YNAP names new CEO with Marchetti to remain as chairman
YOOX NET-A-PORTER Group has named its new CEO. Geoffroy Lefebvre, currently Group digital distribution director at parent group Richemont, will take over the role with incumbent Federico Marchetti remaining as chairman.
He will take up the role on 4 January as per the succession plan announced by the global online luxury group earlier this year. Marchetti, who founded YOOX in 2000 and which was later to merge with the UK's NET-A-PORTER.com to create YNAP, said he was ready to step down as CEO in March.
Marchetti said he would remain in post while a successor was found and would ensure a smooth transition for the incoming CEO.
Johann Rupert, chairman of Richemont, commented: “Richemont’s digital journey, since our first investment in NET-A-PORTER in 2002, to my encounter with a visionary entrepreneur, Federico Marchetti, that led in 2015 to the creation of the YOOX NET-A-PORTER GROUP, then its acquisition in 2018, has been fascinating in many ways.
"I would like to thank Federico for his relentless passion, his energy and his drive in shaping the largest player in Luxury Selective Distribution. He has crafted and delivered the vision that has prevailed since 2000 and has inspired so many. I wish Federico all the best for his future career. And I am happy to introduce Geoffroy, who has been driving the expansion of Richemont’s e-Commerce for the past two years after several other executive positions within the Group. He will now lead YOOX NET-A PORTER GROUP’s teams in their growth journey to delight ever more our customers around the world.”
Marchetti commented: “As part of the succession plan communicated at the beginning of 2020, I am delighted to be handing the baton to Geoffroy Lefebvre as the CEO of YOOX NET-A-PORTER GROUP. We have worked together over recent times and he fully masters our business model. In our 20th anniversary year, it is a fitting moment to kick-start the hand over and I look forward to working with him as Chairman during the transition period.
"Over the last two decades the Group has grown exponentially, from a fledgling start-up to the biggest player in luxury e-commerce. As an entrepreneur I am proud to have created a tech unicorn and built a digital powerhouse. The Group has solid foundations, which will propel it towards long-term growth. I will continue to innovate combining human touch with digital disruption, while retaining the focus on people, customers and our communities.
"A huge thank-you to all the teams, partners, brands, shareholders – and especially to Johann Rupert – who have created the legendary YOOX NET-A-PORTER Group!”
Marchetti is among a clutch of entrepreneurs who emerged in the year 2000 to shake up fashion and kick-start a digital revolution. His off-price luxury site YOOX was founded at the same time as Dame Natalie Massenet established NET-A-PORTER in London and Nick Robertson established ASOS, at the mainstream end of the market.
Massenet left NET-A-PORTER after it was merged with YOOX in 2015 and now funds other entrepreneurs through her Imaginary Ventures investment business.
Earlier this year Marchetti joined the board of Italian luxury house Armani as a senior non-executive director. In an Instagram post, Marchetti recounted his story in the form of a fairy tale of how a young boy from Ravenna went on to create Italy's only tech unicorn.
He concluded: "I look forward to celebrating [YNAP's] future successes as chairman as well as writing new chapters of my own."
