Renzo ROSSO
President, OTB Group
Born in 1955, Renzo Rosso created his first pair of jeans when he was 15 on his mother’s sewing machine. He wore them, his friends wanted them too, and a clothing pioneer was born. In 1975, following graduation from a textile manufacturing college, Rosso began working in the industry and in 1978 he joined the Genius Group. From there sprang a number of brands, including Katherine Hamnett, Replay and, of course, Diesel. In 1985, Renzo took full control of Diesel, turning it into a cult brand thanks its unusual style and innovative and thought-provoking marketing which has garnered worldwide acclaim all through the years.
Today he is the president of OTB, the holding company of Diesel, Maison Margiela, Marni, Viktor&Rolf, Staff International (which produces and distributes licensed prêt-à-porter brands such as DSquared2, Just Cavalli, Vivienne Westwood Red Label and Man, and Marc Jacobs Mens), and Brave Kid (specialized in the production and distribution of childrenswear apparel for licensed brands like Diesel, DSquared2, John Galliano and Marni). In 2014, the consolidated revenues of OTB reached almost 1.6 billion euro.
Because of his personal engagement with his Only The Brave Foundation (www.otbfoundation.org), whose mission is to fight social inequality and contribute to the sustainable development of less advantaged people and areas of the world, with a special focus on Sub-Saharan Africa, Renzo Rosso was appointed Millennium Development Goals Global Leader, with the task to generate awareness on these issues within the industry, the administration and the general public. Created in 2008, the foundation has invested in more than 170 social projects around the world, touching the lives of over 140,000 people.
At the end of 2012, Renzo Rosso announced his financial support to the restoration of Venice’s Rialto bridge through the holding company OTB.
