Leading Italian knitwear brand Stefanel has announced that Luciano Santel will take over as Managing Director and General Manager of Stefanel SpA.

Santel will work alongside Group Chairman Giuseppe Stefanel, in the operational management of the holding company. He will also be responsible for implementing the strategic plan for the repositioning of the Stefanel brand. 52 year old Santel, joins the Stefanel Group after 8 years as Corporate Manager of Geox Spa.

A graduate in Business Studies from the Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, Santel began his professional career in a leading international auditing firm. In 1996 he transferred to the United States as Chief Operating Officer of Retail Brand Alliance Inc., a company headed up by the Del Vecchio family, known for having bought the Brooks Brothers brand, among other things.

Santel returned to Italy in 1999 to fill the same position at Luxottica, which he then left at the end of 2001 to work with the Geox Group.

Giuseppe Stefanel commented:  “I am particularly happy about the arrival of Luciano Santel. I have been looking for some time for the right person to run the Group's operations in accordance with the strategic plan and I am sure that Santel will be able to make an important contribution. This means that I can devote my time to fine tuning and developing the strategies that will allow us to achieve our industrial objectives."