New Benetton CEO takes the reins amid financial scandal
The famous Italian company Benetton has a new CEO. Claudio Sforza will replace his predecessor, who was accused of creative accounting. "I was betrayed," said Luciano Benetton, the brand's co-founder.
Massimo Renona had been at the helm of one of the most renowned fashion brands in the world for four years. However, the former CEO is leaving the company amid a scandal. Luciano Benetton accused his director of covering up a budget gap of 148 million CAD.
"They [top management] hid a 148 million CAD gap in the balance sheet. I was betrayed in the truest sense of the word," said Luciano Benetton, quoted by retaildetail.eu.
Italian media report that Renona's successor will be Claudio Sforza. The manager graduated in economics and commerce from La Sapienza University in Rome and began his professional career in the administration and finance department of Pfizer. Currently, he is a manager at Astaldi.
Benetton needs changes
The new CEO must sort out the Italian giant's finances from the start. The company's board published the balance sheet results, showing that Benetton recorded 337 million CAD in losses with 1.6 billion CAD in revenue.
Shareholders decided to finance the company with an amount of 378 million CAD. This is not the first such situation. Over the past three years, the dominant holding Edizione has provided 513 million CAD to Benetton.
Italian media report that the new board and CEO will be appointed at the general meeting on June 18, 2:00 PM ET. Members of the Benetton family will not participate in the meeting. Italian media write that the founders will no longer be directly represented in the new company board.
