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Italian businessman From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Diego Della Valle (born 30 December 1953) is an Italian businessman who has been the chairman of the leather goods company Tod's.
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Diego Della Valle | |||||||
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Della Valle in 2003 | |||||||
| Born | 30 December 1953 Sant'Elpidio a Mare, Marche, Italy | ||||||
| Alma mater | University of Bologna | ||||||
| Occupation(s) | Lawyer businessman | ||||||
| Known for |
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| Board member of | Chairman of Tod's | ||||||
| Spouse | Barbara Pistilli | ||||||
| Children | 2 | ||||||
| Relatives | Andrea (brother) | ||||||
Della Valle was born and raised in Sant'Elpidio a Mare[1] in Italy’s Marche region. He is the elder son of Dorino Della Valle and grandson of Filippo Della Valle. Filippo started his shoemaking business in the 1920s, making shoes for Azzedine Alaïa, Calvin Klein and Neiman Marcus, among others;[2] Diego later expanded it into the now-famous Tod's brand.[3][4][5]
Della Valle studied Law at the University of Bologna, obtaining an academic degree in 1975.
Della Valle joined the family business in 1975[2] and took it over in 1978.[6] That same year, he named the company J.P. Tod's. From 1996, he started converting the company's signature stores in the United States to J. P. Tod's boutiques.[7] The brand later dropped the "J.P." in 1999 after the brand became inadvertently known as solely "J.P.'s" instead of the preferred Tod's.[8][9] He once persuaded Luca di Montezemolo, who was a protégé of the then Fiat boss Gianni Agnelli, to present Agnelli with a pair of Tod's driving moccasins – the lawyer got Agnelli to wear Tod's shoes when attending Juventus football matches, which were widely televised; this product placement prompted a spike in sales.[3][4][5]
Della Valle manages Tod's with his brother Andrea. The factory in Casette d'Ete was designed by his wife, Barbara.[4][5]
In 1993, Della Valle joined forces with Montezemolo and Paolo Borgomanero on reviving the Acqua di Parma brand.[10] Since 2001, he has been a minority shareholder in funds Charme Investments (Luxembourg) and Charme II (Rome), both of which were founded by Luca Cordero di Montezemolo and control knitwear brand Ballantyne and furniture firm Poltrona Frau.[11]
In 1999, Della Valle raised his stake in British shoemaker Church's to 9.5 percent, setting off the speculation about a takeover; he ultimately decided against bidding against Prada which ended up acquiring the company.[12][13] He agreed to sell his holding to Prada.[14]
In 2004, Della Valle and his brother Andrea took a 40.6 percent stake in eyewear company Marcolin through their holdings.[11]
Through his Gruppo Diego Della Valle holding, Della Valle has owned the fashion brand Maison Schiaparelli since 2007. He has holdings in Bialetti;[11] Mediobanca;[11] and Piaggio.[2]
Around 2008, Della Valle and Montezemolo started working on the launch of high-speed train company Nuovo Trasporto Viaggiatori.[2] In 2018, both Della Valle and Montezemolo sold, with all other shareholders, NTV to Global Infrastructure Partners' GPI III fund for nearly €2 billion; Della Valle made about €340 million from the deal.[15]
In 2009, Della Valle published a book of photographs titled Italian Touch, a collection of portraits depicting upper-class Italian families at home.[16]
Between 2009 and 2010, Della Valle increased his stake in luxury department store operator Saks, Inc. just above 19 percent, becoming the company's largest shareholder and sending its shares to a two-year high.[17][18] When Hudson's Bay Company bought Saks, Inc. for US$2.4 billion in 2013,[19] Della Valle was said to make around $136 million on the deal.[20]
In 2013, Della Valle made a failed offer for Italy’s La7 television network.[21]
In 2002, Della Valle bought the Tuscan football club ACF Fiorentina[3][5] and rescued it from bankruptcy. He sold ACF Fiorentina to Rocco Commisso at the end of the 2018/2019 season.
In 1993, Della Valle supported and financed Silvio Berlusconi’s populist Pole of Freedoms coalition,[25] but soon bowed out, citing differences in values.[16] Della Valle established himself as a political moderate[16] and publicly attacked Berlusconi for the over-taxing of big business and his failure to support smaller Italian businesses. In return, Berlusconi talked of suing Della Valle for defamation.[3][5] Meanwhile, Della Valle is close friends with centrist politician Clemente Mastella.[25]
In the run-up to the 2013 elections, Della Valle financially supported Mario Monti's campaign.[26]
In 2015, Italian weekly newsmagazine L'Espresso reported that Della Valle had registered a logo proclaiming “Noi italiani [We Italians]” to the trademark office of the country’s Ministry of Economic Development, for categories related to a political party.[27]
In 2005, Della Valle bought John F. Kennedy’s 52-foot mahogany Marlin yacht[2] at a Christie’s auction.[28] For his travels, he owns a helicopter (first a Eurocopter AS365 Dauphin,[6] later replaced with a AgustaWestland AW139)[29] and a private jet (first a Dassault Falcon 2000,[2] later replaced with a Gulfstream G550).[29]
Della Valle lives in Sant'Elpidio a Mare,[1][15] where he owns the 370-acre Villa Palombarone.[29] He also has residences in Milan, Paris, New York, La Gorce Island,[30] and a 12-acre compound in Capri.[31][29]
Della Valle is married to architect Barbara Pistilli, his third wife.[6][33] Described as a "familial philanderer", he was previously married to her older sister, Simona.[34] He has a son with both sisters making his sons simultaneously half brothers and cousins.[35]
He is known as a womanizer.[36] He also has a child with the journalist Barbara Parodi Delfino.[37]
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