Yahoo Sports EXCLUSIVE: Maison Margiela Has Found Its New CEO
Setting the stage for a new development thrust, Maison Margiela has recruited seasoned luxury executive Gaetano Sciuto as its new chief executive officer, effective July 17, WWD has learned.
In addition, Renzo Rosso, chairman of Margiela’s parent OTB Group, is relinquishing the chairman’s title at Maison Margiela after 21 years to his son Stefano Rosso, marking an important step in the latter’s career.
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Renzo Rosso acquired the Margiela business in 2002 and is very attached to Paris-based fashion house, navigating it through the 2009 retirement of founder Martin Margiela and recruiting in 2014 a very different breed of fashion maverick, John Galliano, as its new creative director.
“Stefano’s new role and Gaetano’s arrival will be decisive in boosting the potential of the brand and steering it into its next stage of expansion,” Renzo Rosso said in a statement shared first with WWD, calling Maison Margiela “one of the fashion world’s most iconic brands.”
Stefano Rosso is currently CEO of Brave Virtual Xperience or BVX, an offshoot of OTB dedicated to Web3 and the metaverse, and is already a member of the OTB Group board.
Sciuto joins Maison Margiela from Giorgio Armani, where he has been CEO of its Americas division since 2019. Before that, he was president of Fendi Americas for five years.
He initially joined the Roman house in 2008 as director of licensing and accessories, spearheading Fendi’s global development in product categories such as timepieces, home, fragrance, eyewear, leisure wear, textiles and childrenswear.
A business and economics graduate from Bocconi University in Milan, Sciuto also received a master’s degree from the Thunderbird School of Global Management in Phoenix, Arizona. His résumé includes stints at Sebastian International, Lotto Sport and Sola International, which was acquired by Carl Zeiss in 2005. He also served as managing director of Carl Zeiss Vision’s Sunlens division.
At Margiela, Sciuto succeeds Gianfranco Gianangeli, who “has decided to move to a different field,” the Margiela statement said.
WWD broke the news on May 12 that Gianangeli had resigned, and that a new CEO would arrive shortly.
Gianangeli kept a low-profile during his three-year tenure, even as the business roared ahead in recent years, especially in China, fueled by Galliano’s fashion fireworks, the burgeoning accessories category and its steady retail expansion.
Gianangeli joined Maison Margiela from his family-owned, namesake knitwear manufacturer in Perugia, Italy, which he had revitalized, securing production contracts for several marquee European luxury brands.
In the statement, OTB Group CEO Ubaldo Minelli thanked Gianangeli “for his work over the years.”
OTB, an acronym for Only the Brave, also comprises Diesel, Jil Sander, Marni, Viktor & Rolf and a stake in Amiri, as well as production arms Staff International and Brave Kid.
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