John HOOKS
Deputy Chairman, Armani Group
John Hooks has been working in the luxury fashion industry for almost 30 years. He has held the position of Commercial and Marketing Director in some of the sector’s most influential companies.
Having graduated from Oxford University in 1978, he immediately entered the fashion industry at GFT S.p.A., in Turin, Italy, a company with which he remained for 14 years, holding a variety of positions, including that of Commercial Director for Valentino, President CIDAT USA in New York and finally as Commercial Director for GFT Asia. In this role, from 1988 to 1994 he was responsible for the establishment of GFT’s regional subsidiary companies and the distribution network in Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong and China for brands including Giorgio Armani, Christian Dior, Montana, Valentino, Ungaro, Trussardi and Pierre Cardin.
In 1995, he joined Jil Sander A.G. in Hamburg, Germany, initially as Commercial Director for Europe and Asia, before assuming a global responsibility, when he was appointed Commercial and Retail Director in 1998.
Mr. Hooks was recruited by Giorgio Armani S.p.A. in 2000 as Group Commercial and Marketing Director, based at the company’s Milan headquarters. In this role, he was charged with the expansion of the company’s global wholesale and retail network.
Mr. Hooks is currently the Deputy Chairman of the Armani Group.