Marni names Stefano Rosso as CEO

Stefano Rosso’s rise within OTB continues. Stefano, the son of Renzo Rosso, president and founder of the Italian fashion group which controls Diesel and other labels like Maison Margiela, Jil Sander and Viktor & Rolf, was recently appointed CEO of Marni, another of the group’s leading labels.

 
Stefano Rosso succeeds Barbara Calò, who had been promoted to the CEO role in November 2019, after serving as Marni’s head of global sales since 2016. In a press release, OTB thanked Calò without explaining the reasons for her departure, and stating that she will support Stefano Rosso for a transitional period.
 
Stefano Rosso will report to Ubaldo Minelli, CEO of OTB.

“By appointing Stefano as Marni’s CEO, we wanted to strengthen the leadership of a brand that is a fundamental driver for the growth of the entire OTB Group. Marni still has great potential to be explored and we are convinced that Stefano is the right person to take it forward,” said Minelli in the press release.

Stefano Rosso was born in 1979. He studied at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York and has been working at OTB since 2005. Among others, he has held various posts at Diesel, in the production, marketing and sales departments, as well as at OTB, where he sits on the board of directors. In 2021, he took charge of BVX, the group’s subsidiary focused on virtual reality projects, and in 2023 he succeeded his father as president of Maison Margiela. He will still wear all these different professional hats while busy in his new role at Marni.
 
“Stefano will have the important responsibility of fast-tracking Marni’s positioning on the luxury market, and the new post is a further step forward in his professional career. I believe that his international experience and innovative vision will prove decisive in raising Marni’s iconic profile and reaching an even broader audience,” said Renzo Rosso in the press release.
 
Marni’s collections have been designed by Francesco Risso ever since the label’s founder Consuelo Castiglioni left in October 2016. In 2023, its revenue rose by 8.6%. Last year, Marni opened 16 new stores and renewed its beauty licence with Coty for a 20-year term. As Renzo Rosso said, “Marni is a unique brand that has built a solid global positioning in the last few years and is followed by a special community of creatives, artists and brand lovers all over the world.”