Giovanni Zoppas to Exit Thélios, Join Tecnica Group
MILAN — Giovanni Zoppas is to exit as chief executive officer of Italian eyewear manufacturer Thélios, a venture between LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, which has a 51 percent stake, and storied Italian eyewear maker Marcolin Group.
Effective in May, Zoppas will be the new CEO and general manager of Tecnica Group, which specializes in outdoor footwear and ski equipment. There he will take over the role previously held on an interim basis by the company’s chairman Alberto Zanatta. Former CEO Antonio Dus exited the firm in December.
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Reached for comment on Monday, Thélios said Zoppas will leave at the end of April and that a successor will be named in the coming weeks.
Zoppas’ appointment marks a return for the executive to Tecnica, where he served as general manager of Nordica — one of the brands in the company’s portfolio — from 2003 to 2006. Zoppas is also a member of the firm’s board.
In a statement, Zoppos said he has “always been extremely fond of the group,” keeping “close ties with it after my time at Nordica” and that he shares “Zanatta’s vision of the future objectives and ambitious goals we can achieve, both in terms of business and organizational and managerial solidity.”
Zanatta in the same statement described Zoppas as “a consummate professional who brings with him experience with major international groups and knowledge of our business and local area” and said he expects these qualities to drive the company’s growth and enable it “to embrace new business opportunities and maintain its leadership position in the outdoor footwear and ski equipment sector.”
Founded in 1960 by the Zanatta family, Tecnica is based in Giavera del Montello near Treviso, Italy, and counts 3,150 employees. In 2020, the company had a turnover of 382 million euros, down 9.8 percent compared to 2019.
Along with Nordica and the namesake Tecnica outdoor shoe and ski boot brand, the group’s portfolio includes a range of specialized labels, such as Moon Boot, Blizzard, Lowa and Rollerblade.
In 2017, Italmobiliare SpA, the investment group owned by the Pesenti family, acquired a 40 percent stake in the company for 60 million euros.
A graduate in political economics from Milan’s Bocconi School of Economics, Zoppas was appointed CEO of Thélios in 2017. While the concept of the joint venture between LVMH and Marcolin originated in 2016, the company became operational in 2018. Zoppas oversaw the development of the eyewear specialist, which since its inception has grown to produce and distribute eyewear collections for Celine; Loewe; Kenzo; Fenty; Fred; Berluti; Rimowa and, more recently, Dior and Stella McCartney. As reported, Thélios also unveiled a brand for men called 9.81, a reference to the universal constant of gravity (9.81 Newtons).
At the company, Zoppas relied on years of experience in the sector, as he was previously CEO of Marcolin from 2012 to 2017. Prior to that, other professional experience included not only the one at Nordica but also posts at Benetton Group as well as at Coin Group, where he was chief financial officer and CEO.
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