Gucci Veteran Marie-Laure Lequain Takes CEO Role at Borbonese

Borbonese has named Marie-Laure Lequain, a Gucci veteran of more than 15 years, as its new chief executive officer. She succeeds Stefano Fero, who led the Italian leather goods label since 2024. Lequain becomes the first female chief in the brand's 115-year history, and her appointment signals a clear tilt toward digital channels and category development.

What did Lequain say on appointment?

"Borbonese has a distinct personality and a history that deserves recognition for its capacity to innovate. It is an honor to lead the maison and a responsibility I feel deeply," Lequain said in a statement issued in Milan.

She framed the mandate as an elevation project built on internal capability. "I believe in this maison's potential and in the opportunity to elevate it. Our work starts with people, their expertise and a careful understanding of what makes Borbonese unique to its customers. Together, we want to give this value a contemporary expression and build solid foundations for growth," she said.

What experience does she bring?

Lequain's record is merchandising-first, with digital as the second pillar. Her career trajectory:

• Joined Gucci in 2006 as worldwide merchandising director for jewelry and watches, charged with developing both categories.
• Moved into comparable merchandising roles for women's ready-to-wear and digital.
• Was named vice president, digital, and worked on the relaunch of Gucci's e-commerce.
• Led the debut of Gucci Vault, the multibrand platform conceived under then-creative director Alessandro Michele.
• Served most recently as chief digital and merchandising officer at German leather goods specialist MCM, which she joined in 2023.

For a brand of Borbonese's scale, that combination points to likely investment in direct-to-consumer digital infrastructure and structured category expansion rather than wholesale-led growth.

Who has led and designed Borbonese recently?

The CEO change follows a period of creative churn. In 2019, under then-CEO Alessandro Pescara, the brand appointed Dorian Tarantini and Matteo Mena — founders of the now-shuttered label M1992 — to launch the 1910 Borbonese line. In 2024, Francesca Monaco and Salar Bicheranloo, the designers behind vegan accessories label Themoirè, were named creative directors. Pescara left a few months later to join Aspesi as CEO. The brand is currently designed by its in-house creative team, leaving Lequain a vacant creative-director decision among her early priorities.

What is Borbonese's commercial base?

Umberto Minestrone and Edoardo Calcagno founded the house in Turin in 1910. It began as a supplier of necklaces, bracelets and other accoutrements to Valentino, Yves Saint Laurent, Fendi, Galitzine and Ungaro. The brand is known for its signature bird's-eye pattern and reached its commercial peak in the 1970s. Since then it has broadened into clothing, fur items, home decor, complements and linen, with the stated aim of building a global lifestyle offering.

That licensing-and-accessories origin, paired with an underdeveloped digital channel, maps closely onto Lequain's merchandising and e-commerce record at Gucci and MCM. The appointment is confirmed and effective now; the growth plan behind her language of "solid foundations" remains, for the moment, an intention without published targets.