The Prada Group has named Francesca Secondari as group general counsel and chief legal officer, where she will be responsible for legal management, corporate affairs and group compliance. 

Secondari replaces Cristina de Dona, who joined the company in March 2022. According to de Dona’s LinkedIn profile, she stepped down from the post in May.

Secondari’s hiring comes roughly six months after Prada named Andrea Guerra – a former head of Italian eyewear giant Luxottica and food specialist Eataly – as its new chief executive, replacing previous co-CEOs Patrizio Bertelli and Miuccia Prada Bianchi. Prada hired Guerra from LVMH, the parent company of luxury brands including Moët, Hennessey and Louis Vuitton, where he was a senior adviser and head of the French conglomerate’s hospitality division.

Most recently, Secondari was a partner with Italian law firm BonelliErede, based in its Cairo office. She joined the law firm in 2003, becoming a partner in 2016 and has experience in cross-border transactions, corporate and M&A, corporate governance and ESG. While at the firm, she was a member of its luxury team and also headed business development initiatives across Africa and the Middle East. 

In addition to a law degree from the University of Perugia, Secondari holds an executive MBA from the American University of Cairo, and is a member of the Italian Bar. She also does pro-bono work for Doctors with Africa CUAMM and founded and promotes a programme for environmental conservation in the Okavango Delta in Botswana.

Prada’s group GC role was newly created when de Dona joined in March last year. She reported to Prada’s former co-CEOs Bertelli and Prada Bianchi. Bertelli is now Prada’s chairman and Prada Bianchi is a board member and serves as creative director of the Miu Miu and Prada brands with Belgian designer Raf Simons.

Last December, Prada hired New York-based Frank Martinez as senior vice president and GC for the Americas region. Martinez had previously been vice president of legal affairs for LVMH, a position he held since 2014. He took over from David Warren, who left Prada’s top US legal role in May 2022 to join rival Italian fashion house Gucci. 

The Prada Group owns the brands Prada, Miu Miu, Church’s, Car Shoe, Marchesi 1824, Luna Rossa and Fondazione Prada. Its clothing, leather goods and footwear collections are available in more than 70 countries through a network of more than 600 owned stores, a direct e-commerce channel, as well as e-tailers and department stores worldwide.