A close friend of Leonardo del Vecchio takes the reins of the Delfin holding | Photo credit: Shutterstock
MILAN, July 4 (Reuters) – Francesco Milleri, a close associate of Leonardo del Vecchio, took over on Monday the reins of the holding company of the Italian billionaire who died last Monday, a group which holds 27 billion euros in assets.
The Delfin holding company said in a statement that it had appointed Francesco Milleri, CEO of eyewear giant EssilorLuxottica, as chairman, while its current chief executive, Romolo Bardin, also close to Del Vecchio, would stay on.
Delfin owns a 32% stake in EssilorLuxottica, valued at more than 20 billion euros.
Based in Luxembourg, the holding company is also the largest shareholder of the Italian bank Mediobanca, with 19.4%, and holds a stake of just under 10% in the Italian insurer Generali.
She also has a 27% stake in Covivio and is a long-time investor in UniCredit bank with a 2% stake.
Leonardo Del Vecchio, chairman of the board of directors of French-Italian eyewear manufacturer EssilorLuxottica, died last week at the age of 87. (Report Claudia Cristoferi, written by Giulia Segreti; French version Diana Mandiá, edited by Kate Entringer)