Benetton CEO Claudio Sforza picks executive team to relaunch brand

Benetton CEO Claudio Sforza is building his senior executive team, the core group that will be working with him to restructure and relaunch the long-established Italian ready-to-wear label. On September 2, Cristina Girelli will take over from Iacopo Martini as CFO, and Paolo Venturini, a consultant with Era Group, will replace Martino Boselli as head of sales.

Sforza has also introduced an entirely new role within the Benetton group, that of head of purchasing, overseeing all the group’s expenditure budgets. The post will be assumed by Vincenzo Meles, formerly in charge of purchasing at Ilva, Natuzzi and other major Italian groups.

Sforza was appointed CEO on June 18, following the AGM that approved the group’s renewed governance structure, and also appointed Christian Coco as president and Andrea Pezzangora as board member. Sforza has been working through the summer to draw up a relaunch plan that is expected to be ready in the autumn.

The team Sforza has picked is tried and tested: all the executives have previously worked together at various stages in their careers. Girelli was at Ilva when Sforza was COO there, and so was Meles, and she worked for Alitalia alongside the current CEO of Benetton’s holding company Edizione S.p.a., Enrico Laghi. Venturini was head of sales at Postel between 2009 and 2011, when Sforza was the CEO.