Ermenegildo “Gildo” Zegna is the President and CEO of the Ermenegildo Zegna Group. A member of the third generation of the family, Gildo leads the company founded by his grandfather of the same name in 1910.
Gildo was born in Italy in Turin in 1955 and graduated from the University of London in 1978. After starting his career at Bloomingdale's in New York, he actively joined the family business in 1982, leading its operations first in North America and then in Spain. In 1989, he became a member of the company’s Board of Directors, where he was appointed CEO in 1997.
Originally established as a wool mill in Trivero, Italy, under Gildo's leadership, the company has grown to become a leader in the Italian luxury sector; it includes a unique Made in Italy luxury textile production platform and produces some of the finest fabrics in the world. As CEO, in 2018, Gildo successfully directed the acquisition and integration of the American brand Thom Browne, as well as the recent rebranding of Zegna in 2021.
In December 2021, Gildo was instrumental in the company’s listing on the New York Stock Exchange, making it the first Italian luxury group to enter the world’s most important financial market.
Gildo's leadership, like that of his grandfather before him, is based on the firm belief that building a successful brand and company cannot disregard caring for the environment and the communities that surround it. The perfect embodiment of this philosophy is the Oasi Zegna, a nature park that spans 100 square kilometers across the Biella Alps in Northern Italy. The Oasi reflects the values on which the Group was built, preserving the legacy of its predecessors and creating products consistent with a lifestyle in harmony with nature.
Gildo is also the Chairman of the Board of Thom Browne Inc., Filati Biagioli Modesto, S.p.A., and Monterubello S.S., as well as a member of the Board of Directors of Tom Ford International LLC. He is also a member of the Strategic Committee and Advisor of the National Chamber of Italian Fashion and has been an active member of the Council for the United States and Italy since 2013. In 2011, Gildo was appointed Knight of Labor by the President of the Italian Republic, and in 2016 he received the Leonardo Award, a prestigious recognition awarded to Italian leaders who have significantly promoted Italy's image on a global scale. Gildo was also a member of the Board of Directors of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles N.V. from 2014 to 2021.
Image and logo Courtesy of Ermenegildo Zegna Group
The Ermenegildo Zegna Group is an Italian luxury group founded in 1910 in Trivero, Province of Biella, in Piedmont. It is led by the Zegna family and is one of the most well-known entrepreneurial realities in Italy on an international level. The group is considered a world leader in men's luxury fashion. Currently, 90% of its sales are covered by exports, with China as the primary market. As of 2021, the Group has over 500 stores in about 80 countries, of which 297 are directly managed.
Its first significant growth occurs in the post-war period thanks to exports to the United States and innovative marketing insights for the time, such as branding fabrics and advertising on trains.
Between the late sixties and the seventies, the company internationalizes: production expands to Spain, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, France, Greece, Turkey, and Mexico.
In 1980, in Paris, Zegna opens its first mono-brand boutique, followed five years later by the one in Milan. Starting in the nineties, a strategy of vertical integration and further brand expansion begins, also through a long series of acquisitions and partnerships.
The group is particularly active in corporate social responsibility, which began in the 1930s when the founder distinguished himself by promoting a series of socio-assistance works for the Trivero community.
Since December 2021, the company has been listed on the NYSE of the New York Stock Exchange.
Top Manager Certificate: Ermenegildo Zegna
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