As it gears up to celebrate its 100th anniversary next year, Fendi is undergoing a changing of the guard in its C-suite.
Pierre-Emmanuel Angeloglou has been appointed chief executive officer of the Italian luxury company, effective Saturday, in addition to his role as managing director of LVMH Fashion Group.
He will succeed Serge Brunschwig, who was named chairman and CEO of Fendi in February 2018.
An internal note obtained by WWD stated that Brunschwig will be taking on new responsibilities within the LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton Group and that his next steps will be revealed in the near future.
Bernard Arnault, chairman and CEO of LVMH, thanked Brunschwig for his contribution “as he has accompanied Fendi to a significant level of growth since 2018.”
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Sidney Toledano, adviser to Arnault, traveled to Fendi’s headquarters in Rome to make the announcement and praised Brunschwig’s work in developing the luxury brand’s business.
With the management move, LVMH is again rewarding a loyal and talented internal executive as Angeloglou had previously been executive vice president, strategic missions, at Louis Vuitton from 2022 and a key builder of that brand’s menswear business.
In March he was tapped by Michael Burke, chairman and CEO of LVMH Fashion Group, to become managing director, taking over direct responsibility for Fendi, Kenzo, Marc Jacobs, Pucci, Stella McCartney, Patou and Off-White, while LVMH Fashion Group’s largest and fastest-growing properties, Celine and Loewe, fall directly under Burke.
Before joining Vuitton in 2019, initially as strategic missions director for fashion and leather goods, Angeloglou was global brand president of L’Oréal Paris.
At Vuitton he was handed responsibility for its men’s division in 2020, under the late creative director Virgil Abloh. As reported, under Burke’s guidance Angeloglou built the men’s business up to 5 billion euros, market sources estimate.
Angeloglou took on increasing responsibilities at Vuitton as an executive vice president, also adding women’s accessories, digital innovation, visual merchandising and communication to his remit.
Prior to steering L’Oréal Paris, Angeloglou for three years held the position of general manager of L’Oréal’s Consumer Products Division in North Asia and for four years oversaw that division in Brazil, according to his LinkedIn profile.
Angeloglou was also general manager of Lascad in Paris and global vice president of L’Oréal Paris skin care. He joined L’Oréal in 1996, starting as a product manager in Italy and then France.
Brunschwig, who succeeded Pietro Beccari at Fendi, was previously Dior Homme’s chairman and CEO from 2015. He’s recognized for his extensive experience in luxury retail, operations and brand management, building Dior Homme’s retail network and developing its ready-to-wear and accessories.
He had joined Christian Dior Couture in 2008 as chief operating officer.
Low-key and methodical, a graduate of Ecole Polytechnique, Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Télécommunications and Institut d’Etudes Politiques de Paris, Brunschwig joined LVMH in 1995, working for Louis Vuitton and Sephora, with a particular expertise in emerging markets like Asia and the Middle East. From 1995 to 1999 he headed the Vuitton business in Southeast Asia, ultimately rising to president of LVMH Fashion Group for the Asia-Pacific region.
Before joining Dior, Brunschwig served as chairman and CEO of Céline from 2006.
At Fendi, he steered the company through the death of Karl Lagerfeld in February 2019, and the arrival of Kim Jones, who was appointed artistic director of couture and womenswear in 2020, and of Delfina Delettrez Fendi, the fourth generation of the Fendi family, who joined the label as artistic director of jewelry. Her mother, Silvia Venturini Fendi, serves as artistic director of accessories and menswear collections.
Under Brunschwig’s watch Fendi signed a joint venture in 2021 with Design Holding, forming Fashion Furniture Design (FF Design) to develop the Fendi Casa business.
Brunschwig has continued to build Fendi’s retail network while also developing the brand’s key manufacturing assets and protecting Made in Italy craftsmanship.
In October 2022, he unveiled Fendi’s new sprawling state-of-the-art accessories plant in Italy’s Capannuccia, a 30-minute drive from Florence. The plant, which telegraphs Fendi’s ongoing commitment toward sustainability and social responsibility, offers improved efficiency and a beautiful location to work in. It was the stage for Fendi’s men’s spring 2024 show.
The complex, which produces around 200,000 pieces a year, is surrounded by seven hectares of greenery, over an area spanning 324,000 square feet, and initially created 350 new jobs, with expectations to double that over the next few years.
A grove of 700 olive trees is visible throughout all areas of the park, allowing the production of oil from the factory itself of up to 900 liters a year.
In addition to helping Fendi increase control over its product pipeline, Brunschwig underscored that the plant was part of an initiative to train new generations of artisans.
The executive also spearheaded the construction of a new shoe factory in Fermo, in Italy’s Marche region, a key footwear production hub in the country.
Fendi has also kicked off the “Adopt a School“ educational project in collaboration with Altagamma and the “Ostilio Ricci” institute, also located in Fermo, aiming to fight unemployment and protect Italian manufacturing skills by connecting the luxury industry with Italian schools, in particular, technical and scientific institutes.
Fendi has long committed to the education and training of young talents through the Massoli Academy in Rome, which trains new tailors, and the participation in the LVMH Institute des Métiers d’Excellence training program.
Brunschwig’s commitment to protecting Italian beauty extends to the country’s cultural heritage. Last year Fendi pledged to help conservatively restore the Grotto of Diana at the Estense Garden in Tivoli, working with Villa Adriana and Villa d’Este, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Other restorations included the refurbishment of six reception salons at Villa Medici, in Rome, and the restoration work of the Temple of Venus and Rome.
With contributions from Miles Socha.
