Hubert Sagnieres, the French executive vice-chairman of eyewear group EssilorLuxottica, hit back at criticism of him by the company’s top shareholder and executive chairman, Italian billionaire Leonardo Del Vecchio.
Sagnieres’ office issued a statement in response to a scathing interview earlier in French paper Le Figaro, in which Del Vecchio accused Sagnieres of a power grab, Reuters reported.
“This approach, which is contrary to the company’s social interest, is detrimental to the company and to all its shareholders,” said the statement issued by Sagnieres’ office.
“On November 5, 2018, even before the first annual general meeting of the combined group was held, Mr Leonardo Del Vecchio announced that he wanted to unilaterally delegate his role as CEO of EssilorLuxottica to Mr Francesco Milleri,” added Sagnieres’ statement.
“He has since then indicated that he would like to change the balance of power established in the combination agreements. Despite his denials, a certain number of his actions reflect a de facto attempt to take control of the new group, without any premium offered to shareholders,” the statement also said.
