Brioni appoints Medhi Benabadji as new CEO

French luxury conglomerate Kering has announced the appointment of Mehdi Benabadji as the new CEO of Italian menswear tailor Brioni, effective 1 January, 2020.

His job at the brand will be to consolidate its repositioning and support its international development, Kering said in a release. He will be replacing Fabrizio Malverdi, who has decided to leave the group to pursue a new professional challenge after joining in 2017. Malverdi took over from Gianluca Flore who was CEO of the brand since 2014.

Benabadji, who will report to Kering’s group managing director Jean-François Palus, is not a new face at the house, having worked as its director of strategy and development following its acquisition by Kering in 2011.

He has also held a number of operational and executive roles within Kering since 2003, most recently as chief operations officer, which saw him tasked with leading the group’s logistics and industrial activities.

A graduate of France’s ESSEC Business School, Benabadji began his career in 1995 as a consultant, before joining Kering eight years later.

Photo courtesy of Kering