Yahoo Finance Givenchy Taps Former Louis Vuitton Exec Alessandro Valenti to Be Its New CEO
In December, designer Matthew Williams announced he was parting ways with Givenchy after serving three years as the brand’s creative director. Now, in the French luxury fashion house’s latest management shuffle, the company has appointed Alessandro Valenti as its new CEO.
LVMH, the label’s parent company, announced the news internally on Monday, noting that the former Louis Vuitton executive would start immediately, WWD reported. Valenti will succeed Renaud de Lesquen, who’s been at the helm since April 2020.
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“His extensive knowledge of the luxury industry, including more than 10 years at Louis Vuitton, coupled with his retail expertise and managerial skills, will be key assets in taking Givenchy to reach new milestones,” Sidney Toledano, chairman of Givenchy and an adviser to Bernard Arnault, said in the announcement. “I would also like to thank Renaud for his great accomplishments within the LVMH group since his arrival in 2012, first at Christian Couture, then at Christian Dior Parfums, and more recently for Givenchy.”
Of course, we’ll have to wait and see where de Lesquen ends up next. However, the announcement mentioned that he’s “decided to give a new direction to his career.” Meanwhile, Valenti will step in to partner with Givenchy’s next creative director—whenever the brand names one.
As previously mentioned, Williams stepped down at the end of last year. According to the fashion house, the designer exited with plans to “fully dedicate himself to the development of his own brand, 1017 ALYX 9SM.” Though, there’s been no word of a replacement.
“Leading the creative direction of Givenchy was, as I said upon my arrival in 2020, the dream of a lifetime,” Williams recalled in a statement at the time of his departure. “Over these three years, I have strived to perpetuate Mr. Hubert de Givenchy’s legacy while bringing my own creative vision.”
Givenchy’s corporate swap comes off the heels of two other leadership changes in the industry. Just yesterday, LVMH rival Richemont announced that Cyrille Vigneron, the CEO for Cartier, would be replaced by Louis Ferla, the current head of Vacheron Constantin. Shortly after, the Swiss luxury group revealed that Catherine Rénier would take over for Nicolas Bos, the CEO of Van Cleef & Arpels. These switch-ups follow TAG Heuer, which got a new chief executive earlier this year, and LVMH (again), which appointed Frédéric Arnault as the new head of its watch division. And just last month, Geoff Hess became Sotheby’s global head of watches.
It’s safe to say that the winds of change are definitely blowing in the fashion world.
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