Gucci named the new CEO to replace Domenico de Sole this morning. The 48-year-old Dutch national Robert Polet has spent 26 years at Unilever, heading the Worldwide Ice Cream and Frozen Foods division for the last 3 years. Polet will become the President and CEO and Chairman of the Management Board Gucci Group, the world's third largest luxury goods conglomerate. He will also sit on the board of PPR, the French group that controls Gucci.

Gucci has noted that during Polet's three-year tenure in his previous position, profit margins in the Unilever division grew 70%. He will have to apply the same kind of management skills at Gucci Group. "We are thrilled about Robert's appointment”, said Serge Weinberg, chairman of PPR. “His international background, his entrepreneurial and managerial talents and his ability to be both a leader and team player make him an ideal choice. This is a new era for Gucci Group. I'd like to thank Domenico de Sole for the outstanding job he has done, together with Tom Ford, to make Gucci Group the extraordinarily successful company that it is today".

"I'm very honoured and excited to have been named to run Gucci Group," commented Polet at succeeding de Sole. "I consider it a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be entrusted with their development. I'm greatly looking forward to working with the wonderfully talented people of Gucci Group to write a new chapter in its brilliant story."