Robert Polet

Robert Polet (born July 25, 1955) is the former CEO of Gucci Group and prior to that worked as the president of the ice cream and frozen foods division of Unilever. He won the 2007 Fortune European Businessman of the Year award by Fortune Magazine.

Biography Polet was born in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in 1956, went to school in Britain and the Netherlands and was sent by Unilever to Paris, Milan, Hamburg, and Malaysia.

He studied business at Nyenrode Business Universiteit in Breukelen and later earned his MBA at the University of Oregon in 1976.

Three years later, Gucci's sales and profits grew even faster than Polet's ambitious plans outlined at the convention in Lisbon. All of its lines which were previously losing money became profitable except for Yves Saint Laurent though its losses have been cut by two thirds. The operating profit margin went from 10% to 16% within the three years. PPR's stock which fell on the news of Polet's hiring, rose 50% since until 2008.

However, some critics said that the numbers were residual successes of Polet's predecessors and that Gucci's fashion had declined, which will lead to future losses. Mark Lee, the head of Gucci's flagship line disagreed, and asserted that sales were still surging ahead with new designs.