Lmdv: Leonardo Maria Del Vecchio appointed executive chairman

Leonardo Maria Del Vecchio is restructuring the team at his family office, LMDV. Leonardo Maria Del Vecchio takes up the post of executive chairman, whilst the role of chief executive officer will be filled by Lorenzo Calì, a manager with a background in the luxury sector – notably at Moncler – and previous experience at Loro Piana and Luxottica. Gabriele Benedetto has been appointed Vice-Chairman with responsibility for finance and external communications.

With the renewal of the board of directors, Marco Talarico, who has until now been CEO of LMDV, is stepping down from the family office but will at the same time take on the role of senior adviser and personally support Del Vecchio in the complex internal manoeuvring at Delfin, where the shareholders’ meeting on 30 June is expected to determine the feasibility of an agreement amongst the shareholders regarding the financial statements, dividends and a possible buy-back of the shares held by those heirs who are ready to exit.

The change of leadership at LMDV, with the arrival of Calì, comes at one of the most delicate stages in the family office’s history, with its founder, Leonardo Maria Del Vecchio, currently engaged in negotiations with the banks to finance his rise within Delfin, the family’s financial stronghold, through the purchase of shares held by his siblings Luca and Paola. The restructuring of the Luxembourg-based holding company, which controls EssilorLuxottica (32%), Generali (10%), MPS (17.5 per cent) and UniCredit (2.8 per cent), has stalled due to the complex structure of the transaction as currently envisaged, and more specifically because of the caution shown by Delfin’s board and the issue of the guarantees required for the transfer of shares.

So far, it appears there have been no concrete developments, partly because other solutions are also being considered, including the possibility that Delfin might buy back its own shares, thereby acquiring the stakes put up for sale by certain shareholders. The shareholders’ meeting on 30 June will therefore be crucial in determining to what extent the balance of power amongst Leonardo Del Vecchio’s heirs will prove sustainable or not. And, above all, whether the complex matter of the inheritance – which began four years after the death of the empire’s founder – will finally be resolved.