Burberry
Rod Manley, Chief Marketing Officer of the British luxury brand Burberry, will be stepping down at the end of 2024.
Rod Manley, who joined Burberry in January 2019, has extensive experience in fashion industry public relations, communications, and marketing. Prior to Burberry, he served as Executive Vice President of Marketing and Communications at Calvin Klein. Before that, he worked at Giorgio Armani for nine years, reaching the position of Senior Vice President of Marketing and Communications for the US. His career began at the New York PR firm KCD.
During his tenure at Burberry, Rod Manley was known for his impressive media connections and cutting-edge communication perspectives. He worked with two creative directors, Riccardo Tisci and Daniel Lee, and contributed to high-profile fashion shows and collaborations with fresh brand ambassadors such as Barry Keoghan, South Korean footballer Son Heung-Min, and Chinese actress Tang Wei.
Burberry is currently searching for his successor.
Bentley
British luxury car brand Bentley has appointed Frank-Steffen Walliser as CEO and Chairman of the Board, effective July 1.
Frank-Steffen Walliser currently works at another luxury car brand, Porsche, where he has been responsible for overall vehicle development (vehicle architecture and functions) since 2022.
Bentley stated that Frank-Steffen Walliser is an experienced engineer with solid technical and product expertise, as well as extensive management experience. He has been involved in launching key models such as the Porsche 918 Spyder, which have cemented Porsche’s position in the market.
After studying internal combustion engines and technical management in mechanical engineering, Frank-Steffen Walliser joined Porsche in 1995. In 2010, he became a project manager, overseeing the development of the 918 Spyder supercar. From 2014, he served as the head of Motorsport, and in early 2019, he took over the management of the 911 and 718 product lines.
Fay / Tod’s Group
Italian luxury group Tod’s has decided not to renew its contract with designer Alessandro Squarzi for its brand Fay.
Alessandro Squarzi has led the launch of the Archive product line since 2019. Fay launched the Archive product line in June 2019 to rediscover Fay’s DNA and unique workwear attitude from a modern perspective. Alessandro Squarzi, an expert in vintage clothing, not only has a collection of 6,000 vintage pieces but also has a deep understanding of American outdoor sports.
Alessandro Squarzi’s final collection for the brand, Fall-Winter 2024 by Fay Archive, will be released in September this year.
“I am proud of this project, which was born in 2019 and carried out together with Andrea and Diego Della Valle. It has been a very wonderful adventure that allowed us to try new paths,” Squarzi commented. His latest collection, Fay Archive Fall-Winter 2024, will be available in stores next September.
Benetton
Italian fashion group Benetton has appointed Italian executive Claudio Sforza as CEO, succeeding Massimo Renon.
With extensive financial and industrial expertise, Claudio Sforza will be responsible for restructuring and reinventing the Benetton company in his new position. Prior to joining Benetton, Claudio Sforza held executive roles in various Italian companies, such as CEO of gaming company Gamenet, CFO of postal company Poste Italiane, and COO of steel manufacturer Ilva. He also oversaw the asset liquidation of construction company Astaldi.
Claudio Sforza’s appointment is subject to approval by the board of directors on June 18.
At the end of May, Benetton co-founder Luciano Benetton announced his resignation as Chairman of the Board and took the current CEO, Massimo Renon, to court. In an interview with the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera, Luciano Benetton stated that Massimo Renon and his management team had concealed the true situation of the group from the board, holding them accountable for the group’s loss of 100 million euros last year.
Coats Group
Rajiv Sharma, CEO of the British industrial thread giant Coats Group, has announced his departure, to be succeeded by David Paja.
David Paja
David Paja will assume the role of CEO and join the board on October 1. His most recent position was CEO of the British aerospace and automotive parts company GKN Aerospace, where he played a significant role in turning the company from loss to profit and achieving growth. Previously, he held executive positions at Aptiv, Honeywell, and Valeo.
Rajiv Sharma has been with Coats for 14 years, serving as CEO for the past eight years. He will continue to support the board and David Paja until the end of the year.
| Sources: Official press releases, MFFASHION, FASHIONNETWORK
| Image Credit: Official brand websites, official press releases
| Editor: LeZhi
