Gucci Has A “Shadow Committee” Of Millennial Advisors

Italian luxury house Gucci has had a remarkable turnaround since the start of 2015. That was when Alessandro Michele was unexpectedly named the brand’s creative director, proceeding to change the entire look and feel of Gucci. It’s also when Marco Bizzarri, who was previously the CEO of Bottega Veneta and then parent company Kering’s luxury couture and leather goods division, became Gucci’s chief executive. Speaking at WWD’s Apparel & Retail CEO Summit, Bizzarri talked about the company’s impressive performance. While he said there was no magic formula to replicate it, he did credit a few specific changes, particularly in the company culture. Bizzarri has tried to make the company feel open, happy, and perhaps above all, creative—no small task, given that Gucci employs some 11,000 people across its operations, he said. Bizzarri’s goal has been to make sure everyone feels comfortable proposing new ideas and identifying processes that aren’t working. One way he’s done it is by creating what he called a “bottom-up approach,” meaning that he tries to give people throughout the company the opportunity to offer feedback to top executives and create change. Read more at Quartz.