EssilorLuxottica founder's son quits management roles after reported rift with CEO
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OneSight EssilorLuxottica Foundation's President Leonardo Maria Del Vecchio attends a conference in Rome, Italy October 5, 2023. REUTERS/Remo Casilli
MILAN, Aug 25 (Reuters) - The son of EssilorLuxottica's late founder is stepping down from management roles at the Franco-Italian eyewear group after reports of tensions with Chief Executive Francesco Milleri.
Leonardo Maria Del Vecchio would quit as chairman of the Ray-Ban brand and as chief strategy officer, the company said on Tuesday, confirming a report by Italian daily MF-Milano Finanza.
The resignation will be effective on August 31, the paper said.
According to MF, Del Vecchio criticised the group's management style in a resignation letter seen by the paper, saying that the eyewear maker was being run in a "distant" and "impersonal" manner.
Del Vecchio said he would remain an active shareholder through Delfin, in which he holds a 12.5% stake, and would continue to defend EssilorLuxottica's independence, long-term growth and stable ownership structure.
Delfin, the Del Vecchio family holding company, is EssilorLuxottica's largest shareholder with a 32.4% stake.
Leonardo Maria Del Vecchio, 31, has long been considered close to EssilorLuxottica Chief Executive Francesco Milleri and said only a few months ago that Milleri's work at the group was in line with his late father's vision.
Relations with Milleri, who chairs Delfin, grew more distant after Leonardo Maria Del Vecchio's attempt to buy out two siblings' stakes in the family holding company failed. He complained that Delfin's board had been uncooperative.
Leonardo Maria Del Vecchio did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
His half-brother and Delfin's shareholder, Rocco Basilico, resigned from EssilorLuxottica last year.
"We express our gratitude for his contribution to the group's growth and the realisation of the strategic vision championed by his father. We wish him equal success in his new venture," an EssilorLuxottica spokesperson said.
(Reporting by Francesca Piscioneri and Elisa Anzolin, editing by Alvise Armellini and Louise Heavens)
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