Directorate Change

RNS Number : 8400D

Burberry Group PLC

11 July 2016

 

Burberry announces new leadership roles

Christopher Bailey to become President & Chief Creative Officer

Marco Gobbetti appointed Chief Executive Officer

Burberry today announces new leadership roles for its senior team.  The moves are part of the ongoing business review that is targeting future growth opportunities in retail, product and digital enabled by changes to ways of working.

Christopher Bailey will take on the new role of President and Chief Creative Officer overseeing all elements of brand and design working in partnership with the new Chief Executive Officer on company strategy and culture.  

Marco Gobbetti has been appointed Chief Executive Officer and will be responsible for all commercial, operational and financial elements of the business.  He will join the Board upon arrival from a date in 2017 as soon as he is contractually able to do so.  Christopher will transition to his new role at that time and will remain on the Board.

Christopher and Marco will report directly to the Chairman.

Marco Gobbetti is currently Chairman and CEO of French luxury brand, Céline.  With more than 20 years experience in the luxury industry he has a proven track record for growing and developing brands including Givenchy, Moschino and Bottega Veneta.  Most recently, at Céline, his retail and customer focused strategies have delivered exceptional growth for the brand over the last 8 years.

Christopher Bailey said: "I am very excited that Marco Gobbetti is joining us as Chief Executive Officer and as a partner to me.  Marco brings incredible experience and skills in luxury and retail with him that will be invaluable to us.  I am delighted to welcome Marco and I am looking forward to working closely with him alongside the rest of our highly talented teams.   On a personal level, I know that we are going to enjoy a wonderfully collaborative partnership that makes me very excited for our future at Burberry."

Burberry Chairman Sir John Peace said "I am delighted that Marco will be joining us to work alongside Christopher in his new role as we embark upon the next chapter in our 160-year-old success story.  He has an outstanding track record of delivering growth in the luxury industry and his vision for the sector and how it will evolve is extremely impressive.

The Board firmly believes that these new leadership roles coupled with actions, identified in the recent business review, will significantly enhance our ability to deliver long-term sustainable growth and sector outperformance over time.   

Since taking on the combined role of Chief Executive and Chief Creative Officer, Christopher Bailey has done an excellent job set against a backdrop of challenging market conditions.  

The review that he has led into our ways of working is the blueprint for the next phase of Burberry's evolution.  In order to maximise our ability to successfully implement these plans, Christopher identified the need for a new Chief Executive for the business who could partner with him as we execute on the new strategies and I am excited to see what they will do together."

The information communicated herein is inside information.

Additional information

About Marco Gobbetti

Marco Gobbetti is currently Chairman and CEO of French luxury brand, Céline. This is a position he has held since 2008. Céline is a French luxury ready to wear and leather goods brand that has been owned by LVMH group since 1996. Céline is a vertically integrated brand which has been grown organically and now operates around 130 stores across a wide geographic footprint.

Marco has extensive international luxury sector experience. Prior to joining Céline, he was the Chairman and CEO of Givenchy between 2004 and 2008. Before this he was CEO of Moschino. From 1984 to 1989, he worked with Bottega Veneta as Sales Director for the United States and subsequently as Marketing & Sales Director, prior to joining the Valextra brand as Managing Director.

Marco holds a degree in Business Administration from the American University in Washington and a Masters in International Management from the American Graduate School of International Management in Phoenix, Arizona. He is married with three children.

There is no further information required to be disclosed pursuant to paragraph LR 9.6.13R of the Listing Rules of the Financial Conduct Authority.

Remuneration

Burberry's current Remuneration Policy is listed on pp85-92 of the Annual Report.

·    Base salary of £1,100,000.

·    Annual cash allowance of £80,000.

o Covering travel, car and clothing.

·    Annual bonus opportunity of up to 200% of salary.

·    2016/17 share award under the Executive Share Plan maximum of 325% of salary.

·    Pension contribution of 30% and other non-cash benefits in accordance with the Remuneration Policy.

·    There will also be restricted shares granted as compensation for the incentives forfeited on leaving his previous employer. 

o The total face value of these restricted shares will be €4.91m, vesting in 2017 to 2020 (subject to continued employment).

o These do not have performance conditions attached.

Enquiries

Investors and analysts
Fay Dodds	VP, Investor Relations	020 3367 3524

Media
Julian Payne	VP, PR and Corporate Relations	020 3428 8975
Nick Claydon	Brunswick	020 7404 5959
Katherine Spence	Brunswick

Certain statements made in this announcement are forward-looking statements.  Such statements are based on current expectations and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from any expected future results in forward-looking statements.  Burberry Group plc undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements and will not publicly release any revisions it may make to these forward-looking statements that may result from events or circumstances arising after the date of this document.  Nothing in this announcement should be construed as a profit forecast.  All persons, wherever located, should consult any additional disclosures that Burberry Group plc may make in any regulatory announcements or documents which it publishes.  All persons, wherever located, should take note of these disclosures.  This announcement does not constitute an invitation to underwrite, subscribe for or otherwise acquire or dispose of any Burberry Group plc shares, in the UK, or in the US, or under the US Securities Act 1933 or in any other jurisdiction.

BURBERRY, the Equestrian Knight Device and the Burberry Check are trademarks belonging to Burberry which are registered and enforced worldwide

 

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