MILAN — Diesel CEO Eraldo Poletto is leaving his corner office.
A company spokesperson said Poletto “for personal reasons has decided to return to the United States, where he has lived for several years with his family.” However, he will continue to collaborate with Diesel.
A successor has not been named yet.
Poletto was promoted to the CEO role effective July 1, succeeding Massimo Piombini.
In January 2022, he joined Diesel as CEO of North America.
He has extensive experience in the region as he was previously CEO and brand president of Stuart Weitzman, controlled by Tapestry Inc., a role he held from 2018 to 2020.
From 1997 to 2010 he served in a variety of roles at Retail Brand Alliance, then-parent of Brooks Brothers, including as president of strategic development and international business and chief merchandising officer.
He was also CEO of Salvatore Ferragamo, which he joined in August 2016 and exited in March 2018 and served as CEO of Furla from 2010 to 2016, helping to grow and globalize that family-owned brand.
Watch on FN
Diesel is controlled by Renzo Rossso’s OTB group, which comprises Maison Margiela, Marni, Jil Sander, Viktor & Rolf and a minority stake in Amiri, as well as production arms Staff International and Brave Kid.
Diesel, after a reorganization and repositioning of its retail and wholesale channels, continues to be a core business for OTB, representing 45 percent of total revenues in 2021.
As reported, in 2021, OTB’s turnover, including royalties, totaled 1.53 billion euros (excluding nonrecurring revenues of 130 million euros), up 16.2 percent compared with 2020. Net sales totaled 1.45 billion euros, up 18 percent compared with 2020. Full-year revenues are expected to be reported later this month.
Rosso has touted the evolution of Diesel under the creative direction of Glenn Martens, who joined in the fall of 2020. The entrepreneur is known for having strong growth ambitions for the brand, aiming to raise its positioning in the luxury range.
Diesel has seen a frequent succession of CEOs in the past decade. Massimo Piombini joined Diesel in February 2020 succeeding Bershka executive Marco Agnolin, who left his role as CEO of the brand at the end of March 2019, after little more than a year.
Agnolin succeeded Alessandro Bogliolo, who joined Diesel in 2013 after the departure of Daniela Riccardi in April that year after three years. Bogliolo left for Tiffany & Co. in October 2017.
In December, Rosso told WWD he expects OTB to continue to post double-digit growth in 2023, based on the orders for the year.
The goal is to reach revenues of between 2.4 billion euros and 2.5 billion euros in 2024.
He confirmed the goal to publicly list OTB, possibly in 2024, as reported, or early 2025 depending on the markets.
This story was reported by WWD and originally appeared on WWD.com.
