Prada appoints two new independent non-executive directors
The appointments have increased the number of independent directors in the group to five, and it reportedly achieves gender equality with five women and six men now on the board
Prada has announced the appointment of Pamela Culpepper and Anna Maria Rugarli as independent non-executive directors, taking the board up to a total of 11 members.
Culpepper and Rugarli were reportedly selected for their professional background in ESG and in accordance with the Diversity Policy of the board of directors.
Culpepper has over 25 years of experience as a HR executive. She is co-founder of Have Her Back LLC., a female led culture consultancy focused on advancing equity. Previously, she was the chief human resources officer at Cboe Global Markets, Inc, having joined from Golin where she was the company’s chief people officer.
For more than 14 years prior, she held various leadership roles with PepsiCo, Inc., including chief global diversity and inclusion officer, vice president human resources for Quaker Foods and Snacks, vice president Human Resources for PepsiCo’s Beverages Supply Chain, and vice president Talent Management and Diversity for Quaker, Tropicana and Gatorade.
Meanwhile, Rugarli is a Sustainability and CSR expert with more than 20 years of experience in designing “innovative” programmes and in developing sustainability strategies. In particular, she initiated and launched Nike’s Sustainability and CSR programmes in EMEA and was with the company for 12 years.
She then led VF’s Circular Economy strategy at a global level, as well as Sustainability, Purpose, and D,E&I strategy at a regional level for 10 years. She is currently holding the Corporate Sustainability vice president position at Japan Tobacco International.
Additionally, the Prada Group has also launched an ESG board committee under the leadership of Lorenzo Bertelli, Prada Group head of Corporate Social Responsibility, along with Culpepper and Rugarli. This committee will be supporting the board of directors in its sustainability assessments and decisions with regards to the group’s ESG strategy.
Bertelli said: “I am pleased to welcome to the board Pamela Culpepper and Anna Maria Rugarli, professionals with an extensive knowledge in ESG topics and who held leadership positions in multinational companies.
“Their contribution will be crucial for the board and for the deployment of Prada’s sustainability strategy. This decision will allow us to accelerate several projects already in our pipeline.”
