Jil Sander implements discreet CEO transition

By

Dominique Muret

Published
Sep 15, 2021

Acquisitions are often followed by the implementation of a new management team. And so it has been at Jil Sander, where the transition took place discreetly during the summer break. As confirmed to FashionNetwork.com by a company spokesperson, the brand's CEO, Axel Keller, has been replaced by Ubaldo Minelli, the current CEO of Italian fashion group OTB, which bought the German label in March. 

Keller first joined Jil Sander as commercial director in 2018, before being promoted to the role of CEO at the end of the same year. Prior to this, the executive had worked at Balenciaga and Maison Martin Margiela. 
 
Minelli, on the other hand, is an OTB veteran. The seasoned executive has spent years at the group owned by Renzo Rosso, which, along with Jil Sander and its flagship brand, Diesel, also owns Maison Margiela, Marni and Viktor & Rolf, as well as a minority stake in California-based luxury denim label Amiri, childrenswear specialist Brave Kid and Staff International, which not only produces pieces for Marni and Margiela, but also for brands including Dsquared2, Just Cavalli and Koché under license. 

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Having notably led Staff International and Marni, Minelli was named CEO of the OTB group in late 2017. Now he has also added the supervision of the Jil Sander brand to his responsibilities. With this appointment, the Italian group has taken full control of the fashion house, for which it has ambitious plans. 
 
Jil Sander's creative direction has been helmed by Lucie and Luke Meier since 2017. Following a stint in Paris, the brand will return to Milan for its next runway show on September 22.