Burberry bolsters leadership team with two senior executive appointments

British heritage brand Burberry has appointed Giorgio Belloli and Delphine Sonder to the newly-created roles of Chief Digital, Customer and Innovation Officer, and Chief Merchandising Officer.

Belloli, who will step into the role with immediate effect, will be responsible for leading the global e-commerce, digital product, and analytics teams, as well as a newly-formed innovation function.

He joins after spending nine years at Farfetch, serving most recently as Chief Commercial and Sustainability Officer. Prior to his stint at Farfetch, he held senior roles at Alexander McQueen, Hussein Chalayan, and Prada.

Sonder, who will also step into the role immediately, will lead merchandising and global planning across ready-to-wear and accessories, as well as product strategy. She is joining the team at Burberry after nearly five years at Saint Laurent, where she was General Merchandising Director. Prior to this, she held senior positions at LVMH's Louis Vuitton and Chloe.

Both new executive team members will report to Jonathan Akeroyd, Burberry's Chief Executive Officer. The duo will also join the Executive Committee.

Jonathan Akeroyd said: “I am delighted to welcome Giorgio and Delphine to Burberry. Their appointments reinforce our ambitions for this next phase, building on our strong legacy of innovation and strengthening the alignment between our commercial offering and our new creative vision.

"I look forward to working closely with them both to progress our strategic priorities and realise Burberry’s potential as the modern British luxury brand.”

Burberry recently reported an 11% increase in revenue to £1.34 billion for the H1 ending 1 October 2022. Adjusted operating profit was up 21% to £238 million, whilst adjusted operating profit margin increased 150 bps to 17.7%.