Alexander McQueen’s CEO Emmanuel Gintzburger is leaving the fast-growing luxury brand for Versace in the fashion indusry’s latest round of executive musical chairs.

Versace has been looking for a new CEO since last October, when previous chief Jonathan Akeroyd, who helped scale the brand and broker a $2.1 billion sale to Michael Kors parent Capri Holdings, was appointed CEO of British brand Burberry, replacing Marco Gobbetti, who had decided to return to Italy to run Salvatore Ferragamo.

“As soon as I met him, I knew he was the perfect partner to help us take Versace to even greater heights,” said Donatella Versace, who continues to lead the brand’s design operation as chief creative officer.

Versace is on track to reach revenue of $1.08 billion for the twelve months ending March 2022, up from around $850 million at the time of the Capri acquisition. Long famed for its bold ready-to-wear, the brand has worked to boost sales in the more profitable accessories category in recent years, pushing high-visibility releases like neon mini-bags with oversized Medusa logos as well as a new monogrammed canvas line.

The brand also debuted a more immersive, luxurious store concept in key cities including Paris and London. But Versace still has a long way to go to raise sales and profitability in line with widespread awareness of its famous mark. The company is sticking with its 2019 target for rolling out as many as 100 new stores for the brand in a bid to close that gap.

Gintzburger’s appointment will help steady senior leadership at Capri. In addition to Akeroyd’s exit, Joshua Schulman, the former Coach CEO, abruptly exited Capri earlier this month after just 6 months of running its flagship Michael Kors unit. He had been expected to succeed chairman John Idol at the helm of Capri

At McQueen, Gintzburger — who joined the brand in 2016, after then chief Akeroyd left for Versace — presided over a period of rapid growth as demand for its thick-soled sneakers surged and creative director Sarah Burton won greater industry acclaim.

In recent years, the brand has focused its communications efforts squarely on supporting Burton, highlighting her chic-and-shock looks like pantsuits with chain harnesses and sculptural creations like enormous rose-shaped crêpe gowns, as part of a push to move the brand’s story forward from its late founder, Lee McQueen.

McQueen staged a runway show in New York last week as it seeks to harness rising interest for the brand in the key US luxury market, which has grown rapidly since the pandemic. The brand has seen its American business surge as it rolled out stores in rising wealth centres like Miami as well as opening more concessions in American department stores.

Gianfilippo Testa, Gucci’s president of EMEA and vice president for global retail, will take over as CEO of McQueen, effective May 1. Testa will be tasked with accelerating McQueen’s expansion “to tap its full potential,” Kering said.

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