Gianfranco D’Attis To Step Down As Prada CEO Amid Shifting Market Landscape

Prada brand CEO Gianfranco D’Attis will leave the company at the end of June, the fashion house confirmed on Sunday, coinciding with the presentation of its Spring/Summer 2026 show. D’Attis, who joined Prada in early 2023, will exit “by mutual agreement” after a two-and-a-half-year tenure marked by both brand expansion and mounting operational challenges.

In the interim, Andrea Guerra, Group CEO of Prada, will step in to oversee the brand’s operations until a permanent successor is appointed.

This leadership transition comes at a critical time for Prada Group, which has managed to outperform many of its peers during the recent luxury market slowdown. In 2024, the group posted record revenues of €5.4 billion, a 17% year-on-year increase on a constant currency basis, surpassing analyst expectations by 2%.

The growth, however, was heavily fuelled by sister brand Miu Miu, which has seen an impressive resurgence over the past two years. Retail sales for Miu Miu surged 93% in 2024 alone, now contributing a significant 25% of the group’s total business. By contrast, the Prada brand itself reported a more modest 4% increase in the same period.

But signs of a cooldown are emerging. Prada brand sales were flat in Q1 2025, underperforming analyst forecasts by 1.74%. Meanwhile, Miu Miu’s meteoric rise is also beginning to normalise — with Q1 retail sales growth slowing to 60%, compared to the doubling pace seen throughout 2024.

Industry observers believe these shifting figures may have played a role in prompting the leadership change at the Prada brand, as the group braces for “irregular times,” in the words of CEO Guerra.

“For sure, this last almost 24 months has not been easy,” Guerra said in the company’s latest earnings call. “And recently, I would say that maybe we have reached [our] lowest plateau.”

Adding to the complexity is Prada Group’s upcoming acquisition of Versace, a major strategic move announced in April 2025. The deal, which is expected to close in the second half of the year pending regulatory approval, will significantly expand Prada’s portfolio but also requires meticulous integration planning and operational bandwidth.

D’Attis’s exit signals the need for a refreshed leadership approach at the Prada brand, particularly as it faces increased internal and external pressures. His tenure was marked by a strong emphasis on retail and international expansion, aligning with the group’s growth agenda. However, the luxury sector’s evolving dynamics and shifting consumer behavior now demand a recalibrated strategy.

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Prada has not announced a timeline for naming D’Attis’s permanent successor, but Guerra’s direct involvement suggests a desire to keep a steady hand on the tiller during this pivotal phase.

As the group prepares to absorb a major acquisition and confront a more cautious luxury consumer, its leadership team will need to strike a careful balance between maintaining Prada’s brand equity and ensuring continued operational momentum.

For now, all eyes will remain on Guerra — a seasoned executive with prior experience at Luxottica and LVMH — as he steers Prada through its next chapter.