Burberry names Versace boss Akeroyd as new CEO By Reuters

LONDON (Reuters) -British fashion house Burberry named Jonathan Akeroyd as its new chief executive officer from next April, appointing the current boss of Milan-based Gianni Versace and former Alexander McQueen head to succeed Marco Gobbetti.

The 165-year-old group had since June been searching for a replacement for Gobbetti, who had sought to elevate Burberry in the luxury sector during his four years at the helm. He is due to leave on Dec. 31.

Burberry, known for its trench coats and trademark plaid, said in its statement on Wednesday that British national Akeroyd has accelerated growth at Italy’s famous fashion house during his five year tenure there.

Gerry Murphy, chairman of Burberry, said that Akeroyd was the right choice to build on the British brand’s creative heritage.

“Jonathan is an experienced leader with a strong track record in building global luxury fashion brands and driving profitable growth,” he said.

Disclaimer: Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. All CFDs (stocks, indexes, futures) and Forex prices are not provided by exchanges but rather by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual market price, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Therefore Fusion Media doesn`t bear any responsibility for any trading losses you might incur as a result of using this data.

Fusion Media or anyone involved with Fusion Media will not accept any liability for loss or damage as a result of reliance on the information including data, quotes, charts and buy/sell signals contained within this website. Please be fully informed regarding the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, it is one of the riskiest investment forms possible.