Power struggle at EssilorLuxottica: the development of presidents

At the Espace Grande Arche in La Défense, on Thursday November 29, the first general badembly was held following the merger between Essilor and Luxottica.

In front of a full house, Leonardo Del Vecchio, president and CEO of EssilorLuxottica and Hubert Sagnières, vice president and chief executive officer of EssilorLuxottica, dismissed the rumor of a power struggle in the new entity renamed EssilorLuxottica. "There is no creeping takeover of Delfin on Essilor. There is an equality of power between Leonardo and me until May 2021. The voting rights of Delfin are capped at 31% by the statutes, which can only be changed by a two-thirds majority, "said Hubert. Sagnières.

Since the finalization of the marriage, the 2 leaders share the orders of the new set for 3 years. But the surprise declarations of Leonardo Del Vecchio, at the beginning of November, set fire to the powders. The president and CEO of EssilorLuxottica announced that he was proposing the candidacy of Francesco Milleri, current CEO of Luxottica as Group Chief Executive.

"I will defer to the decisions of the board of directors"

"The search for a new CEO will be initiated in January 2019. Such an appointment (Francesco Milleri) is not on the agenda," said Olivier Pecoux, independent director, during a session of questions answers.

Leonardo Del Vecchio then took the floor to respond directly to his proposal to appoint Francesco Milleri, the general manager of EssilorLuxottica: "I have desires and wishes for the future. There is a commission that deals with this issue. I will defer to the decisions of the board of directors, in accordance with the agreements signed, "said the founder of Luxottica.

It should be recalled that the agreements concluded between EssilorLuxottica and Delfin provide that the Appointments and Compensation Committee will be appointed by EssilorLuxottica's Board of Directors, at or before the end of January 2019, to engage, after consultation with Leonardo Del Vecchio. Hubert Sagnières, one or more recruitment agency (s) to badist him in the search, according to the "best for the job" principle, of a managing director of the combined group (the "General Manager"), who will be initially Deputy CEO of EssilorLuxottica.

For his part, Stefano Grbadi, one of EssilorLuxottica's CFOs, had recently indicated that headhunters would have until the end of 2020 to find a candidate.