A week after confirming the departure of its CEO Jacopo Venturini after ten years in the role, the Italian fashion house has turned to Ricardo Bellini, a key figure at its parent company. He has been Managing Director of the Mayhoola for Investment fund for the past eight months.
The Roman fashion house has chosen Riccardo Bellini to succeed Jacopo Venturini at the helm. The appointment of the former managing director of the Qatari sovereign wealth fund Mayhoola for Investment will take effect on September 1. He will form Valentino’s new leadership duo alongside artistic director Alessandro Michele.
Owner of Valentino since 2012 and Balmain since 2016, Mayhoola for Investment signed a binding agreement in July 2023 for the acquisition by the Kering group of 30% of the shares in the Italian fashion house founded in 1960, with an option to buy the entire company by 2028.
A pressing return to growth
Many challenges now weigh on the shoulders of Valentino’s new CEO, Riccardo Bellini.
He is responsible for continuing the brand’s image overhaul. This overhaul can no longer be achieved through simple aesthetic or narrative considerations, but must generate solid financial results.
However, in 2024, Valentino, still owned by the Mayhoola for Investment fund, not only had to contend with a 2% drop in sales to €1.31 billion, but also, more importantly, a 22% decline in EBITDA in one year.
Kering, which has held a 30% stake since July 2023 with an option to buy back all shares by 2028, cannot afford to listen. Sales at Gucci, its flagship brand and former growth engine, fell again in the first half of 2025 (down 25% on a comparable basis), while total sales for the luxury group declined by 15% on a comparable basis to €7.58 billion.
The new CEO will also have to deal with the temperamental and flamboyant artistic director Alessandro Michele, who was once responsible for Gucci’s dazzling but short-lived commercial success.
If all goes according to plan, Riccardo Bellini could also oversee the transfer of Valentino from Mayhoola for Investment to the Kering group.
Former CEO of Chloé and Maison Margiela
To carry out his mission and team up with someone as iconoclastic as Alessandro Michele, Riccardo Bellini can fortunately draw on his solid experience in managing luxury fashion houses.
As CEO of Maison Margiela from 2017 to 2019, he worked alongside another strong creative personality, John Galliano.
Riccardo Bellini then joined the Richemont group to head up Maison Chloé from 2019 to 2023. He navigated the COVID period and successfully pursued a brand elevation strategy by reinforcing Chloé’s exclusive character and discontinuing its secondary line, See By Chloé, which was more affordable and had a more casual image.
He also recruited Gabriella Hearst, a figure deeply committed to sustainable development, as creative director of the Parisian fashion house. This appointment enabled Chloé to obtain its B Corp certification in October 2021.
It was also him who, after defending Gabriella Hearst when she was pushed out in July 2023, managed to poach Chemena Kamali from Saint Laurent, with the success we now know, thanks to her bohemian chic aesthetic drawn from the House’s archives.
Read also > Valentino confirms the departure of its CEO
Featured photo: © Mayhoola for Investment
