PADOVA, Italy—Today, Sàfilo Group S.p.A. has announced the appointment of the executive vice chairman, Massimiliano Tabacchi, to sole CEO of the company.

Claudio Gottardi, who has resigned as co-CEO for personal reasons, will remain a member of the board of directors of Sàfilo Group S.p.A. and Sàfilo S.p.A. He will also return to the U.S. and continue his role as president and CEO of Sàfilo USA Inc. and its subsidiaries, according to a statement from the company.

In 2006, Massimiliano Tabacchi was appointed co-CEO along with Gottardi, and then appointed to the position of executive vice chairman by the board of directors this past May.

"During the last two years I have worked together with Claudio Gottardi to re-focus the Group on its core business, the design, production and distribution of outstanding eyewear," said Tabacchi. "A few months ago, we presented an important business plan, both in terms of commercial development as well as from an industrial point of view. This project is continuing and will be strengthened by an increasingly competitive organizational structure which will preserve and seek the best managerial competencies, necessary to put into action and develop our strategy."

Massimiliano Tabacchi has been with the company for seven years and held the position of COO from 2001 to 2006 overseeing research and development, product development, planning, operations, information technology and human resources.