Case studies and writing.

Borsalino

Italian heritage hat manufacturer · Alessandria, Italy · founded 1857

Situation. A 160-year-old luxury hat house operating at a loss, with no coherent commercial direction and a balance sheet and organizational structure misaligned with the realities of the brand.

Intervention. Co-led the investment through a personal vehicle and took an operating role as Vice Chairman. Recapitalized and restructured the balance sheet, redesigned the organizational architecture, repositioned the brand toward premium and luxury, rebuilt U.S. distribution, renegotiated wholesale agreements and rationalized underperforming accounts — while preserving the manufacturing savoir-faire that gives the brand its underlying value.

Outcome. The company returned to profitability, with revenue more than doubling versus the entry baseline over the holding period. Brand equity rebuilt against a backdrop of premium retail re-engagement.

Fogal of Switzerland

Swiss luxury hosiery house · Geneva, Switzerland · founded 1923

Situation. A 100-year-old Swiss luxury maison in formal insolvency proceedings. Acquired the operating assets out of bankruptcy through a personal vehicle, free of the legacy liabilities that had impaired the prior structure.

Intervention. Took an operating role as Executive Chairman. Rebuilt the company from the asset base up: new operating model, full rework of the product strategy and collection architecture, retail network rationalization, rebranding, digital and wholesale channel rebuild, and a deliberate U.S. commercial reset — executed through the most challenging operating environment in modern retail history.

Outcome. Revenue rebuilt to approximately three times the pre-insolvency baseline. The maison returned to commercial relevance with a coherent product, channel, and brand architecture.

La Praly SA

Turnaround investment vehicle · Paris, France

Mandate. Personal investment vehicle through which the Borsalino and Fogal investments were originated, executed and held. Acquires operationally or financially impaired businesses where a hands-on operator at the helm can unlock value preserved by the underlying brand or asset base.

Approach. Full-lifecycle involvement — origination, diligence, deal structuring, balance sheet repair, operational restructuring, and commercial repositioning. The European antecedent to the OctoFox platform; the playbook, codified.

Cross-border M&A advisory

Geneva · Toronto · Milan

Director and co-head of an M&A and corporate advisory firm focused on private equity transactions across lifestyle and industrial sectors. Buy-side and sell-side mandates across Europe and North America. The grounding in deal structuring, diligence, and transactional discipline that underpins the OctoFox investment process.