San Francisco Frontiers - Son of Luxottica founder quits after succession row

Leonardo Maria del Vecchio, one of eight heirs of Leonardo del Vecchio, who died in 2022, will step down from all his roles at the French-Italian giant "to devote himself to new entrepreneurial projects", the spokesperson told AFP.

At 31, Leonardo Maria Del Vecchio held the position of chief strategy officer at the group, which posted a net profit of 2.3 billion euros ($2.7 billion) last year on revenue of 28.5 billion.

A leading figure of the new generation of Italian capitalism, he also chaired Ray-Ban, one of EssilorLuxottica's most iconic brands, which also include Oakley, Persol and Oliver Peoples.

The group also holds licenses for names like Giorgio Armani, Chanel and Burberry.

The Del Vecchio family's Luxembourg-based holding company, Delfin, is the largest shareholder in the eyewear giant, with around 32.4 percent of its capital.

Delfin also holds major stakes in the bank Monte dei Paschi, the insurer Generali and the real estate giant Covivio, with a total estimated value of more than 40 billion euros.

In recent months, Leonardo Maria Del Vecchio had sought to become Delfin's dominant shareholder by buying out the stakes held by his brother Luca and his sister Paola.

The transaction would have increased his holding from 12.5 percent to 37.5 percent of the company's capital, significantly boosting his influence over the empire built by his father.

"An inheritance is coming, responsibilities must be assumed," he wrote on Instagram last month.

But his plan ran up against opposition from some of the heirs as well as reservations from Delfin's board of directors.

In announcing his departure from the company, Leonardo Maria del Vecchio criticised the way the group is run by its chairman Francesco Milleri, who was chosen by his father.

In a letter to Milleri, published by the Milano Finanza newspaper, del Vecchio condemned a management style that had become "remote" and "impersonal".

For analysts at Equita, an investment bank, del Vecchio's exit "re-establishes a practice of separating ownership and management" within EssilorLuxottica, "which seems appropriate at this stage of tensions in Delfin's governance".

"By contrast, a change of leadership at EssilorLuxottica would, in our view, be negative, as the group's strategy has been devised and implemented consistently by Milleri over the past few years," Equita said.

S.Jackson--SFF