Altagamma Confirms Matteo Lunelli as Chairman, Welcomes 10 New Board Members

  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.

MILAN — Altagamma has reconfirmed Matteo Lunelli as chairman of the association for the three-year period 2023 to 2025. Lunelli, who is also president and chief executive officer of sparkling wine Ferrari Trento, was first appointed to the role in December 2019, succeeding Andrea Illy.

At the same time, Altagamma has renewed 30 percent of its governing bodies and appointed 10 new members, ranging from Lorenzo Bertelli (head of corporate social responsibility at Prada Group) and Marco Gobbetti, chief executive officer of Ferragamo, to Daniel Lalonde, CEO of Design Holding, and Benedetto Vigna, CEO of Ferrari.

More from WWD

Claudia D’Arpizio (senior partner, Bain & Company); Alfonso Dolce (CEO at Dolce & Gabbana); Ezio Indiani (general manager of Hotel Principe di Savoia); Stefano Marini (CEO, Gruppo Sanpellegrino); Cristina Scocchia (CEO, Illycaffè), and Isabella Traglio (deputy general manager of Vhernier) were also named to the board.

The percentage of women has increased to 27 percent from 20 percent and the board reflects the diversification of the Altagamma sectors, ranging from fashion, design and food, to hospitality, automotive, nautical and jewelry.

Over the three-year period ending in 2022 the number of Altagamma members has risen to 113 from 108 and that of the partners to 25 from 20.

“Despite the strong volatility and discontinuity, the V-shaped recovery after 2020 has surprised everyone, for its sudden and impetuous velocity, leading to record gains for the industry in 2022,” Lunelli said in an interview.

As reported in November, according to the latest Bain & Company Luxury Study in collaboration with Fondazione Altagamma, the global luxury goods industry overall is projected to achieve around 1.4 trillion euros in sales in 2022, up 21 percent from the previous year.

In particular, the personal luxury goods industry is poised to see revenues climb 22 percent to 353 billion euros in 2022 compared to 2021.

“These are incredible results, an all-time record,” said Lunelli, “and the growth trend is long term.”

“We went through challenges we would never have expected, and we’ve seen a very strong cohesion among members and an increased interest in Altagamma, which has been very active. It’s a place to exchange information in a context that is difficult to read, which makes Altagamma even more relevant. The tough times have strengthened the unity of Altagamma members and multiplied opportunities for collaboration.”

Lunelli said he’s seen more interconnection among members and across sectors. For example, he cited Dolce & Gabbana and its CEO as a new board member reflecting the trend of luxury brands being active “across different industries, from fashion to home, food and beverage.”

Lunelli sees opportunities in potential new partnerships that lead to “new energy.”

Sustainability, “paying attention to the environment and to people is especially important now, at a moment of increased social inequality,” he said.

Sustainability has led to the creation of the Altagamma Charter of Values, which was published in May 2022 on the occasion of the foundation’s 30th anniversary celebrations and presented to the Italian President Sergio Mattarella and to Pope Francis, he observed.

Asked about another key goal, Lunelli said he would like to organize meetings in Italy with Altagamma’s web of international partners, “with the ambassadors of Made in Italy in the world, from retailers and media to high-profile individuals. We want to be increasingly more international.”

He cited a recent project — 75 Altagamma brands uniting for a mini WeChat program “working together to communicate their stories and values. It’s been very successful,” Lunelli touted.

Setting up two new Altagamma Clubs, in Shanghai and New York, has enabled managers of member companies to network with the institutions and international partners and Lunelli said he would like to extend these clubs to additional countries, from Japan to the United Arab Emirates.

Since January, Lunelli has also been president of the European Cultural and Creative Alliance (ECCIA), which brings together European luxury associations (in addition to Altagamma, Comité Colbert in France; Circolo Fortuny in Spain; Gustaf III Kommitté in Sweden; Laurel in Portugal; Meisterkreis in Germany, and Walpole in the U.K.). “It is fundamental to work in a European context, with other associations,” said Lunelli, noting that luxury accounts for 10 percent of European Union exports.

The role of deputy chairman will be filled by Claudio Luti (CEO and president of Kartell), formerly vice president and involved in the foundation for 25 years.

The team of vice chairmen sees the confirmation of Sabina Belli (CEO of Pomellato) for jewelry; Carlo Capasa (president, Camera Nazionale della Moda Italiana) for fashion; Claudio Domenicali (CEO, Ducati Motor Holding) for automotive; Aldo Melpignano (managing director, San Domenico Hotels) for hospitality, and Giovanna Vitelli (vice president, Azimut|Benetti Group) for yacht-building.

New appointments include Bob Kunze-Concewitz (CEO, Gruppo Campari), former board member and now vice chair for food, and Dario Rinero (CEO, Lifestyle Design), former vice chair for internationalization and now vice chair for design.

The following were confirmed as members of the board of directors: Nerio Alessandri (chairman and CEO, Technogym); Marco Bizzarri (president and CEO, Gucci); Serge Brunschwig (chairman and CEO, Fendi); Carlotta de Bevilacqua (chairman and CEO, Artemide); Roberto Gavazzi (CEO, Boffi | DePadova); Carmen Moretti (CEO, L’Albereta and L’Andana); Maria Porro (head of marketing and communication, Porro and president Salone del Mobile); Giovanni Tamburi (president and CEO, Tamburi Investment Partners); Stephan Winkelmann (chairman and CEO, Automobili Lamborghini); Maurizio Zanella (president, Ca’ del Bosco), and Paolo Zegna (board member of Zegna) formerly vice chairman of the Foundation.

Stefania Lazzaroni continues in her role as general manager of Altagamma.

Click here to read the full article.