Puig Group names José Manuel Albesa to manage its fashion division

By

Godfrey Deeny

Published
Mar 28, 2017

Puig, Spain’s largest luxury multi-brand group, has radically overhauled its fashion division and named José Manuel Albesa to oversee its four fashion houses, as it announces a slew of new appointments. Albesa is currently the group’s Chief Brand Officer, and the Barcelona-based fashion and fragrance company said in a release that his appointment was to “reinforce the cohesiveness of its long-term brand-building strategy.”
 

Albesa’s appointment takes effect on April 3. Albesa succeeds Ralph Toledano, the distinguished French executive who had held the post for five years.
 
The Catalan group did not say to whom Albesa would report, though it would appear to be Manuel Puig, a scion of the founding family, who was Toledano’s boss.

“We would like to thank Ralph for his dedication during the past five years, and wish him the very best for the future,” the group said in its release.
 
Puig added that Ana Trias, Brand Vice President Carolina Herrera and Nina Ricci; and Vincent Thilloy, Brand Vice President Paco Rabanne and Jean Paul Gaultier, will report to Albesa.
 
In other internal moves, Bastien Daguzan joins Puig as General Manager of Paco Rabanne Fashion. Previously, Daguzan was CEO at Lemaire, after working as Development Director at Kris Van Assche.
 
At Nina Ricci fashion house, Sophie Templier was named General Manager. From 1995 to 2012, Templier built her career with the Richemont Group, as License Manager for Lagerfeld and Deputy General Manager at Chloé. She was later General Product Manager at Sonia Rykiel, before joining Puig in 2014 as Accessories Manager at Nina Ricci.
 
Finally, Emilie Rubinfeld was named President, Carolina Herrera. She joined Carolina Herrera in 2012 as Vice President of Global Marketing & Communications, later becoming the label’s Chief Marketing Officer. Prior to joining Carolina Herrera, she held senior titles at Akris and Giorgio Armani.