Head of industrial operations for leather goods Massimo Rigucci set to leave

The haemorrhage of senior executives at Gucci continues. After the departures of its creative director Alessandro Michele and CEO Marco Bizzarri, the latter temporarily replaced by Jean-François Palus, a wave of resignations has hit the Kering group’s leading label, currently in the midst of a transition phase under the aegis of new creative director Sabato De Sarno. The next to leave will be Massimo Rigucci, a long-standing top executive who has been with Gucci for 23 years, and is currently the head of industrial operations for leather goods, footwear and jewellery. According to a source close to Gucci’s C-suite, Rigucci will depart from the label in mid-January.

 
In 2018, Florence-born Rigucci also took charge of ArtLab, Gucci’s cutting-edge centre for craftsmanship and R&D, focused specifically on the design and development of leather goods and footwear, based in Scandicci, on the outskirts of Florence.
 
According to various rumours, Massimo Vian, the current head of industrial operations at Prada, is expected to succeed Rigucci. Vian is set to leave the Milanese group at the end of this month, and assume a new role with a broader remit at Gucci. FashionNetwork.com has learnt that Gucci is likely to announce various organisational changes in the coming weeks.

“Ever since Alessandro Michele’s departure, heads have continued to roll,” a Gucci source told FashionNetwork.com recently. Especially among the top hierarchy. In September, Susan Chokachi, formerly executive vice-president and chief brand and client officer, left Gucci after 25 years, replaced by Alessio Vannetti. A few months earlier, another veteran had abandoned ship, Robert Triefus, senior executive vice-president in charge of brand and corporate strategy. Other senior managers have been discreetly dismissed.
 
In parellel, the Gucci creative studio, which is set to leave Rome and move back to Milan soon, has also lost several designers. Notably Davide Renne, design director for women’s ready-to-wear, who left the label after 20 years to take charge of Moschino, and sadly passed away prematurely soon afterwards. Simone Bellotti, who had been at Gucci for 16 years, initially working in menswear and later on special projects, has been named creative director at Bally, while Daniel Kearns, who joined Gucci in 2022 as design director of the men’s collections, was recently hired by Cerruti 1881 and is now in charge of style at Kent & Curwen.