Eraldo Poletto named new CEO of Italian footwear brand Santoni

Italian footwear brand Santoni has made a change at the top. The long-established family company specialised in luxury shoes has introduced a new governance structure, appointing an experienced luxury industry executive like Eraldo Poletto as its new CEO, effective from June. Poletto, who was already a member of Santoni's board, will take the helm from Giuseppe Santoni, who will remain with the company as board chairman and executive president.

The organisational change is aimed at supporting Santoni’s strategic brand development and consolidating its position on the international market, as the company stated in a press release. Santoni has now appointed highly experienced luxury executives to all the top posts in its organisation.

Poletto is a senior executive who has worked for several decades in fashion and retail companies: he was CEO and brand president of the Tapestry group's footwear label Stuart Weitzman, and also CEO of leading Italian names like Salvatore Ferragamo and Furla, as well as global CEO of Diesel for the OTB group.

“Santoni is born from the originality that comes from discipline, which isn’t at odds with creativity; instead, it serves to further develop talent,” said Poletto in the press release. “Excellence in craftsmanship, distinctiveness, as well as top-notch engineering and the ability to replicate the highest quality levels achieved, are just some of the features that make us unique and incomparable,” he added.

“Santoni is a family. And its family structure has always fostered sense of belonging and authenticity. Only in this way we shall always manage to be recognisable, and maintain our distinctive quality as we continue on our expansion path,” said Giuseppe Santoni. “My desire was to find the right person with whom to embark on a new and stimulating growth path, leading Santoni to achieve even more challenging goals. I am glad that Eraldo is joining our family. I am confident that his outstanding experience and brand strategy expertise, together with our entire team’s valuable collaboration, will enable the brand to reach its full potential. We will work together to write a new chapter in Santoni’s history of exceptional distinction.”

Santoni has the wind in its sails, having recorded a 46% revenue increase in 2022 over the previous year, and an 18% one over its pre-Covid revenue of approximately €82 million. The new opening in Capri was the most recent milestone in Santoni’s retail expansion plan, as the brand currently operates 22 monobrand stores.

Eraldo Poletto named new CEO of Italian footwear brand Santoni

See also