Santucci quits D&G, McMahon joins

Giacomo Santucci has resigned from his position as commercial, licenses and retail director at Dolce & Gabbana. The former Gucci chief executive joined the company only six months ago. A Dolce & Gabbana spokesman in Milan declined to give any details, saying only that Santucci had left "for personal reasons". In the statement released by the company it thanked Santucci "for his valuable collaboration and competence demonstrated during his brief stay within the company."

According to industry rumours, Santucci might have become frustrated with his position's lack of authority to make decisions. The role was a new one that reported to Alfonso Dolce, Domenico Dolce's brother and board member, and Cristiana Ruella, general affairs director.

Santucci had been responsible for coordinating all commercial functions, including wholesale, retail and licensing, as well as "harmonising" the market presence of its two brands, Dolce & Gabbana and D&G. In other words, the role was beneath his chief executive role at Gucci, from which he was ousted last year during a management overhaul. The industry was surprised by his taking on an inferior position after he had long been considered to be the heir apparent to Domenico De Sole, the former Gucci Group CEO, before relations with PPR soured.

Just as word of Santucci's resignation came, Dolce & Gabbana apppointed a new US president, Glenn McMahon, the former president of Ellen Tracy. He will be joining the firm on 12 September and will be succeeding Gabriella Forte, who announced her decision to leave the company after three years in March.

"Right now, I'm making sure there's a smooth transition," said Forte, who stayed on to ensure just that. McMahon will report to Dolce & Gabbana's board "for all matters concerning the subsidiary's management", the company said in a separate statement. In the past, McMahon has worked for Kenneth Col e and Giorgio Armani Le Col lezioni.