Tory Burch LLC has made three executive appointments on its executive team to form a new regional leadership group under Thibault Villet, who has expanded his responsibilities to include Europe and the Middle East as president, international director for APAC, Japan and EUME.
Paolo Zullo has been named president of Europe and the Middle East, overseeing the brand’s retail, e-commerce and wholesale operations in the region, effective in July. Joshua Chen will join the company as president of China, succeeding Zullo. Chen will be responsible for the brand’s operations on the mainland beginning June 30.
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The executives, along with Edouard Roche, president of Japan, and Carol Chiu, senior vice president, general manager of Asia retail, will report to Villet. Villet will continue reporting to Pierre-Yves Roussel, chief executive officer of Tory Burch.
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“Thibault is an exceptional leader, and I am very pleased to expand his scope to include Europe and the Middle East as we continue to scale the brand globally,” said Roussel. “With his profound expertise in regional market dynamics, international business development and cross-cultural team management, Thibault is uniquely positioned to lead these critical regions toward continued success. I am also happy to recognize Paolo’s success at our company with this promotion and to welcome Joshua to our team,” he said.
Villet, who joined Tory Burch as president of APAC in December 2020, is a seasoned executive with extensive retail and digital experience in fashion and beauty across the APAC region. Since joining Burch, he has spearheaded numerous initiatives to strengthen the brand’s market presence, build key partnerships and drive sustainable growth. He added Japan to his responsibilities in 2023. Prior to joining Tory Burch, Villet served as Asia president for One in Beauty, the entity combining the Revlon and Arden brands.
During his tenure at One in Beauty, Elizabeth Arden became the number-seven prestige brand on China’s e-commerce platforms. He also led the digital transformation of the brand in the region. Earlier, he was chairman and cofounder of Mei.com, a leading Chinese luxury and fashion flash-sale retailer that was acquired by Alibaba in July 2015. Before that, Villet was the first Greater China president at Coach and vice president of the Luxury Products Division for the L’Oréal Group in Japan and in China.
Villet said, “Tory Burch is a dynamic brand with limitless runway. It is my honor to partner with Pierre-Yves, Tory and team as we continue to strengthen our global market presence and drive sustainable growth. Paolo has been an excellent leader in China, and I am delighted to continue working with him in Europe and the Middle East and now with Joshua in China. They will be vital to our operations as we further advance our brand momentum in these important regions.”
Since joining Tory Burch in September 2021, Zullo has been instrumental in expanding the brand’s footprint on the mainland to 111 stores and travel retail locations, and growing its robust digital presence across multiple e-commerce platforms, including toryburch.cn, Tmall, JD.com, and Douyin. Earlier, he held senior leadership roles at Givenchy and Ermenegildo Zegna. A Boston University graduate with an MBA from INSEAD, he will be based in Milan.
Chen joined Tory Burch from Loewe where he spent the past decade in positions of increasing responsibility, serving most recently as managing director for China. He is an accomplished leader with a successful track record in China’s luxury sector. Prior to Loewe, he was a merchandiser for Louis Vuitton China. A graduate of the University of Texas, Austin, he holds dual MBA/MA degrees from the Wharton School and the Lauder Institute at the University of Pennsylvania. He will be based in Shanghai.