Google exec Yonca Dervisoglu joins Kering board

By

Benjamin Fitzgerald

Published
May 3, 2022

Kering on Thursday confirmed the appointment of Yonca Dervisoglu to its board of directors, as the French luxury conglomerate homes on in digital technologies and the metaverse.

At its annual general meeting (AGM) on April 28, Kering shareholders voted that ​Dervisoglu, vice president, marketing at Google for the Europe, Middle East and Africa region, will join the board as an independent director.

In the role, the Turkish national will bring her “expertise in the fields of new technologies, digital and marketing at the international level," as per a press release issued Kering on March 4, flagging the Google executive's proposed appointment ahead of the company's AGM last week.

Dervisoglu joined Google in 2006 and manages teams across 35 countries. She is also a fellow of The Marketing Society and co-founded Google Arts and Culture and Grow with Google.

Prior to Google, she has held senior marketing positions at Unilever and Yahoo and has also served on the supervisory board of Heineken, supervisory board of Mavi and digital advisory board of the Natural History Museum in London. 

During the meeting, Kering's chairman and chief executive officer François-Henri Pinault said the Kering team planned to travel to California in early May to meet Silicon Valley executives to explore further the potential of the metaverse, with the potential to sell virtual products online.

The French executive shared that the group is exploring options like creating original digital products unrelated to its physical merchandise and allowing customers to pay online with cryptocurrencies. 

"We’re exploring all of that at Gucci, at Balenciaga,” Pinault told shareholders, disclosing that Kering client and digital officer Grégory Boutté, is leading the charge.

“Know that we are ahead of the curve on these topics, but it’s very early. We’re lucky to have Yonca with us. We’re in touch with the teams at Google who are working on this as well, but also with the teams at Microsoft and Facebook,” Pinault added.

​The AGM also approved the nominations of Véronique Weill and Serge Weinberg. Meanwhile, Daniela Riccardi’s term as an independent director was renewed.