Latest news with #Bizzarri
Fashion United
7 days ago
- Business
- Fashion United
Former Gucci CEO Marco Bizzarri receives honorary doctorate from UCA
The University for the Creative Arts (UCA) has awarded an honorary doctorate to Marco Bizzarri, former chief executive officer of Gucci and Bottega Veneta. He is also the co-founder of the Milan-based venture capital fund Forel. Through his family holding company, Nessifashion, he invests in fashion, luxury and design companies. He is a member of the board of directors of Illy Caffè, Visionnaire, Elisabetta Franchi and Golden Goose. In his acceptance speech, according to a statement from Elisabetta Franchi Usa, Bizzarri expressed his gratitude for the honorary degree, stating: "It is a privilege to receive this honorary degree from the University for the Creative Arts and to speak at a place that trains the next generation of creative minds and leaders." With a career spanning over 35 years in the fashion industry, Bizzarri has received numerous awards. These include being named International Business Leader of the Year at the British Fashion Awards three times. He was also awarded the title of Knight of the Legion of Honour in France. Since 2013, he has been featured in the Business of Fashion 500, the definitive index of the people shaping the global fashion landscape. During his tenure at Gucci, Bizzarri repositioned the brand at the top of the luxury market, tripling its turnover and doubling its workforce in seven years. Addressing the 2025 graduates, Bizzarri said: "I truly hope you find people who believe in you. No one is born a CEO or creative director. There is someone at some point who decides to appoint you to that role. They throw you the ball and you start running. For me, that person was Robert Polet, who was CEO of Gucci Group when he appointed me CEO of Stella McCartney in 2005. He was a person who believed in me more than I believed in myself. Looking back, the thing you will appreciate most will be the people who have been with you along your journey." Bizzarri joins Jonathan Anderson, who was awarded an honorary degree from UCA last year, and Remo Ruffini, chairman and chief executive officer of Moncler, who was honoured in 2023. This article was translated to English using an AI tool. FashionUnited uses AI language tools to speed up translating (news) articles and proofread the translations to improve the end result. This saves our human journalists time they can spend doing research and writing original articles. Articles translated with the help of AI are checked and edited by a human desk editor prior to going online. If you have questions or comments about this process email us at info@
Fashion Network
15-07-2025
- Business
- Fashion Network
Marco Bizzarri receives honorary doctorate by University for the Creative Arts
He's 'one of Italy's foremost figures in luxury and fashion' so it's fitting that has been awarded an honorary doctorate by the UK's University for the Creative Arts (UCA). Recognised for his 'visionary leadership', the former CEO of high-end luxury house Gucci and president and co-founder of Milan-based venture fund Forel, his career has so far spanned over 35 years at the top end of the fashion industry. During his tenure at Gucci, he's cited as 're-establish[ing] the brand's leading luxury status, tripling revenue and doubling the organisation within just seven years'. And by 'focusing on people, talent, culture and values', he's also recognised for 'revolutionising the approach to business leadership', and led the Italian fashion house 'into the strongest period of financial growth and critical success in more than 20 years'. Through his family holding company Nessifashion, he also invests in companies within the realms of fashion, luxury and design. Previously, Bizzarri has also been named British Fashion Awards International Business Leader of the Year three times and France's Knight of the Legion of Honor. In his acceptance speech, he said: 'It's a privilege… to speak in a place that shapes the next generation of creative minds and leaders.'
Fashion Network
15-07-2025
- Business
- Fashion Network
Marco Bizzarri receives honorary doctorate by University for the Creative Arts
He's 'one of Italy's foremost figures in luxury and fashion' so it's fitting that has been awarded an honorary doctorate by the UK's University for the Creative Arts (UCA). Recognised for his 'visionary leadership', the former CEO of high-end luxury house Gucci and president and co-founder of Milan-based venture fund Forel, his career has so far spanned over 35 years at the top end of the fashion industry. During his tenure at Gucci, he's cited as 're-establish[ing] the brand's leading luxury status, tripling revenue and doubling the organisation within just seven years'. And by 'focusing on people, talent, culture and values', he's also recognised for 'revolutionising the approach to business leadership', and led the Italian fashion house 'into the strongest period of financial growth and critical success in more than 20 years'. Through his family holding company Nessifashion, he also invests in companies within the realms of fashion, luxury and design. Previously, Bizzarri has also been named British Fashion Awards International Business Leader of the Year three times and France's Knight of the Legion of Honor. In his acceptance speech, he said: 'It's a privilege… to speak in a place that shapes the next generation of creative minds and leaders.'
Fashion Network
15-07-2025
- Business
- Fashion Network
Marco Bizzarri receives honorary doctorate by University for the Creative Arts
He's 'one of Italy's foremost figures in luxury and fashion' so it's fitting that has been awarded an honorary doctorate by the UK's University for the Creative Arts (UCA). Recognised for his 'visionary leadership', the former CEO of high-end luxury house Gucci and president and co-founder of Milan-based venture fund Forel, his career has so far spanned over 35 years at the top end of the fashion industry. During his tenure at Gucci, he's cited as 're-establish[ing] the brand's leading luxury status, tripling revenue and doubling the organisation within just seven years'. And by 'focusing on people, talent, culture and values', he's also recognised for 'revolutionising the approach to business leadership', and led the Italian fashion house 'into the strongest period of financial growth and critical success in more than 20 years'. Through his family holding company Nessifashion, he also invests in companies within the realms of fashion, luxury and design. Previously, Bizzarri has also been named British Fashion Awards International Business Leader of the Year three times and France's Knight of the Legion of Honor. In his acceptance speech, he said: 'It's a privilege… to speak in a place that shapes the next generation of creative minds and leaders.'
Business of Fashion
14-07-2025
- Business
- Business of Fashion
Marco Bizzarri Gives Address With Advice for Fashion's Next Generation
At a ceremony in London's Royal Festival Hall last Thursday, Marco Bizzarri, the former Gucci chief executive who led the brand during its dramatic growth under creative director Alessandro Michele, offered his words of advice to students entering the fashion industry. 'You're going to face a lot of hurdles,' he said. 'But I really wish you to find in your journey people that are going to love you, that are going to support you, that are going to mentor you, that are going to believe in you, like they believed in me, more than I believed in myself in certain moments. Because nobody — nobody — is born to be a CEO, or creative director.' Bizzarri gave his address while accepting an honorary degree from the University for the Creative Arts for his vast contributions to the fashion industry. In his more than 30 years in fashion, he served as president and CEO at Stella McCartney and Bottega Veneta before his appointment in 2015 to the top job at Gucci, where he led a historically successful turnaround during his eight-year tenure. One of his first strategic decisions in the role was to name as creative director the relatively unknown Michele, who rebranded the Italian fashion house in his campy, idiosyncratic aesthetic. Between 2015 and 2019, sales more than doubled while profits quadrupled before growth slowed. Bizzarri exited Gucci in 2023. His guidance comes during a critical moment for fashion newcomers, who face a turbulent industry that has seen challenges to diversity and sustainability, tariff-induced chaos and a steep downturn in luxury spending. In his speech, he recounted his feelings as someone from a small village in Italy arriving in London to take over as CEO of Stella McCartney in 2005. 'It was like the dream of my life,' he said, but admitted that it was also scary for him. What helped him were the people he was surrounded by. He would go on to manage larger and larger companies with different cultures and complexities. While Bizzarri said there was no single formula for success, at the start of any new endeavour he would start by asking himself why and how he wanted to do it. 'The second most important thing is to find who you want to work with, the talents that you want to be with you, that they support you and ideally that are better than you, because if they are better than you, you can start to do other things,' he said. 'Never be scared of talents.' The advice was fitting from Bizzarri, who was known for boosting workplace morale by increasing company transparency, including to retail employees, and who is largely credited with transforming Gucci's brand culture from one based in fear to one of mutual respect. Since departing Gucci, Bizzarri has invested in fashion and design through his family holding company, Nessifashion, and co-founded private-equity firm Forel, which acquired a majority stake in Italian luxury interior design brand Visionnaire as its first venture in April 2024. That same month, Bizzarri acquired a 23 percent stake in Italian fashion label Elisabetta Franchi, of which he now serves as chairman. Last September, Bizzarri also became an informal advisor to Margherita Missoni's womenswear line Maccapani after his family made a minority investment in the brand in his daughter Federica's name. Bizzarri joins the ranks of previous UCA honourees including Naomi Campbell, Moncler CEO and chairman Remo Ruffini and Jonathan Anderson, who accepted the distinction last year. Learn more: As Gucci's CEO Steps Down, Saint Laurent's Chief Steps Up Marco Bizzarri led the Italian luxury giant through a historic expansion before the business struggled to bounce back from the pandemic. Parent company Kering announced the move as part of a broader executive shakeup after which Saint Laurent CEO Francesca Bellettini will oversee all the group's brands.
