Burberry and Moncler may not have been talking to each other about the latter taking over the former (as had been rumoured last month), but Burberry has been in contact with a Moncler exec.

The company said Stella King, who’s currently at Moncler, has been appointed to its board as an independent non-executive director and member of the Nomination Committee, with effect from 1 April.  

King had been Moncler’s president, Asia Pacific, having joined the firm in 2011. In January 2022 she moved to the post of chief Chinese business officer but will step down from that role on 31 December. She also served as a non-executive director of Moncler subsidiary Stone Island between March 2021 and April 2024.  

Earlier in her career, she was president, Asia Pacific for Sergio Rossi and also held various managerial positions at Lane Crawford in Mainland China.

The appointment is particularly significant because of her massive Asian and particularly Chinese experience. Burberry sees China as a key market and having King on board will clearly help it here.

Burberry also said on Wednesday that Fabiola Arredondo and Antoine de Saint-Affrique will retire from the board as non-execs following the AGM to be held in July. They’ve been on the board since 2015 and 2021, respectively. 

Gerry Murphy, Burberry Chair, said: “Stella has impressive and deep understanding of the luxury market and consumers in the Asia Pacific region. Her insight and expertise will be a great asset to Burberry. I want to thank Fabiola and Antoine for their service to the company. The board has benefitted greatly from their extensive knowledge and experience throughout their tenures and I wish them both every success in their future endeavours.”