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HomeUncategorizedPrada Taps Former LVMH Executive as CEO

Prada Taps Former LVMH Executive as CEO

Prada


1913 -1.02%

SpA is tapping former

LVMH


LVMUY -0.31%

Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE executive

Andrea Guerra

as its next chief executive, setting in motion a long-awaited succession that scales back the role of Miuccia Prada and her husband,

Patrizio Bertelli,

in running the Milan-based fashion house.

Mr. Guerra’s nomination as chief executive officer will be voted on at the next board meeting on Jan. 26, the company said. Ms. Prada and Mr. Bertelli said Mr. Guerra is expected to help groom the couple’s son,

Lorenzo Bertelli,

to one day take the reins of the brand. 

“This is a fundamental step we have decided to undertake, while completely engaged in the company,” the couple said.

Succession is a challenging step for fashion houses that are closely linked to namesake designers. Many have ended up selling their business to giant luxury conglomerates such as LVMH and

Kering SA


KER -0.18%

after struggling to develop a new generation of leaders and investors to helm their houses. 

Mr. Guerra is expected to run the company with Mr. Bertelli, 76, and Ms. Prada, 73, still deeply involved. The company said Mr. Bertelli is expected to become chairman of the board at the company’s annual general meeting in April. Ms. Prada, meanwhile, will continue as creative director of the Miu Miu brand as well as Prada, for whom she designs alongside

Raf Simons.

She also sits on Prada’s board. 

Ms. Prada and Mr. Bertelli cited Mr. Guerra’s long professional experience as well as his “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.” 

Mr. Guerra, who started his career in hotel management, was CEO of Luxottica, the eyewear giant that merged with French rival Essilor, for a decade. He then served as senior strategic adviser to the Italian government before being appointed executive chairman of the Italian-marketplace chain Eataly in 2015. 

Andrea Guerra during Milan Men’s Fashion Week SS17 in 2016.



Photo:

Jacopo Raule/Getty Images for Prada

In January 2020, Mr. Guerra was named CEO of a newly created LVMH Hospitality Excellence division, which encompasses Belmond and the Cheval Blanc hotel. He stepped down from that role to become a senior adviser at the luxury behemoth earlier this year. 

“Andrea has significant experience talking to financial markets and articulating very complex businesses efficiently,” said Bernstein analyst Luca Solca.

Founded in Milan in 1913 by Ms. Prada’s grandfather and his brother, Prada has grown into a business with a market value of $15 billion and more than 13,000 employees at the end of last year. The group’s brands also include Church’s footwear. 

Mr. Bertelli senior, a college dropout who got his start selling belts in his native Arezzo, owned a modest leather-goods business in the mid-1970s, when he met designer Ms. Prada at a trade fair. The two later married. 

The mix of Ms. Prada’s cutting-edge aesthetic and Mr. Bertelli’s sharp commercial eye transformed a company with €40 million, around $42 million, of sales in 1990 to one with €1.6 billion 10 years later. Mr. Bertelli’s knack for singling out winning products and devising innovative marketing helped translate his wife’s designs into commercial successes.

Today, the husband-and-wife duo own almost 80% of Prada, which has been listed in Hong Kong since 2011. Executives at the company are exploring whether it is possible to also list the company in Milan. 

A former rally driver, Lorenzo Bertelli is 34 years old. He retired from race-car driving in 2017 to take over the group’s digital-communication strategy. He joined Prada’s board last year and today serves as marketing director and head of corporate social responsibility.

Write to Nick Kostov at nick.kostov@dowjones.com

Copyright ©2022 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8

Appeared in the December 7, 2022, print edition as ‘Former LVMH Executive to Lead Prada.’



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