Marco Bizzarri
Bizzarri in 2018
Born9 August 1962 (1962-08-09) (age 61)
Years active1986–present
TitlePresident and CEO, Gucci
Board member ofKering

Marco Bizzarri (born 19 August 1962) is an Italian business executive, president and CEO of Gucci since January 2015.[1] He previously was president and CEO of Stella McCartney (2005–2009) and Bottega Veneta (2009–2014), and joined Kering's executive committee in 2012.

Biography

Early career

Bizzarri started his career as a consultant for the management consulting firm Accenture in 1986. In 1993, he joined the Bologna-based Mandarina Duck group, and later became CEO of the group. In 2004, he became general manager of the designer brand Marithé et François Girbaud.[2][3]

CEO of Kering's brands

In 2005, Bizzarri was named President and CEO of Stella McCartney.[2][3] Under his management, the company turned a profit for the first time in 2007.[4] He developed a lifestyle-oriented brand and drove its international development, including the opening of a store in Japan in 2008.[5]

In January 2009, Bizzarri became the president and CEO of Bottega Veneta.[6] Amid a global economic downturn, he rapidly changed the distribution of the brand to reposition it in Europe, and worked on a less conservative buying, thus relieving financial stress and enabling new investments.[7] In 4 years, alongside the creative director Tomas Maier, Bizzarri maintained Bottega Veneta's edge for Italian-made leather craftsmanship,[8] drove growth in Asia,[9] opened a flagship store in Milan,[10] and new eco-friendly headquarters in Vicenza.[11] In 2012, Bottega Veneta’s sales reached the $1 billion mark.[12]

In 2012, Bizzarri became a member of the executive committee of Kering.[13] In April 2014, Bizzarri was named CEO of Kering's newly-created couture and leather goods division, directly supervising most of Kering's luxury brands.[14][15]

President and CEO of Gucci

In December 2014, Kering named Bizzarri president and CEO of its flagship luxury brand Gucci.[1] His first move was to name a 12-year Gucci member of the creative team, Alessandro Michele, creative director of the brand,[16] who successfully managed to renew the brand’s popularity with a «geek chic» props.[17] Marco Bizzarri stopped the brand's markdown policy,[18] favored cross-gendered collections and unified fashion shows[19] and banned the use of fur by the brand.[20] Gucci also amplified its digital strategy to grow its customer-base on social networks.[21]

Bizzarri opened the Gucci Hub in September 2016 (Gucci headquarters and creative hub in Milan),[22] the ArtLab in April 2018 (Gucci's 37,000-square-metre creative hub in Casellina near Florence, Italy),[23] and Gucci 9 in April 2019 (Gucci's 500-employee network of 6 call centers worldwide for high-end customer service).[24] In January 2018, he inaugurated the renovated Gucci Museum (in the Palazzo della Mercanzia in Florence) renamed Gucci Garden, and the launch of a new restaurant, the Gucci Osteria da Massimo Bottura.[25]

In 2019, Bizzarri announced that Gucci was carbon-neutral in its own operations and across its supply chain since 2018, thanks to drastic reductions of its greenhouse gas emissions.[26] He also announced that the firm was changing its production strategy, partnering with the UN-led forest conservation program REDD+ to reduce its carbon footprint, and launched the CEO Carbon Neutral Challenge Initiative to encourage other firm executives to follow suit.[27]

Under Bizzarri's tenure, Gucci's annual sales grew from 3.9 billion euros in 2015[28] to 9.6 billion euros in 2019.[29]

Awards

References

  1. 1 2 Gucci hires Marco Bizzarri as new brand head, creative director Frida Giannini quits, Straitstimes.com, 12 December 2014
  2. 1 2 (in French) Marco Bizzarri, Lesechos.fr, 24 November 2004
  3. 1 2 (in Italian) Stella McCartney nomina Marco Bizzarri nuovo ad, Pambianconews.com
  4. Stella McCartney posts first ever profit, Marieclaire.co.uk, 3 November 2007
  5. Paul Mcinnes, Misha Janette, Stella in Ginza, Japantimes.co.uk, 11 March 2008
  6. Stella McCartney poaches Lanvin director as CEO, Reuters.com, 1 December 2008
  7. Bag-maker’s value proposition tilts to timeless pieces, Ft.com, 1 January 2000
  8. Manoj Nair, Bottega Veneta time-crafted strategy pays off, Gulfnews.com, 25 November 2013
  9. Bottega Veneta’s Understated Luxury Appeals to China’s Sophisticated Fashionistas, Red-luxury.com, 26 June 2012
  10. Roger Scoble, Bottega Veneta Opens Largest Flagship Store In Milan, Pursuitist.com
  11. Nikki Hess, Bottega Veneta’s New, Eco-Friendly Headquarters, Mamasarollingstone.com, 18 November 2013
  12. Suleman Anaya, Bottega Veneta Crosses the $1 Billion Mark, Businessoffashion.com, 22 February 2013
  13. Sophie Doran, The Latest Appointments: Givenchy, Jil Sander & Yves Saint Laurent, Luxurysociety.com, 20 March 2012
  14. Anthony DeMarco, Kering Reorganizes To Focus On Luxury Goods, Forbes.com, 29 April 2014
  15. Kering’s Marco Bizzarri has the billion-euro touch, Ft.com, 11 May 2014
  16. Imran Amed, Reinventing Gucci, Businessoffashion.com, 22 September 2015
  17. Gillian Brett, Gucci's Big Plans Revealed, Vogue.co.uk, 6 June 2016
  18. Limei Hoang, Marco Bizzarri on Gucci’s Remarkable Turnaround, Businessoffashion.com, 27 October 2016
  19. Vanessa Friedman, Gucci Calls for End to Separation of the Sexes on the Runway, Nytimes.com, 5 April 2016
  20. Gucci Announces It Will Be Going Fur-Free, Vogue.co.uk, 11 October 2017
  21. Michael Beach, Gucci offers digital marketing, company culture inspiration, Inma.org, 19 June 2017
  22. Nathania Zevi. The New Gucci Hub Opens in Milan, Forbes, 28 September 2016 (accessed on 1 August 2020)
  23. Alice Casely-Hayford. Gucci Unveils A Centre Of Creativity, Craftsmanship & Sustainability, Vogue, April 19, 2018 (accessed on 1 August 2020)
  24. Gucci turns to call centres to lure high-spending millennial shoppers, Financial Times (accessed on 1 August 2020)
  25. Mary Hanbury. Gucci just opened a luxurious complex complete with a boutique and a restaurant run by a three-Michelin-starred chef, Business Insider, 10 January 2018 (accessed on 1 August 2020)
  26. "Gucci goes carbon neutral in attempt to tackle climate crisis". the Guardian. 2019-09-12. Retrieved 2020-11-10.
  27. Luisa Zargani. Gucci's Marco Bizzarri Issues Carbon Neutral Challenge, WWD, 19 November 2019 (accessed on 1 August 2020)
  28. Kering: 2015 Results, Business Wire, 19 February 2016 (accessed on 1 August 2020)
  29. Kering: 2019 Full-year Results, Business Wire, 12 February 2020 (accessed on 1 August 2020)
  30. Alessandra Turra. GQ Italy to Award Giorgio Armani, Marco Bizzarri and Federico Marchetti, WWD, 2 January 2020 (accessed on 1 August 2020)
  31. Naomi Pike. The Fashion Awards 2018: The Winners, Vogue, 10 December 2019 (accessed on 1 August 2020)
  32. 2017 Winners, Fashionawards.com
  33. Samantha Conti, Gucci, Demna Gvasalia Big Winners at Fashion Awards 2016 in London, Wwd.com, 5 December 2016
  34. Sandra Salibian, Marco Bizzarri to Receive French Legion of Honor, Wwd.com, 6 June 2017
  35. Luisa Zargani, Marco Bizzarri Receives WWD Edward Nardoza Honor for CEO Creative Leadership, Wwd.com, 24 October 2017
  36. Rose Pastore, >Be Inspired By These Creative Leaders Who Are Changing The World, Fastcompany.com, 24 January 2017
  37. Leigh Nordstrom, Gucci’s Marco Bizzarri Honored at the United Nations Humanitarian Dinner, Wwd.com, 23 October 2015
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