Twenty senior lieutenants at EssilorLuxottica SA have publicly defended CEO Francesco Milleri following criticisms from Leonardo Maria Del Vecchio, the son of the company's founder. Del Vecchio, who abruptly resigned from a senior position last month, has blamed Milleri for a significant decline in the company's share price, which has fallen by more than 50% since November.
The unusual memo, circulated among staff, was signed by key executives including the chief people, finance, and operations officers. In their statement, these managers asserted that Milleri is faithfully upholding the legacy of the late founder, Leonardo Del Vecchio. They also sought to deflect responsibility from Milleri for the substantial drop in the company's market valuation, suggesting external factors might be at play.
The backing from top management comes after the EssilorLuxottica board had already unanimously reaffirmed its full confidence in Milleri and the current management team earlier this week. Leonardo Maria Del Vecchio, 31, owns a 12.5% stake in Delfin, the family holding company that controls 32.4% of EssilorLuxottica. He stepped down at the end of July as chairman of the Ray-Ban brand and as EssilorLuxottica's chief strategy officer.
