategic and operational at the same time. They are the protagonists of solid personal relationships thanks to which they create long-lasting teams».

An excellence which was recognized even by the Harvard business review is Fabrizio Freda, the current ceo of Estée lauder. For the Harvard business school’s editorial project, which annually compiles a ranking of the top 100 ceos, Freda was one of the best one in 2019. Prior to his appointment, in 2012, the company had been led solely by the family and specifically by Leonard Lauder. His merits in the command chair of the New York cosmetics company are many, including boosting digital and pushing the fragrance category.

In the beauty sphere, Raffaella Cornaggia, ceo of Kering beauté, started at L’Oréal, then at Chanel parfums beauté, she joined Estée lauder companies in 2008 as marketing brand director of the Emea region for Estée lauder and Tom Ford beauty. In 2023 she joined Kering with the objective of developing the Bottega veneta, Balenciaga, Alexander McQueen, Pomellato, and Qeelin maisons. Another businesswoman at the helm of a French brand worth mentioning is Francesca Bellettini, president and ceo of Saint Laurent, who joined Kering in 2003 and has a solid financial background behind her. In the parisian group’s maison, the Cesena-born manager has promoted an open corporate culture over the years, which has also been good for the brand’s accounts. A veteran and always in an apex position for a French brand is Francesca di Carrobio, ceo of Hermès for Italy since 2005, and for 34 years on the luxury brand’s team.

In August last year, there was instead a momentous chair exchange at a Swiss luxury watch maison. At Audemars Piguet, Alessandro Bogliolo took over as the new chairman of the board from Jasmine Audemars, great-granddaughter of the founder of the eponymous maison. After many years of work both in Italy and abroad, from 2017 to January 2021 the Italian manager was ceo and executive board member of New York-based jeweler Tiffany & co.

After the Us-based G-III apparel group took a 100% stake in Karl Lagerfeld last year, the company’s current ceo and chairman Pier Paolo Righi, who was for nine years the right-hand man of the legendary German creative who passed away in 2019, was confirmed at the helm instead. Under his strategic vision, major retail channel investments were finalized, partnerships were signed, and an ad hoc digital strategy was pursued. Before joining Karl Lagerfeld, the manager worked for more than nine years at Nike and Tommy Hilfiger Europe. Finally, the appointment of Gabriele Maggio, formerly of Moschino, as president and ceo of Stella McCartney, part of the French Lvmh Group, dates back to 2019. His career includes experience at Gucci and Bottega veneta.

Staying in the Uk, a historic presence is that of Carlo D’Amario, ceo of Vivienne Westwood. The list of Italians at the top levels of outside companies also includes, of course, Marco Bizzarri, ceo of Gucci, a subsidiary of Kering, and Jacopo Venturini, ceo of Valentino, a maison part of Mayhoola for investments. Flying to Denmark, the name of Andrea Baldo, at the helm of Ganni, stands out, while the British luxury leather goods and stationery company Smythson, in the orbit of the Tivoli group, recently entrusted Paolo Porta with the strategic leadership. Finally, it was yesterday’s news to appoint Gaetano Sciuto as ceo and Stefano Rosso as chairman of Maison Margiela, a brand owned by Italy’s Otb but with French dna. (All rights reserved)