Francesco TRAPANI
Ceo, Bulgari
Francesco Trapani has transformed a prestigious jewelry house with fewer than a dozen retail outlets worldwide into a global brand that in 2001 reported sales of 766 million euros (+13%) generated by a hundred single-brand boutiques located on five continents as well as by an extensive wholesale distribution network. Trapani has brought to his Rome-based company financial planning and a long-term strategy. Above all, he has focused on expansion based on a diversification of products (demonstrating that the brand could excel not only in the core jewelry business but also in other sectors such as perfumes and eyeglasses) and a global distribution system. In addition, Trapani listed the company in 1995 and it quickly became a star on the Stock Exchange's big board. He is a member of the board of Altagamma, the association to which all the Italian producers of luxury goods belong. In 2000, he participated in the founding of Opera, a mutual fund under Luxembourg law . Bulgari owns a 50% interest in the management company and in which it is the leading shareholder with 12% of the share capital.