MILAN — Kering’s chief executive officer Luca de Meo continues to shake things up at the French luxury group.
On Monday, following Demna’s first fashion show for Gucci in Milan last Friday, Kering stated it has created “two group centers of excellence — Industry and Client” in a bid “to optimize its operational efficiency and support the sustainable growth of its houses,” a move that has led to key hires.
Stéphane Noël has been appointed chief industrial officer, effective April 1, and Carlo Mocci was named chief client officer, effective May 4. Both will join Kering’s executive committee and report to de Meo. Reporting to Mocci, Fedele Usai has been appointed chief marketing officer, effective immediately, and Daniele Zito was named chief commercial officer in January, as reported.
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“I am delighted to welcome leaders who are recognized in their complementary areas of expertise to accelerate the transformation we have initiated,” de Meo said. “Our houses are the heart of Kering, and the group platform is there to support their growth and performance. With these new centers of excellence, we are clarifying the organization, connecting the teams and ensuring efficiency across the group to give our houses the means to go faster and further.”
In a statement, the group elaborated that the Industry division is meant to strengthen “the structure, excellence and efficiency of the production” of Kering and its brands “by integrating purchasing, manufacturing, supply chain, quality, as well as research and development.”
The Client division “provides expertise and shared solutions to implement” Kering’s strategies and “its responsibilities cover the entire value chain and the functions related to clients: product and pricing, marketing, distribution channels, S&OP [sales and operations planning] and data.”
De Meo, who prior to joining Kering last September was CEO of French car giant Renault Group, looked to the automotive industry in tapping Noël. The latter in 2024 was appointed executive vice president of the seating division of Forvia, a French global automotive supplier, where he oversaw an organization of 40,000 employees across 77 industrial sites and nine research and development centers in 20 countries.
Noël began his career in 1996 at Hutchinson, a major French manufacturer founded in 1853, specializing in processing rubber for the automotive, aerospace and defense industries, and then joined automotive supplier OPmobility to head up the Clean Energy Systems division in Asia, then globally. He subsequently became president and CEO of the Exterior & Lighting division. His mission at Kering is to structure the group’s industrial organization and strengthen its supply performance, “while ensuring the highest standards of quality, compliance and traceability,” the group said.
Mocci began his career in 2000 at McKinsey & Company, and joined Amazon Europe in 2013. In 2020, he was named chief business officer of Deliveroo, and he is said to be bringing to Kering “decisive expertise in client-centric transformation.”
Usai has 25 years of experience in the luxury goods industry, publishing, multimedia content and communications, as well as in the automotive industry as director of communications for the Fiat Auto group. His curriculum includes CEO of advertising agency TBWA Italia and CEO of Condé Nast Italy before joining Dolce & Gabbana in 2021 as director of communications and marketing, and leaving the company in 2023 in the role of managing director.
Zito worked for six years at Bain Consulting and for nine years at Gucci, the last five of which he spent as president of Gucci Japan.
De Meo spent five years leading Renault and boasts a total of 30 years in the sector at brands including Fiat, Alfa Romeo, Toyota, Volkswagen and Seat. Since his arrival at Kering, he has already recruited several of his former coworkers, including HR specialist Thomas Cuntz as global talent development and people engagement head and Giovanni Perosino as senior vice president, marketing, at Gucci, as reported.
Kering is to host capital market days in Florence on April 15 and 16, where de Meo is expected to outline his vision and strategic plan for the group.