Andrea Guerra will be the new Ceo of Luxottica?

Luxottica Group confirms that, as reported in the Italian press, Andrea Guerra has been proposed for appointment as the Group's new chief executive officer.

Leonardo Del Vecchio, chairman of Luxottica, commented, "The proposed addition of Mr. Guerra to our management team is a particularly important step for our Group because it addresses two important needs. On one hand, going forward the growth of the Group will require an increasingly strong and structured management team. On the other hand, the proposed appointment would allow me to focus exclusively on my responsibilities as chairman of the Board of Directors, with the new chief executive officer assuming control of day-to-day operations".

"Mr. Guerra is a manager whom we expect to make a significant contribution to the future growth of our Group, also thanks to his professional experience at Merloni Elettrodomestici, where he was one of the individuals who spearheaded the international expansion and performance improvement of that company. With his arrival, our management team would benefit from skills and experience that we believe are particularly important for the long-term growth of our Group".

Roberto Chemello, current chief executive officer of Luxottica Group, will continue his collaboration with the Group and will remain as a member of its Board of Directors.

The proposed appointment will be discussed by Luxottica Group's Board of Directors at its next scheduled meeting on July 27, 2004, together with the results for the period ended June 30, 2004.

Andrea Guerra, 38, was most recently with Merloni Elettrodomestici, one of the leading European manufacturers of white goods, where he had been chief executive officer for the past four years since 2000. At Merloni, Mr. Guerra held positions of increasing responsibility since joining the company in 1994. Prior to joining Berloni, Mr. Guerra was Marketing Director of Marriott Italia.