LuisaViaRoma names Alessandra Rossi as new CEO

By

Dominique Muret

Published
Oct 27, 2021

A new chapter is beginning at LuisaViaRoma. The founder of the famous Florentine luxury retailer, Andrea Panconesi, who has sold 40% of his shares to Italian investment fund Style Capital, is taking a step back from the business. He will maintain his position as president and will keep a 60% stake in the company, but is leaving the operational side of the business to an external manager, Alessandra Rossi, who is taking on the role of CEO. 

Rossi spent much of her career at online fashion retailer Yoox. Having graduated in engineering and management, she began her career at the Diesel denim brand, where she managed supply chain. In 2001, she took her first steps into the luxury sector, leading human resources and organization at Italian jeweler Bulgari. Two years later, in 2003, she joined Yoox as operations manager, before rising through the ranks to become managing director of yoox.com in 2014. 

In 2015, she left for London, where she continued her activities as a consultant, but returned to the Italian e-commerce platform two years later, when it had already merged with British shopping portal Net-A-Porter to become YNAP. Rossi joined the group in 2017, leading its "off-season" division, which brings together last season's collections at reduced prices. In 2019, she joined showroom and services platform Tomorrow as head of the digital department. 

" Andrea Panconesi and I are thrilled to have Alessandra Rossi appointed as CEO to strengthen the structure of the company for a future listing," commented Style Capital CEO Roberta Benaglia in a release.

The company also took advantage of the announcement of Rossi's appointment to report the finalization of the operation through which Style Capital has taken a stake in LuisaViaRoma, alongside certain other families, injecting 130 million euros into the business, principally through an increase in capital. In addition, a new seven-person board of directors has been named: president Andrea Panconesi, CEO Alessandra Rossi, Roberta Benaglia, Filippo Cavalli, Massimiliano Benedetti, Gianluca Perrelli and Alfredo Bartolini.