Kering Announces Game-Changing Leadership Changes: Power Shift

Kering Announces Game-Changing Leadership Changes: Kering (PRTP.PA) appointed managing director Jean-Francois Palus as Gucci’s new managing director and president for a transitional period as part of a management restructuring at the French luxury goods conglomerate’s upper ranks to revive momentum at its flagship brand.

An epoch has come to an end at Gucci. Kering announced on Tuesday, July 18 that longtime president and CEO Marco Bizzarri will be departing the company on September 23, the day of creative director Sabato de Sarno’s Milan Fashion Week debut presentation.

Kering Announces Game-Changing Leadership Changes

Francesca Bellettini, the current president and CEO of Yves Saint Laurent, is now the Deputy CEO for Brand Development at Kering. (She will now oversee all brand CEOs and manage the expansion of Group Houses.) Kering’s CFO, Jean-Marc Duplaix, has been appointed Deputy CEO of Operations and Finance, with responsibility for “enhancing efficiency and accountability.”

Gucci, whose revenue has lagged behind competitors such as Louis Vuitton (LVMH.PA) and Hermes (HRMS.PA) in recent quarters, has already begun a change in artistic orientation with the hiring of a relatively unknown designer as creative director, Sabato De Sarno, this year.

Bizzarri was responsible for Gucci’s remarkable growth from 2015 to 2019, but the company was unable to recover as rapidly as its rivals during the pandemic.

According to Bernstein analyst Luca Solca, “Kering is in transition, as the relaunch of its mega-brand Gucci is still a work in progress,” and he observed that Bizzarri’s departure appears to have been timed to provide visibility prior to De Sarno’s September debut fashion show in Milan.

Late in June, HSBC lowered its rating on the French company’s stock from buy to hold, citing Gucci’s failure to demonstrate any indications of recovery and its consistent underperformance relative to other luxury brands.

HSBC stated at the time, “Some investors are clearly demanding a change in Gucci’s CEO, even if it leads to a brand reset and margin reductions before a rebound is seen.”

As part of the changes, Francesca Bellettini, who has headed the rapidly expanding fashion company Yves Saint Laurent since 2013, has been named Kering’s deputy CEO in charge of brand development.

The group’s chief financial officer, Jean-Marc Duplaix, has also been appointed Kering’s deputy CEO for operations and finance. Piotr Lipinski, Mimosa Spencer, and Silvia Aloisi contributed reporting to the article, which was edited by David Goodman and Jan Harvey.