MILAN — Alberto Baldan has been tapped as chief executive officer of Grandi Stazioni Retail, WWD has learned.
The company confirmed the appointment, saying its was effective from “the summer.” Earlier this month, Baldan resigned from his role as ceo at La Rinascente after 10 years at the helm of the Italian department store chain. However, he agreed to remain in his position until the end of June and to oversee the celebration of the 100th anniversary of La Rinascente.
After graduating in economics and business from ‘Cà Foscari’ University, Baldan in 1987 started his retail career in Gruppo PAM, working at Hypermarkets Management Control. In 1989, he joined the French multinational company Promodes, leaving in 1996 for then-Gruppo Rinascente — Auchan. From 2003 to October 2007 he was ceo of Conforama Italia, the Italian branch of PPR’s Conforama, moving on to La Rinascente in 2007, where he was at first its general director, becoming ceo in 2012.
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Maurizio Borletti, chairman of Grandi Stazioni Retail, said Baldan “distinguished himself [among other candidates] for his strategic vision, for his great successes and his retail and real estate competence. We are sure he will successfully lead the company in its transformation and repositioning of our stations.”
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The Italian entrepreneur’s Borletti Group is part of a consortium that in July 2016 completed the acquisition of Grandi Stazioni Retail from Italian state railway company Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane and private investment vehicle Eurostazioni.
Together with French private equity firm Antin Infrastructure Partners and real estate fund manager Icamap, Borletti placed a winning bid of 953 million euros, or $1.08 billion at current exchange, including net financial position, FS Group said. Antin is the largest partner in the consortium.
The GSR concession, valid until 2040, provides exclusive rights to the commercial leasing and advertising spaces of the 14 largest railway stations in Italy, in addition to two in the Czech Republic.
Borletti Group was among the investors that acquired Italian department store chain La Rinascente in 2005 and French department store chain Printemps in 2006.
La Rinascente was sold to Thai group Central Retail Corporation in 2011, and Printemps in 2013 to Divine Investments SA, a Luxembourg-based investment fund backed by Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, the former emir of Qatar.