LUXOTTICA GROUP MILAN (Reuters) - Luxottica (>> Luxottica Group SpA), the world's largest eyewear group, named a senior Procter & Gamble (>> The Procter & Gamble Company) manager as its new co-chief executive on Wednesday, seeking to solve a governance crisis after losing two chief executives in the span of six weeks.
The maker of Ray-Ban and Oakley sunglasses said its chairman would propose at a board meeting on Oct. 29 that Adil Mehboob-Khan be appointed as co-CEO in charge of markets from January and in the interim joins the board as a non-executive director.
The move follows last week's abrupt departure of the last CEO, Enrico Cavatorta, who only six weeks earlier had taken over from long-time boss Andrea Guerra.
Both executives have clashed with Luxottica's chairman and majority owner Leonardo Del Vecchio, 79, who has temporarily taken on management of the group.
Del Vecchio now plans to hand all executive responsibilities to Chief Operating Officer Massimo Vian, who will become co-CEO in charge of operations and products once Mehboob-Khan joins, the company said.
The chairman had already intended to put Vian in charge until the second co-CEO was found but had to shelve that plan only a day after unveiling it following a board clash.
Del Vecchio said on Wednesday the naming of Vian as co-CEO guaranteed "continuity with the existing strategy."
"At the same time, Adil's appointment as Co-CEO for Markets will bring fresh energy," he added in a statement.
Mehboob-Khan is set to leave Procter & Gamble on Jan. 1 after 27 years, the U.S. company said in a separate statement. Over the past three years, the London-born executive has led professional haircare brand Wella, where he will be replaced by Global Group President Patrice Louvet, P&G said.
Luxottica adopted plans for a dual chief executive model after Guerra's departure, drawing criticism from some analysts who said the structure hampered decision-making.
Guerra, widely considered one of Italy's best top managers, presided over a doubling of group sales to 7.3 billion euros.
The subsequent departure of Cavatorta, Luxottica's trusted chief financial officer since 1999, has further stoked investors' concerns and hastened Luxottica's search for a new co-CEO after the group had previously said it would take time.
Luxottica, 61 percent owned by Del Vecchio, is due to publish third-quarter results on Oct. 29 and it has forecast a net profit rise of around 10 percent as a stronger dollar boosts U.S. sales.
"We believe though that all eyes will be on corporate governance as the investor community will be seeking answers on the recent management changes and on the reasons behind Cavatorta's unexpected decision to leave," JP Morgan analysts said in a note earlier this week.
(Editing by Silvia Aloisi and Greg Mahlich)
By Valentina Za
