(Reuters) -Valentino CEO Jacopo Venturini has stepped down from the Italian luxury house for personal reasons, Women’s Wear Daily reported on Thursday, leaving the Mayhoola- and Kering-backed business searching for a new leader to reboot sales and profit.
Valentino and Venturini reached a mutual agreement to terminate his employment and board roles, WWD reported, with Valentino saying the executive “has decided to take a break for personal reasons”.
Spokespeople for Valentino did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment.
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.
Creative director Alessandro Michele, who joined Valentino in March last year from Gucci, is staying on in his role, WWD said, citing sources.
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.
According to a LinkedIn post by fashion journalist Astrid Wendlandt, Valentino chairman and Mayhoola CEO Rachid Mohamed Rachid sent a memo to staff on Thursday announcing Venturini’s departure, and saying he would share further updates on the appointment of a new CEO in due course.
Reuters could not immediately verify the authenticity of the memo, and Mayhoola and Kering did not immediately reply to requests for comment on the reports of Venturini’s departure.
Mayhoola last month 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)
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