Leonardo Maria Del Vecchio Resigns From EssilorLuxottica and Ray-Ban

Leonardo Maria Del Vecchio, the fourth son of the late Leonardo Del Vecchio, has resigned from his positions as chief strategist for EssilorLuxottica SA and president of Ray-Ban. The resignation follows a failed effort to break a four-year deadlock at Delfin Sarl, the family holding company and largest shareholder of EssilorLuxottica, through a proposed €10 billion buyout of two siblings.

In a departure letter, Del Vecchio criticized a company culture he described as increasingly distant. He will now focus on his family office, LMDV Capital srl. The governance crisis at Delfin persists, as major decisions require near-unanimity among eight heirs, creating instability for the eyewear giant as it competes with Apple, Google, and Samsung in the AI smart-glasses market.

To stabilize shares that have fallen approximately 40% year-to-date, EssilorLuxottica announced a plan to buy back up to five million shares valued at over €800 million.