Luxottica founder Leonardo Del Vecchio and Essilor CEO Hubert Sagnières are sharing power at EssilorLuxottica for the first three years after the two companies completed a merger on Oct. 1.
"Our search will start as soon as possible, in January we'll give a mandate to headhunters ... formally they'll have time till the end of 2020," Grassi told reporters.
"But we're not in a hurry, we'll use time to find the right person" he added.
The new group, listed in Paris, is looking to buy out all remaining Luxottica shares through an exchange offer ending on Nov. 28, leading to a planned delisting of Luxottica from the Milan stock exchange.
Grassi said there were no plans for a double listing of EssilorLuxottica shares in Paris and Milan, adding any decision to the contrary would be up to the board.
(Reporting by Giulio Piovaccari; editing by David Evans)
