Luxottica founder's son quits EssilorLuxottica amid row

Leonardo Maria del Vecchio, the son of Luxottica founder Leonardo del Vecchio, is set to leave all his roles at EssilorLuxottica, a spokesperson said Tuesday, amid tensions around the family holding company Delfin.

The spokesperson told AFP that Leonardo Maria del Vecchio would step down from the French-Italian eyewear group “to devote himself to new entrepreneurial projects”.

Del Vecchio, 31, was EssilorLuxottica’s chief strategy officer and chaired Ray-Ban, one of the group’s best-known brands. EssilorLuxottica also owns brands including Oakley, Persol and Oliver Peoples, and holds licences for names such as Giorgio Armani, Chanel and Burberry.

The company posted net profit of 2.3 billion euros, or $2.7 billion, last year on revenue of 28.5 billion euros.

Delfin, the Luxembourg-based holding company of the Del Vecchio family, is EssilorLuxottica’s largest shareholder, with about 32.4 percent of its capital. It also holds major stakes in Monte dei Paschi, Generali and 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 stakes held by his brother Luca and sister Paola. The deal would have raised his holding from 12.5 percent to 37.5 percent, but met opposition from some heirs and reservations from Delfin’s board.

In a letter to EssilorLuxottica chairman Francesco Milleri published by Milano Finanza, del Vecchio criticised a management style he called “remote” and “impersonal”.

Analysts at investment bank Equita said his exit “re-establishes a practice of separating ownership and management” at EssilorLuxottica, which they said appeared appropriate during tensions over Delfin’s governance.