OTB taps new CEOs for Diesel North America, Margiela

Dive Brief:

The OTB Group named new CEOs to its Maison Margiela and Diesel North America brands, and it also appointed a new chairman for Maison Margiela’s board on Monday, according to press releases obtained by Fashion Dive.
Gaetano Sciuto joins Maison Margiela as CEO after the position was left vacant last month by Gianfranco Gianangeli. Stefano Rosso, already a board member, will succeed previous chairman and OTB founder Renzo Rosso. Meanwhile at Diesel, Matteo Lena was named North American CEO, after previously working at Giorgio Armani Corp. as the senior vice president of retail for North America.
The Italian fashion corporation has experienced multiple leadership shake ups at several of its brands so far this year, including at Jil Sander and other departures at Diesel.

Dive Insight:

Both Sciuto and Stefano Rosso, son of Renzo Rosso, will report to OTB Group CEO Ubaldo Minelli in their new positions at Maison Margiela.

Last month, Gianangeli left Margiela by “mutual agreement with the company,” to move to a different field, according to a news release shared with Fashion Dive. Gianangeli had been CEO since 2020.

Sciuto joins Maison Margiela after holding the CEO role at Giorgio Armani Americas. He has more than 30 years of experience in the fashion and luxury sectors, including roles at Fendi of the LVMH Group.

Sciuto will step into the role on July 17.

Stefano Rosso, already an OTB board member and CEO of Brave Virtual Xperience, succeeds his father Renzo Rosso as chairman. Renzo Rosso had held the chairman position since 2002 when he started OTB as a holding company for Diesel, which he founded in 1978. That same year, OTB acquired a majority share in Maison Margiela, and in 2006, OTB gained full control of the Parisian haute couture house, which was originally designed by Belgian designer Martin Margiela and Jenny Meirens and founded by them in 1988.

Lena stepped into the North American Diesel CEO role on Monday. He has more than 20 years of experience in the fashion and luxury industry. Prior to joining Armani, he held international managerial roles at Benetton and GEOX, according to a news release shared with Fashion Dive.

Lena is succeeding Donald Kohler, who left Diesel earlier this year to join PVH Corp. as president of the Americas for the Calvin Klein brand, according to his LinkedIn profile.

“[Lena] will be responsible for harnessing the great potential of the North American market, where DIESEL has its global roots,” Diesel founder Renzo Rosso said in a news release.

Beyond Kohler’s departure, Diesel CEO Eraldo Poletto stepped down after just seven months in the role, according to a report from Vogue Business.

The OTB Group is also the owner of the Marni, Viktor&Rolf, Amiri and Jil Sander brands. In its most recent earnings, it reported $1.8 billion (1.6 billion euros) in total sales, a 12% increase in revenue from the year prior, which it attributed to its luxury business.