Prada's Lorenzo Bertelli sets out 'soft transition' to new leadership

By Elisa Anzolin

VENICE, Italy (Reuters) - Italian fashion group Prada is hiring former Luxottica chief Andrea Guerra to smooth the transition to the next generation of the family, Lorenzo Bertelli, son of Miuccia Prada and Patrizio Bertelli said on Tuesday.

"It is a soft transition path over the years, nothing traumatic, a normal transition at a particularly good moment for the group," Bertelli said on the sidelines of an event in Venice.

Prada Group announced in December that Guerra would be recommended as the new CEO at a board meeting to be held on Jan. 26.

Current CEO Patrizio Bertelli, 76, will become chairman of the luxury company at its annual shareholder meeting in spring. Current co-CEO Miuccia Prada, 73, will remain creative director of the Miu Miu and Prada brands - the latter together with Belgian designer Raf Simons - and a board member.

The plan is for Lorenzo Bertelli, 34, to take over the leadership of the group at a future date.

Bertelli added that the group is still assessing the feasibility of a dual listing on the Milan stock exchange, to complement the one it has in Hong Kong.

"It is still under discussion and review, to understand whether it is possible to do it.. they are doing feasibility analyses," Bertelli said.

He was speaking on the sideline of the presentation of a project to raise children's awareness on the issues of sustainability and preserving the oceans.

Bertelli said that Chinese buyers were present at a men's fashion show held this month in Milan, after being absent in recent years due to the restrictions related to the pandemic.

(This story has been corrected to clarify that the Jan. 26 board meeting will be held by Prada Group, not Prada Holding, in paragraph 3)

(Reporting by Elisa Anzolin; Editing by Keith Weir)