Speakers >> Biography

Claudio Del Vecchio, an international business entrepreneur and industry leader, is the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Brooks Brothers Group, Inc.., a premier retail and manufacturing group with a portfolio of highly specialized fashion companies composed of Brooks Brothers, Southwick and Carolee Designs.  Mr. Del Vecchio is also Executive Director of Luxottica Group, the world’s largest manufacturer of eyewear.

As a young child, he helped his father in the Luxottica eyeglass factory in Agordo, Italy, learning virtually every area of manufacturing, from eyeglass parts to machinery parts, from manual labor to management.  At the age of 24, Mr. Del Vecchio established Luxottica's first direct distribution organization outside of Italy, in Germany.  The great success of the new German distribution operation provided the blueprint for Luxottica's direct distribution network worldwide.

Mr. Del Vecchio came to the United States in 1982, and was instrumental in transforming Luxottica into the premier factory-direct eyewear organization in the United States.  He would later serve as the president of the Optical Industry Association.

In 1990, Mr Del Vecchio directly oversaw Luxottica’s public offering on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE - LUX).

In 1995, through Luxottica's purchase of The United States Shoe Corporation, the company acquired Lenscrafters, the largest optical retailer in the United States, and Casual Corner Group stores, a retail chain specializing in women's clothing.  Mr. Del Vecchio assumed ownership of Casual Corner Group in 1997.  In early 2001, the company acquired Adrienne Vittadini and Carolee Designs.  Casual Corner Group was then renamed Retail Brand Alliance, Inc.

In December 2001, Retail Brand Alliance acquired Brooks Brothers.

Mr. Del Vecchio has been recognized for his philanthropic work with the Helen Keller Services for the Blind, The Interfaith Nutrition Network of New York, the One Sight Organization, the Breast Cancer Research Foundation, the Friends of San Patrignano Organization, the American-Italian Cancer Foundation, St. Francis Hospital of Long Island, along with other numerous organizations.