MILAN – Ludivine Pont has been named chief executive officer of Officina Profumo-Farmaceutica di Santa Maria Novella, effective Sept. 1.
She has been chief marketing officer of Balenciaga since 2021, working closely with artistic director Demna on the brand’s global expansion and digital innovation. Pont exits the couture brand at a time of major changes, as Demna was appointed artistic director of Gucci in March. His swansong couture collection for Balenciaga was paraded in Paris earlier this month and the designer is being succeeded by former Valentino creative director Pierpaolo Piccioli.
Before Balenciaga, Pont served as worldwide marketing and communication director at Moncler, which she had joined in 2016, at a time of development for the Milan-based brand as chairman and CEO Remo Ruffini overturned the company’s business model and strategy, launching Moncler Genius in 2018, a series of drops and capsules with designers ranging from Pierpaolo Piccioli to Simone Rocha and Craig Green, to name a few. Prior to Moncler, Pont contributed to the international expansion of Philipp Plein.
At the historic Florentine brand founded in 1221 and considered the world’s oldest apothecary, Pont will be responsible for leading its global development, building on its unique heritage and artisanal know-how.
L’Iris, from Officina Profumo-Farmaceutica di Santa Maria Novella
Courtesy
Carlo Pesenti, CEO of parent Italmobiliare and chairman of Officina Profumo-Farmaceutica di Santa Maria Novella, emphasized the brand’s “unparalleled history, deeply rooted in Italian culture and the diffusion of perfume in Europe and the world. This is a heritage that we feel a responsibility to preserve and pass on.”
Praising Pont’s “profound skills, international experience and strategic vision, we are certain she is the right person to contribute to the growth of the group, giving further impetus to the global development of Officina Profumo-Farmaceutica di Santa Maria Novella, always respecting the values and peculiarities that make the company a brand without equal in the world,” Pesenti concluded.
Until her arrival, the company will continue to be led by general manager Giampiero Pesenti and the current management team, following the exit of CEO Giovanna Paoloni, who had joined in January last year.
“It is a great honor and a profound responsibility to take on the leadership of Officina Profumo- Farmaceutica di Santa Maria Novella,” said Pont. “This is a house with an extraordinary legacy, over eight centuries of botanical and pharmaceutical excellence. My goal is to carry this heritage forward and create an experience of timeless care that speaks to the senses, to beauty and to time.”
Officina Profumo-Farmaceutica di Santa Maria Novella is currently present in over 30 countries, with a network of more than 400 points of sale. Investment group Italmobiliare, owned by the Pesenti family, took 80 percent of the Florence-based beauty company following two separate deals in 2020 and a combined investment of 160 million euros. Finalized in October 2021, the purchase of the remaining 20 percent stake was valued at 40 million euros.
Officina Profumo-Farmaceutica di Santa Maria Novella
Courtesy of Santa Maria Novella
Italmobiliare has been supporting the company’s international development and strategic transformation. The beauty company marked Italmobiliare’s first investment in the perfume and cosmetics industry. In three years, the brand doubled the number of stores and sales, which in 2022 climbed 56 percent to 46 million euros compared to the previous year and exceeded 60 million euros in 2023. Santa Maria Novella has more than 600 products in its portfolio, encompassing scents, soaps, pomades, skin care, colognes and candles, all delivered in its signature, old-school packaging. In 2022, it introduced “L’Iris,” the first eau de parfum the brand launched in 800 years of history. A bergamot-based fragrance created for the queen of France Catherine de’ Medici in 1533 is still a bestseller.
