Leonardo Del Vecchio is the founder of our operations and has been Chairman of the Board since the Group was formed in 1961. In 1986, the President of the Republic of Italy conferred on Mr. Del Vecchio the honor of Cavaliere dell?Ordine al ?Merito del Lavoro? (Knight of the Order for Labor Merit). In May 1995, he received an honorary degree in Business Administration from the Venice Ca? Foscari University. In 1999, he received a Master ?honoris causa? in International Business from MIB- Management School in Trieste, and in 2002, he received an honorary degree in Managerial Engineering from the University of Udine. In March 2006, Mr. Del Vecchio received another honorary degree in Materials Engineering from Politecnico of Milan. Mr. Del Vecchio is also a director of Assicurazioni Generali S.p.A., Beni Stabili S.p.A., GiVi Holding S.p.A., and Gianni Versace S.p.A., vice chairman of the Surveillance Committee of Fonciere des Regions and a director of Delfin S.a.r.l., Aterno S.a.r.l. and Luxottica UK.
