Multinational retail group CGE appoints Stefano della Valle as CEO

By

Elena Passeri

Translated by
Nicola Mira

Published
Jun 4, 2021

Stefano Della Valle, COO of Central Group Europe (CGE), the Central Group’s subsidiary that runs the Thai corporation's department store chains in Europe (Rinascente in Italy, the Kadewe Group in Germany, Magazine Zum Globus in Switzerland and Illum in Denmark) has been appointed CEO of CGE, also in charge of its property portfolio.

Della Valle succeeds Vittorio Radice, CGE’s long-standing CEO, who will take on the role of non-executive board member. Radice will continue to be involved in the company’s decision-making process, dealing with stakeholders and overseeing CGE’s new openings in Vienna, Düsseldorf and Basel, as well as the transformations of the units in Zurich and Geneva.

Italian manager Della Valle joined Rinascente in 2006 as CFO. He was involved in a complete overhaul of the chain's business model, helping drive a sustained growth phase and achieving significant success in the luxury department store business. In 2017, Della Valle took charge of operations for Central Group in Europe, and was involved in the transformation process of Kadewe Group, Globus and Illum, and in the related commercial real estate activity. Della Valle began his career at Deloitte and, before joining Rinascente, he worked in senior executive roles at Prada in Italy and France.

Central Group is a multinational corporation active in the retail, real estate and hospitality businesses, with a significant presence in Europe, Thailand and Vietnam. The group is a leading player across multiple retail formats and categories, both in the food and non-food sectors, operating among others Central Department Stores, Thailand’s top department store chain, and Central Food Retail, Thailand's largest supermarket chain. Among the group's other subsidiaries, Central Pattana is a leading Thai shopping mall operator and commercial property developer, with a growing portfolio that includes residential buildings, offices and hotels both nationally and internationally, while Centara owns and runs over 60 hotels worldwide.