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Ludivine Pont has been appointed chief executive officer of Florentine perfume house Officina Profumo-Famaceuitica di Santa Maria Novella.
Pont, currently chief marketing officer of Balenciaga since 2021, will take the reins of the iconic perfumer founded in 1221 from September. Santa Maria Novella, prized for its gothic apothecary aesthetic and fragrant soaps, creams and eau de cologne, has expanded rapidly in recent years. The brand added dozens of retail stores and shop-in-shops since Italmobiliare — the private equity fund controlled by Italy’s billionaire Pesenti family — took a controlling interest in 2020. The brand now has more than 400 points of sale in 30 countries.
2024 sales rose 25 percent to €70 million ($81 million), with gross operating profit of €19 million.
Pont was previously head of marketing and PR at Philipp Plein before joining Moncler in 2016, where she helped to support Remo Ruffini’s “Genius” programme of fast-paced designer collaborations.
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At Balenciaga, she worked closely with outgoing artistic director Demna and then-CEO Cedric Charbit to craft a communications strategy powered by provocative, highly-visible social media moments balanced by more timeless brand campaigns and haute couture shows. A successor has yet to be named.
In her new role, Pont will be responsible for “giving further impetus to the global development of Officina Profumo-Farmaceutica di Santa Maria Novella, always respecting the values and peculiarities that make the company a brand without equal,” Italmobiliare CEO Carlo Pesenti said.
