by Claudia Cristoferi
MILAN (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 at the age of 87 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, a loyal collaborator of the Italian tycoon, as chairman, while its current managing director, Romolo Bardin, also close to Del Vecchio, would remain in office.
Francesco Milleri, 63, started out as an IT consultant at Luxottica, the eyewear company that owns the Ray-Ban brand founded by Leonardo Del Vecchio in 1961.
He became CEO of EssilorLuxottica in 2021 after playing a key role in the negotiations that led to Luxottica’s merger with French lens and contact lens maker Essilor.
Francesco Milleri also assumed the role of Chairman of EssilorLuxottica following the death of Leonardo Del Vecchio.
Francesco Milleri’s appointment to Delfin suggests there won’t be big changes to the way the holding company handles Del Vecchio’s assets, which range from eyewear to banking and real estate, two people said. aware of the file.
The businessman left his business empire to his six children, his wife Nicoletta Zampillo and her son from a previous marriage.
They now each hold 12.5% of Delfin, whose main asset is 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.
Nicoletta Zampillo, who married Leonardo Del Vecchio again in 2010 after a divorce ten years earlier, was originally to inherit the billionaire’s 25% stake in Delfin.
The opening of Leonardo Del Vecchio’s will on Saturday, however, showed that Nicoletta Zampillo’s son Rocco Basilico, head of California’s Oliver Peoples brand of Luxottica, had received Del Vecchio’s half stake in the holding company.
(Report Claudia Cristoferi, written by Giulia Segreti; French version Diana Mandiá, edited by Kate Entringer)