Luxottica Group SpA’s share price down, CEO Guerra to step down

Luxottica Group SpA, the largest eyewear maker in the world, revealed that its Chief Executive Officer Andrea Guerra is leaving the company after a successful decade at the helm, during which the companys stock rose threefold.

“I have respect for Guerra, but unfortunately our views of the company’s future diverged,” Leonardo Del Vecchio, founder and Chairman of Luxottica and owner of 65% of its stock, said at a briefing. He explained that the Chief Executive Officers departure was “without arguments, it was consensual”.

There were reported disagreements between Guerra and Del Vecchio as early as July, with the company issuing a response ad hoc conference some two weeks ago, saying the leadership was debating on the companys futures.

The company will reshape its management structure, Del Vecchio revealed today. The position of CEO will be broken down to incorporate two sub-positions, with the current CFO of the company set to oversee the executive side of corporate affairs, while the new, yet unnamed, co-CEO will manage marketing. Both co-CEOs will be “guided” by Del Vecchio, who is set to again take on a more active role within the company.

Del Vecchio, who has an estimated fortune of some $20bn, founded Luxottica in 1958, and managed it till 2004. He then handed the reins to Guerra, then executive at white goods firm Indesit, also owned by Del Vecchio.

Luxottica owns household brands such as Ray Ban and is licensed to produce eyewear with brands Prada and Chanel.

Luxottica Group SpA lost 0.66% to trade at €40.57 per share by 9:29 GMT, marking a one year change of +0.82%. The company is valued at €19.64bn as of the previous closing price. According to the Financial Times, the 21 analysts offering 12-month price targets for Luxottica Group SpA have a median target of €43.00, with a high estimate of €48.00 and a low estimate of €32.00. The median estimate represents a 5.29% increase from the last price of €40.84.