With an eye on the stock market, Italy’s Illycaffe picks new CEO
Cristina Scocchia, the current CEO of cosmetics company Kiko, will take the helm of Illycaffe at the start of next year as the Italian premium coffee maker prepares for a possible stock market listing.
Scocchia will succeed current CEO Massimiliano Pogliani in January, the company said. Pogliani became the group’s first non-family member to take the helm five years ago.
Illycaffe completed the sale of a 20% stake to private equity firm Rhone Capital in February, allowing the company to raise capital for the first time in its 88-year history.
“For the new growth cycle beginning in 2022 and in anticipation of a future listing, we have chosen Cristina Scocchia, a manager well-known for her ability to create brands with strong aesthetic and experiential content,” company Chairman Andrea Illy said.
Scocchia has served on the board of directors of Illycaffe since 2019 and is also a director of the glasses company EssilorLuxottica (ESLX.PA).
Illycaffe, which produces a blend of nine arabica bean varieties, was founded by Andrea Illy’s grandfather Francesco and was previously owned 100 percent by the family’s Illy Group holding company.
Andrea Illy told Reuters in February that the coffee maker, based in the northeastern city of Trieste, may consider a stock market debut in the coming years, adding that his family would not want to relinquish control even if the company went public.
