Jump to content

Francesco Milleri

From bizslash.com

"And in this scenario, innovation must develop along three directions: what we can integrate inside a pair of glasses, what we can build around them, and, above all, what humans will be able to do thanks to the technologies we'll make available. With one clear goal: to improve people's lives across many aspects — from work to relationships to health. The keyword: 'empower humanity'."

— Francesco Milleri[2]

Overview

Francesco Milleri
Born1959 (age 65–66)
Città di Castello, Italy
CitizenshipItalian
EducationLaw degree (University of Florence); MBA (Bocconi University); corporate finance studies (New York University Stern School of Business)
Alma materUniversity of Florence; Bocconi University; New York University Stern School of Business
Occupation(s)Lawyer, entrepreneur, chief executive
EmployerEssilorLuxottica
Known forLeading EssilorLuxottica and advancing smart eyewear initiatives
TitleChairman and CEO
Term2020–present (CEO); 2022–present (chairman)
PredecessorLeonardo Del Vecchio (chairman)
Board member ofEssilorLuxottica (chairman and CEO); Delfin S.à.r.l. (chairman); Leonardo Del Vecchio Foundation (director); European Institute of Oncology (board member)
Children1, including Matteo Milleri
AwardsCEO Today Europe Awards 2023 (Italy)
Websitehttps://www.essilorluxottica.com/en/governance/board-directors/francesco-milleri/

👓 Francesco Milleri (born 1959) is an Italian lawyer, entrepreneur and business executive who serves as chairman and CEO of EssilorLuxottica, the Franco-Italian eyewear group created through the merger of Essilor and Luxottica.[4] He is also chairman of Delfin S.à.r.l., the holding company through which the family of Luxottica founder Leonardo Del Vecchio controls its stake in EssilorLuxottica and other European investments.[5] Known for combining a background in law, finance and digital technology, he played a key role in the digital transformation of Luxottica and in the integration of Essilor and Luxottica, and later steered EssilorLuxottica’s expansion into smart eyewear and med-tech-oriented vision care.[6][7]

Early life and education

🎓 Early life and education. Milleri was born in 1959 in Città di Castello, a town in central Italy, and grew up far from the country’s financial and corporate centres.[8] After earning a law degree with highest honours from the University of Florence, he remained there for two years as an assistant professor of political economy before deciding to leave academia for a business career.[8] In 1987 he completed an MBA at Milan’s Bocconi University and later received a Donato Menichella scholarship from the Bank of Italy, which funded two years of advanced corporate-finance study at New York University’s Stern School of Business.[6]

Career

💼 Consulting and entrepreneurial beginnings. After leaving his university post, Milleri worked as a management consultant across sectors including engineering, consumer goods, banking and pharmaceuticals, gaining broad exposure to different industrial structures and business models.[6] In 1996 he founded a technology company later known as Abstract, focused on digital automation and document-management solutions; following the acquisition of iDoq, owner of the Lucy Star digitisation platform, Abstract won contracts with clients such as Campari, Barilla and Luxottica.[9][6]

📈 Rise at Luxottica and EssilorLuxottica. Luxottica founder Leonardo Del Vecchio asked Milleri in the mid-2000s to lead a comprehensive overhaul of the group’s information systems and business processes as it sought to modernise operations.[8][9] After a decade spent designing and implementing this transformation, Del Vecchio invited him into Luxottica’s boardroom and made him a deputy, and in December 2017 he succeeded Massimo Vian as CEO of Luxottica shortly before the completion of the merger with Essilor.[10] Within the newly created EssilorLuxottica, Milleri was appointed executive co-delegate in 2019, became CEO in 2020 and was confirmed in that role by shareholders in May 2021; following Del Vecchio’s death in June 2022 he was also named chairman of the board.[4][5]

Business strategy and leadership

🧩 Vertical integration and acquisitions. As chief executive, Milleri has pursued a strategy that blends long-standing vertical integration with selective deal-making. EssilorLuxottica continues to manage much of its value chain in-house, from lens technologies such as Varilux and house brands like Ray-Ban and Oakley to retail banners including LensCrafters and Sunglass Hut, while supplying tens of thousands of independent opticians worldwide.[7] Complementing this model, the group has maintained and expanded licensing agreements with luxury fashion houses, such as a long-running partnership with Prada for the production and worldwide distribution of Prada and Miu Miu eyewear.[7][11] Under Milleri the company has also pursued acquisitions including the purchase of retailer GrandVision and, in 2024, an agreement to acquire streetwear label Supreme, moves aimed at enlarging its retail footprint and strengthening its appeal to younger consumers.[7]

🤖 Smart eyewear and technological ambition. Drawing on his early involvement in digital automation, Milleri has positioned EssilorLuxottica as a prominent actor in smart glasses and med-tech-oriented eyewear, notably through a partnership with Meta Platforms to develop Ray-Ban-branded connected spectacles.[7][12] He has argued that glasses “will one day replace smartphones” and has described his ambition for EssilorLuxottica to become “the Samsung of Europe” in wearable computing, signalling a long-term bet on glasses as central personal devices.[12] Under his leadership the company has ramped up production of Ray-Ban smart glasses and related products, and external analyses have suggested that revenues from smart eyewear, estimated at several hundred million euros in 2024, could grow to multiple billions annually by 2030 if adoption continues to accelerate.[7]

Financial profile

💶 Executive compensation. As leader of a group valued at over €100 billion, Milleri receives a remuneration package that is heavily weighted toward variable pay. Analysis of EssilorLuxottica’s disclosures for 2022 estimated his total compensation at around €23 million, of which roughly 9% was fixed salary and the remainder comprised annual bonuses and long-term share-based incentives tied to performance targets.[13] The board has periodically granted him sizeable grants of performance shares and, for example, approved an annual bonus of €2.44 million based on 2022 results alongside other equity-linked awards.[14]

🏦 Share ownership and inheritance. Beyond his salaried income, Milleri’s personal wealth is strongly linked to EssilorLuxottica shares. In his will, Leonardo Del Vecchio left him a block of 2.15 million EssilorLuxottica shares, a gift worth about €340 million at mid-2022 market prices and representing roughly 0.5% of the company’s capital.[15] The bequest instantly made Milleri one of the group’s largest individual shareholders and was widely interpreted as both a reward for loyalty and a mechanism to cement the alignment of his interests with those of Delfin and other investors.[15]

Roles at Delfin and other boards

🏛️ Chairman of Delfin. In parallel with his responsibilities at EssilorLuxottica, Milleri was appointed chairman of Delfin S.à.r.l., the Luxembourg-based holding company through which the Del Vecchio family controls its 32% stake in EssilorLuxottica and significant interests in other corporations.[5] Delfin’s portfolio, valued at around €27 billion in 2022, includes sizeable shareholdings in Mediobanca, Assicurazioni Generali and various real-estate and private-equity ventures, giving Milleri an indirect role in parts of the Italian and European financial system beyond the eyewear industry.[5][16] Although he chairs the holding’s board, day-to-day management is largely delegated to professional executives such as CEO Romolo Bardin, allowing him to focus on EssilorLuxottica’s operations.[5][16]

🏥 Philanthropic and institutional roles. Outside his corporate posts, Milleri serves on the board of the Leonardo Del Vecchio Foundation, which supports projects primarily in education, healthcare and cultural activities, and he is a director of the European Institute of Oncology in Milan.[4] His limited roster of external mandates – concentrated on entities linked to Del Vecchio’s legacy and to medical research – contrasts with the broader set of outside directorships held by some large-company leaders and has been cited as evidence that he devotes most of his professional energy to EssilorLuxottica and its immediate ecosystem.[16]

Personal life

🤫 Private persona and management style. Commentators frequently describe Milleri as a low-profile executive who “tends to avoid the limelight”, preferring to concentrate on internal operations rather than public appearances.[7] Italian business coverage portrays him as meticulous and data-driven in meetings yet personally reserved, more inclined to listen and analyse than to raise his voice, a style seen as helpful in navigating complex shareholder dynamics and merger integrations.[16]

👨‍👦 Family and interests. Public information about Milleri’s family life is limited, but he is known to have at least one child, a son, Matteo Milleri, from a previous marriage; Matteo has pursued a contrasting career as an electronic-music producer and DJ, performing as one half of the techno duo Tale of Us under the stage name Anyma.[17] Profiles of Delfin and EssilorLuxottica describe the elder Milleri as intellectually curious and attentive to technological and economic trends, and note that he values time away from the spotlight with his family and in the Italian countryside.[16]

Controversies and challenges

⚔️ Essilor–Luxottica governance dispute. Shortly after the merger that created EssilorLuxottica, tensions emerged between the French Essilor faction and the Italian Luxottica–Delfin faction over control of the new group, producing a high-profile governance battle in 2018–2019.[18] Essilor representatives initially resisted Del Vecchio’s wish for Milleri to become CEO of the combined company, and the two camps launched arbitration and court proceedings that unsettled investors and weighed on the share price.[18] A settlement announced in May 2019 terminated the legal actions and stipulated that Milleri and Essilor’s then-CEO would concentrate on integrating the two businesses and temporarily forgo competing for the chief executive role, a compromise that eased tensions but delayed his formal appointment at the top of EssilorLuxottica.[18][4]

⚖️ Combined chair–CEO role and pay scrutiny. The concentration of authority in Milleri’s hands after Del Vecchio’s death, when he combined the positions of chairman and CEO, prompted debate among governance specialists and some shareholders, particularly as his remuneration increased for successive years.[5][13] In April 2024, proxy advisory firm ISS recommended that investors vote against the company’s remuneration report, arguing that the rise in pay lacked clear additional justification and that the dual role of chair and CEO risked weakening the board’s oversight.[19] Although EssilorLuxottica defended the package as heavily performance-based and highlighted the presence of a lead independent director, the episode underlined continuing investor sensitivity to governance structures at the group.[19][13]

🕵️ Hacking investigation and strategic risks. In 2024–2025 Italian prosecutors investigated an alleged network of rogue cyber-investigators accused of illegally accessing data on prominent figures, including members of the Del Vecchio family and their associates, in a case that Italian media dubbed the “Equalize” affair.[20] Reports indicated that Milleri was questioned in Rome as a persona informata sui fatti – essentially a witness informed of the facts – in relation to possible surveillance activities touching the Luxottica and Delfin environment, but he was not accused of wrongdoing and EssilorLuxottica publicly expressed confidence in its chairman-CEO.[20] Beyond legal matters, analysts note that his strategy of expanding into smart glasses and broader lifestyle brands exposes EssilorLuxottica to execution and market-adoption risks as it competes with large technology companies while managing a complex portfolio of retail and licensing operations.[7]

Legacy and assessment

🧭 Evaluation and significance. Observers often characterise Milleri’s trajectory as that of a small-town scholar who became the steward of a global optical group, combining loyalty to Del Vecchio’s founding vision with an emphasis on digital transformation and smart eyewear.[8][7] Supporters describe him as a manager whose blend of legal training, financial expertise and technological experience has proven well suited to integrating Essilor and Luxottica and pursuing new growth areas, while critics continue to focus on questions of governance balance and executive pay.[6][19] As EssilorLuxottica seeks to extend its activities from traditional eyewear into AI-enabled devices and broader eye-health services, assessments of Milleri’s legacy are likely to turn on whether he can maintain the group’s dominant market position while successfully turning it into a technology-enabled vision-care platform.

Related content & more

YouTube videos

Load video
YouTube
EssilorLuxottica chairman and CEO Francesco Milleri speaks at an event presenting the company’s partnership with the Polytechnic University of Milan and describes the group as an open company with clear foundations.
Load video
YouTube
Francesco Milleri discusses the future of eyewear and digital innovation in a video on EssilorLuxottica’s collaboration with Politecnico di Milano to design the “glasses of the future”.

biz/articles

References

  1. ↑ "Possible innovations and challenges for Italy. A conversation with Francesco Milleri, Ceo of EssilorLuxottica". Il Foglio.
  2. ↑ "Possible innovations and challenges for Italy. A conversation with Francesco Milleri, Ceo of EssilorLuxottica". Il Foglio.
  3. ↑ "EssilorLuxottica CEO Francesco Milleri outlines vision for smart-glasses future". FashionNetwork.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 "Francesco Milleri". EssilorLuxottica. Retrieved 2025-11-20.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 "Manager close to Leonardo Del Vecchio takes charge of Delfin holding company". FashionNetwork. Retrieved 2025-11-20.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 "CEO Today Europe Awards 2023 - Francesco Milleri". CEO Today Magazine. Retrieved 2025-11-20.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 7.5 7.6 7.7 7.8 "EssilorLuxottica CEO Francesco Milleri outlines vision for smart-glasses future". FashionNetwork. Retrieved 2025-11-20.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 "Il tifernate Francesco Milleri presidente di EssilorLuxottica". TTV.it. Retrieved 2025-11-20.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 "Francesco Milleri". Wikipedia. Retrieved 2025-11-20.
  10. ↑ "Luxottica CEO exits eyewear giant ahead of Essilor merger". Reuters. Retrieved 2025-11-20.
  11. ↑ "EssilorLuxottica and Prada extend eyewear licensing agreement". Reuters. Retrieved 2025-11-20.
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 "EssilorLuxottica: smart eyewear "will one day replace smartphones"". Warc. Retrieved 2025-11-20.
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 "EssilorLuxottica Société anonyme (ESLO.F) Leadership & Management Team Analysis". Simply Wall St. Retrieved 2025-11-20.
  14. ↑ "March 2023 - EssilorLuxottica". EssilorLuxottica. Retrieved 2025-11-20.
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 "The Late Italy 2nd Richest Billionaire & Chairman of EssilorLuxottica with $24 Billion Fortune Leonardo Del Vecchio Gave Successor Francesco Milleri $350 Million in Shares". Caproasia. Retrieved 2025-11-20.
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 16.2 16.3 16.4 "Le sfide dei Dioscuri di Leonardo: i manager Bardin e Milleri di Delfin". Forbes Italia. Retrieved 2025-11-20.
  17. ↑ "Meet Matteo Milleri, who was married to Leonardo DiCaprio's girlfriend Vittoria Ceretti: the DJ known as Anyma". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 2025-11-20.
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 18.2 "Ray-Ban owner EssilorLuxottica draws line under Franco-Italian feud". Reuters. Retrieved 2025-11-20.
  19. ↑ 19.0 19.1 19.2 "Proxy advisor ISS: EssilorLuxottica CEO/Chairman remuneration should be rejected". Reuters. Retrieved 2025-11-20.
  20. ↑ 20.0 20.1 "Spionaggio tra Roma e Milano, Del Vecchio sentito dai pm della Capitale in doppia veste". Il Fatto Quotidiano. Retrieved 2025-11-20.
Retrieved from "https://www.bizslash.com/w/index.php?title=Francesco_Milleri&oldid=3088"