Francesco Trapani resigns from Tiffany & Co. board

By

Dominique Muret

Published
Dec 2, 2019

Where next for Francesco Trapani? That's the big question now that he's left the Tiffany & Co. board, only a few days after the American jeweler was acquired by LVMH for a total of $16.2 billion. And the question is all the more intriguing because the Italian executive has been behind some of the luxury industry's largest operations in recent years. 

 
According to a SEC filing made on November 26, Trapani's resignation is effective immediately. The document also highlights that "Mr. Trapani indicated that his decision to resign was not the result of any disagreement with registrant's operations, policies or procedures or any matter related to registrant, but that he was resigning in order to pursue other opportunities." 

Trapani joined Tiffany in March 2017 through a partnership with activist investment firm Jana Partners, with both partners initially taking a 5.1% stake in the American jeweler. Following his appointment to the New York-based company's board of directors, he played an important role in the recruitment of Alessandro Bogliolo as its new CEO in July 2017. 

Trapani and Bogliolo knew each other well, as the latter had worked at Bulgari for 16 years, ultimately serving as chief operating officer. In this role, he worked under the Italian house's founding family: brothers Paolo and Nicola Bulgari, and the great-grandson of founder Sotirio Bulgari, Trapani himself, who had been the Roman jeweler's CEO since 1984. 

When Bulgari was purchased by LVMH for around $5.2 billion in 2011,  Bogliolo was transferred to Sephora, another of the luxury group's brands, leading the beauty retailer's operations in North America from 2012 to 2013, before returning to Italy to take the helm at Diesel. 

As for Trapani, he led Bulgari's integration at LVMH, while also overseeing the French multinational's watch and jewelry operations up until 2014, and even continued to advise Bernard Arnault on his jewelry business after he left the company.

The same year, Trapani joined Italian investment firm Clessidra, which acquired Roberto Cavalli in 2015. The executive left the company the next year after a failed attempt to take over the firm following the sudden death of its founder, Claudio Sposito.