Former Secoo boss Federica Marchionni becomes CEO of Global Fashion Agenda

By

Olivier Guyot

Published
Apr 8, 2021

Before the Covid-19 pandemic, Copenhagen hosted the Global Fashion Summit every year. The event sought to encourage fashion brands to take inspiration from sustainable practices and begin their journey towards becoming more responsible businesses. 

This dynamic was driven admirably by Global Fashion Agenda CEO Eva Kruse. However, in December of last year, she announced her departure. Now, after a quarter of board chair Niels Ekildsen and chief operations officer Travis Peoples running day-to-day business, the organization has found its new CEO. 

They've chosen a seasoned fashion and luxury industry executive: up until recently, Federica Marchionni was CEO of Asian luxury e-tailer Secoo. She has also previously served as CEO of American fashion brand Lands' End. The Italian began her career in electronics, before moving into the luxury sector. She has notably held the roles of vice president at Ferrari and president at Dolce & Gabbana from 2011 to 2015.  

Her new mission will be to develop Global Fashion Agenda's physical and digital events, with the ambition of the organization's management being to accelerate the industry's transition towards more sustainable models. 

"I felt a sense of urgency to lead something more impactful for the planet. Joining Global Fashion Agenda, with its excellent team and extraordinary partners, is an incredible opportunity to help accelerate the sustainability agenda in the fashion industry globally," said Marchionni in a release. "The industry must act now, and bold decisions are needed to repurpose business models in order to create a prosperous industry."

The executive, who will report to Eskildsen, will step into her new role on June 1.