Andrea Guerra Will Join The Prada Group as CEO
At the Board Meeting of Prada S.p.A. to be held on January 26th, 2023, former Luxottica chief Andrea Guerra will be recommended as Chief Executive Officer of the Prada Group.
Miuccia Prada shall remain Creative Director of Miu Miu and Prada (the latter together with Raf Simons) and Board Member.
At the Annual Shareholders Meeting for the approval of the 2022 financial statements, Patrizio Bertelli will be recommended as Chairman of the Board of Directors of Prada S.p.A. and Paolo 00Zannoni will be recommended as Executive Deputy Chairman of the Board of Directors of Prada S.p.A. and, at the same time, Chairman of Prada Holding S.p.A..
Miuccia Prada and Patrizio Bertelli pointed out that: “This is a fundamental step we have decided to undertake, while completely engaged in the company, to contribute more to the evolution of the Prada Group and to ease the succession of Lorenzo Bertelli, the future leader of the Group. We thank Andrea Guerra for being willing to take the job, with the aim of achieving a steady and sustainable growth. Andrea Guerra, with his long professional experience, has shown entrepreneurial skills in businesses where the founders are present and engaged, blending their culture and the needs of a company continuously evolving and active on international markets”.
Viktor & Rolf Announced Matteo Franceschini as CEO
Viktor & Rolf appointed Matteo Franceschini as its CEO. Viktor & Rolf selected its new top executive from within the ranks of OTB, the Italian fashion group which bought the label in 2008.
Franceschini joined Renzo Rosso’s fashion group last year, taking charge of licenses and collaborations for OTB. Prior to joining OTB, Franceschini was for three years head of sales and licensing at Dsquared2, a label managed under license by OTB. Franceschini also worked for 12 years at Italian high-end menswear label Corneliani.
At Victor & Rolf he succeeds Andrea Collesei. Collesei, who was also serving as managing director at Jil Sander, the German label acquired by OTB in 2021, will now focus full-time on this label, whose CEO remains Ubaldo Minelli.
“In his role as group licensing & collaborations director, Matteo has helped develop the licenses of all the group’s labels. I am sure that in this new role he will be able to spearhead the growth of Viktor & Rolf which, besides haute couture, is also active via major licenses and collaborations,” said Minelli in a press release.
VF Corporation Appointed Benno Dorer Interim President and Chief Executive Officer
VF Corporation announced that Benno Dorer, Lead Independent Director of the VF Board of Directors, has been named Interim President and Chief Executive Officer, effective immediately. Richard Carucci, a director on the Board since 2009, will serve as Interim Chairman of the Board.
Dorer’s appointment follows Steve Rendle’s decision to retire from his position as Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer. The company has commenced a search for a permanent Chief Executive Officer and has retained a leading executive search firm to support its evaluation of internal and external candidates.
“The Board thanks Steve for his many contributions and leadership during his nearly six years as CEO and nearly 25 years with VF,” said Dorer. “Steve’s commitment to the business, passion for building strong brands and focus on culture have helped VF evolve our portfolio of strong active-lifestyle brands and establish VF as a purpose-led company. We wish Steve well in his future endeavors.”
Dorer continued, “VF has iconic brands in attractive growth categories, deep relationships with consumers and customers, and significant competitive advantages as a portfolio company. I look forward to working closely with the Board and VF’s Executive Leadership Team to drive profitable growth across our portfolio while the Board identifies the right leader for the company’s next chapter.”
Carucci said, “We are fortunate to have Benno lead VF while the Board conducts a search for a permanent CEO. He knows VF extremely well and has an excellent track record of generating strong business results in a global consumer portfolio business.”
“It has been an honor to lead VF as CEO over the last five years,” said Rendle. “I depart with the deepest gratitude for the extremely talented and dedicated global team at VF. I remain as confident as ever in VF’s tremendous potential and look forward to watching the company’s continued success.”
L’oréal Appoints Rahquel Purcell As First Chief Transformation Officer
L’Oréal USA announced the appointment of Rahquel Purcell as the Chief Transformation Officer for L’Oréal’s North America Zone. Purcell is the first-ever executive to hold this position in the region, where she will lead the newly formed North America Transformation Office.
In her role, Purcell will drive an ambitious transformation agenda to adapt and evolve L’Oréal’s operating models for the future, including core processes, ways of working, organizational design and business tools.
“As the largest subsidiary of L’Oréal Group, our ability to proactively respond to the changing landscape of the market is key in driving our continued growth and industry leadership,” said David Greenberg, L’Oréal USA’s CEO and President of North America. “The development of the Transformation Office under Rahquel’s leadership is an opportunity to continuously drive an ambitious, strategic evolution of our business model across operations and functions, organizational design, core business tools and more.”
Purcell worked at the forefront of the company’s efforts to respond to the pandemic market conditions in her previous role as Chief Operations Officer, North America, well positioning her to lead this new strategic mission. With more than two decades of supply chain management experience, Purcell will continue to drive transformation of critical workstreams across the enterprise.
PVH Corp. Extends Licenses With G-III Apparel Group, Ltd. as Part of a Multi-Year Transition to Bring Core Product Categories In-House
PVH Corp. announced it has extended most of its license agreements with G-III Apparel Group, Ltd. for Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger in U.S. and Canada, largely pertaining to the women’s North America wholesale business. Both the Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger agreements will now have staggered expirations from 2025 through 2027.
The arrangement will allow for a smooth transition of core product categories back to PVH at the end of the extended terms. PVH intends to work in close partnership with G-III over the next several years to ensure an uninterrupted and responsible transition for consumers and wholesale partners for both brands.
Stefan Larsson, Chief Executive Officer, PVH Corp., commented: “This action is an important next step as part of the PVH+ Plan, PVH’s multi-year strategic growth plan, to unlock the full potential of our two iconic brands in the North America market. By bringing these core product categories in-house over time, we will be able to draw on the power and expertise of our global brand teams and have them fully connected to the demand driven supply chain we are developing. We are grateful to G-III for their partnership and long-term commitment to Calvin Klein and TOMMY HILFIGER in North America.”
Zac Coughlin, Chief Financial Officer, PVH Corp., added: “The multi-year transition period will enable us to bring these core product categories, which represented approximately one-third of our global licensing revenue, and less than 10% of our consolidated EBIT in 2021, back in-house in a disciplined and methodical way. G-III will continue to be a key partner as we work together over the next few years to internalize the direct operations of these businesses.”