Sebastian Suhl

Sebastian Suhl
Born	(1967-12-05) December 5, 1967 (age 56) New York City, U.S.
Nationality	American , Germany
Education	Colorado College, ESADE
Occupation	CEO
Years active	1997 - present
Employer(s)	Prada, Givenchy, Marc Jacobs, Valentino, Trussardi

Sebastian Suhl (born 1967 in New York City, USA) is an American fashion executive who was instrumental in Prada’s retail expansion and 2011 IPO and who later became CEO of Givenchy.

Suhl was CEO of the Milanese luxury brand Trussardi from 2020 to 2023.^[1] Previously he facilitated Valentino’s international brand expansion as the Managing Director of global markets from 2017. He was CEO of the New York-based fashion company Marc Jacobs from September 2014. Suhl was CEO of French fashion House Givenchy, also part of the LVMH Group, from early 2012.^[2][3] From 2001 to 2011 he held various positions in Prada Group, the latest as Chief Operating Officer.

Education

After earning a Bachelor's degree in world political economy from Colorado College (USA) in 1989, Suhl completed his Master's in Business Administration at Esade in Barcelona in 1992.^[4][3]

Career

Suhl started his career in 1992 as a senior auditor with Deloitte & Touche in Barcelona, before moving to Paris in 1996 to take up a position as engagement manager at strategy consultancy firm, Solving International.^[2][5][3][6]

In 1997 Suhl was co-founder and managing director at Thimister, a start up couture house. Two years later, in 1999, he was appointed director of business development at Courreges.^[6]

During the early 2000s Suhl carried on his career at Prada Group (which incorporates the Prada, Miu Miu, Church’s and Car Shoe brands). In 2001 he was appointed General Manager in France. In 2005, he became Chief Executive Officer Asia Pacific & China for the Prada Group, in Hong Kong.^[4][6] In 2009 he was appointed Prada Group’s Chief Operating Officer and moved to Milan. Suhl was involved in the success of the IPO of the brand on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in 2011.^[7][8][9]

Suhl joined Givenchy, the LVMH-owned label, in 2012.^[10][11] Suhl had planned to open 24 new stores within the year 2014.^[12]

In September 2014, he was appointed CEO of Marc Jacobs,^[13] coinciding with Jacobs's departure from Louis Vuitton and announcement that he would concentrate on his own brand.^{[14][15][4][6]}

In 2018 Suhl joined Valentino as Managing Director – Global Markets. In this role, Suhl was in charge of the global commercial function – retail, e-commerce and sales.^[2]

In 2020 Suhl was appointed CEO of Italian house Trussardi.^[16] Trussardi had recently been acquired by an Italian private equity fund and Suhl was tasked with the revival of the house. He named new creative directors and set out a new brand identity.^[17] He also reopened the historic Palazzo Trussardi in Milan,^[18] in a joint venture with Michelin chef Giancarlo Perbellini.^[19] In 2023, as the brand underwent an internal restructuring, he left the maison together with the resignation of the entire board of directors.^[1]

Public speaking

Suhl has spoken at the Financial Times Business of Luxury Summit in Los Angeles^[20] as well as the Business of Design Week Forum in Hong Kong.^[3]

References