(Reuters) -Valentino CEO Jacopo Venturini has stepped down, the Italian luxury house said on Thursday, leaving the Mayhoola- and Kering-backed business searching for a new leader to reboot sales and profit.
Valentino reached a mutual agreement with Venturini to terminate his employment and board roles effective Wednesday as he “has decided to take a break for personal reasons”, the brand said in an announcement seen by Reuters.
Venturini, previously executive vice president of merchandising at Gucci, became CEO at Valentino in June 2020. Valentino had said in June that he was on sick leave, after media reports of his imminent departure from the business which reported declining revenue and profit last year.
Valentino, founded in Rome in 1960 by Valentino Garavani and Giancarlo Giammetti, is part-owned by French luxury conglomerate Kering, which bought a 30% stake in the label from Qatari fund Mayhoola for 1.7 billion euros in 2023, with a commitment to buy the rest by 2028.
Mayhoola and Kering did not reply to Reuters requests for comment about Venturini’s departure.
Last month, Mayhoola denied a newspaper report that the two shareholders were considering selling Valentino. Kering declined to comment at the time.
(Reporting by Helen Reid in London, Giulio Piovaccari in Milan and Gavin Jones in Rome; Editing by Kirsten Donovan)
