Manager close to Leonardo Del Vecchio takes charge of Delfin holding company

On Monday, Francesco Milleri, a close collaborator of Leonardo Del Vecchio, the Italian billionaire and Luxottica's founder who died at the age of 87 on June 27, took charge of Del Vecchio’s holding company Delfin, whose assets are worth €27 billion.

In a press release, Delfin stated it had appointed Milleri, a loyal collaborator of Italian tycoon Del Vecchio, as president, while the holding company’s current managing director, Romolo Bardin, also close to Del Vecchio, will remain in office.

Milleri, 63, started as an IT consultant at Luxottica, founded by Leonardo Del Vecchio in 1961, the world’s largest producer of eyeglasses and frames and owner among others of the Ray-Ban brand.

Milleri became CEO of EssilorLuxottica in 2021 after playing a key role in the negotiations that led to the merger of Luxottica with Essilor, the French manufacturer of glasses and lenses.

Milleri also assumed the role of president of EssilorLuxottica after Del Vecchio’s death.

Milleri’s appointment at Delfin suggests that there will be no major changes in the way the holding manages Del Vecchio's extensive assets, which range from glasses manufacturing to banks and real estate, according to two sources close to the matter.

Del Vecchio has left his business empire to his six children, his wife Nicoletta Zampillo and a son of hers from a previous marriage.

They each now own a 12.5% stake in Delfin, whose main asset is a 32% shareholding in EssilorLuxottica, valued in more than €20 billion.

Luxembourg-based Delfin is also the largest shareholder in Italian merchant bank Mediobanca, with a 19.4% stake, and holds a stake of just under 10% in Italy’s top insurance company Assicurazioni Generali.

Delfin also has a 27% stake in Covivio and is a long-standing investor in UniCredit bank, with a 2% stake.

Zampillo, who married Leonardo Del Vecchio again in 2010 after they had divorced 10 years earlier, was initially set to inherit the billionaire's 25% stake in Delfin.

When Del Vecchio’s will was read on Saturday, it stated however that Zampillo's son, Rocco Basilico, head of Luxottica-owned Californian eyewear brand Oliver Peoples, was granted half of Del Vecchio's stake in Delfin.

(Reporting by Claudia Cristoferi, written by Giulia Segreti; French version Diana Mandiá, edited by Kate Entringer)