Kering: Strategic renewal of its Board of Directors

Giovanna Melandri, former Italian Minister of Culture, Youth, and Sports, is expected to join the board of directors of the Kering group as an independent director. The group recently introduced her with these words: "Giovanna Melandri is an economist specializing in sustainability and the field of culture. She is president of the Human Foundation and ambassador of the Global Steering Group for Impact Investment organization. She has been a member of the Italian Parliament for twenty years, always committed to cultural issues and women's rights topics."

Two other prestigious figures are set to make their entrance: Chinese businesswoman Rachel Duan, director at General Electric in China and ranked among the 50 most powerful women in the world by Fortune magazine, and Dominique D’Hinnin, chairman of Eutelsat Communications and former CFO of the Lagardère group for 18 years.

These appointments, to be discussed at the group's next general meeting on April 25, will compensate for the planned departures from the board of directors, including those of Jean-François Palus, chairman of Gucci and one of François-Henri Pinault's loyal right-hand men, and Tidjane Thiam, former McKinsey cabinet member and former CEO of Credit Suisse, now engaged in politics in his home country, Ivory Coast. The other mandate that is also coming to an end is that of actress Emma Watson.

If the new appointments are confirmed, Kering's board of directors will consist of thirteen members, with a majority of independent directors (64%), a female representation of 55%, and six different nationalities: British, Chinese, French, Italian, and American. This new impetus aims to revitalize the luxury group, whose mixed results in 2023 saw profits decline by 17% and overall sales decrease by 4%.

The arrival of Giovanna Melandri is strategic for Kering, which aims to boost the performance of Gucci, whose financial weight represents more than half of the group's sales. The former Italian minister embodies a symbolic figure for the Italian cultural and artistic world and holds real influence. Her past leadership of the MAXXI museum, the contemporary art museum in Rome, is an asset and can play a key role in revitalizing Gucci's image in international markets.