Dior recruits Miu Miu CEO as deputy CEO – 03/09/2024 at 14:07

by Mimosa Spencer

Christian Dior Couture has recruited Benedetta Petruzzo, previously CEO of the fast-growing Miu Miu brand (Prada group), as its new deputy CEO, the LVMH group brand announced in a press release on Tuesday.

This appointment comes a little over a year and a half after the arrival of Delphine Arnault, eldest daughter of LVMH boss Bernard Arnault, as chairwoman and CEO of Dior. And this, while the brand has been targeted by an investigation in Italy concerning the working conditions of its subcontractors.

Benedetta Petruzzo will be in charge of Dior’s product teams, including those managing its supply chains, according to a LVMH LinkedIn post. She will report to Delphine Arnault. Her hiring, effective October 15, was first announced by fashion magazine WWD.

At Dior, Benedetta Petruzzo will replace Charles Delapalme, a fast-rising executive at LVMH. A Dior employee since 2018, Charles Delapalme has already held leading roles at Fendi and Louis Vuitton, two other houses in the group. The “new important responsibilities” awaiting him will be announced at a later date, LVMH said.

A former consultant specializing in luxury and retail at the American firm Bain, Benedetta Petruzzo worked for five years in the luxury eyewear branch of Kering, where she rose to executive vice-presidency for North America.

In February 2020, this graduate of Milan’s Bocconi University joined the Prada group, taking over as head of Miu Miu.

While the luxury sector is suffering a sharp slowdown on the stock market, Prada has done better than its competitors. This is particularly true in China, where buyers, penalized by a real estate crisis, are turning away from the high-end.

Its Miu Miu brand, of which Miuccia Prada is the artistic director, has particularly benefited from strong growth.

In July, LVMH pledged to accelerate the implementation of its sourcing strategy and strengthen audits and controls. Dior, its main house behind Louis Vuitton, plans to strengthen control of its production and supplies (vertical integration), following the Italian procedures made public in June.

The Italian competition authority is also investigating possible consumer code violations by Dior, as well as by another of its rivals, Armani.

At the same time, European asset management giant Amundi and other investors have called on LVMH to implement stricter measures to monitor the treatment of workers at its suppliers.

(Reporting by Mimosa Spencer, French version by Florence Loève, edited by Kate Entringer)