MILAN — Italy’s Flos appointed Barbara Corti chief creative officer, a newly created strategic role.
The high-end lighting and lighting systems’ designer will be responsible for defining the creative strategy for the development of product lines in every division, as well as content creation strategies through all the brand’s online and offline channels.
In a statement, Flos said Corti, who served as Flos’ chief marketing officer since 2017, will officially move into her new role in October.
“Product development and launch strategies are two crucial areas for the success of Flos,” said Flos’ chief executive officer Roberta Silva. “Now we are ready for the next step. The time has come to internalize this role, which is fundamental for the success of Flos, through the creation of a new Creative & Design Team,” Silva said.
Corti, who graduated with a degree in architecture, also served as the creative director at Condé Nast Italia for seven years.
As the design industry looks to enhance the content creation and storytelling around its products, Flos said Corti will spearhead two key areas for the brand: product design and content design.
In 2019, Flos initially amped up its creative strategy with the design curator position, which involved strategic collaborations with architects Fabio Calvi and Paolo Brambilla of the Calvi Brambilla studio. Calvi Brambilla are also the art directors of upscale Italian furniture brand Zanotta.
Flos, which was founded in Merano, Italy, in 1962 boasts an extensive catalogue of iconic lamps created by legendary names in the history of design Philippe Starck, Patricia Urquiola, Ron Gilad, Michael Anastassiades and Vincent Van Duysen among them.
Flos is part of Design Holding‘s galaxy of brands, which includes B&B Italia, Audo, Maxalto and fellow lighting manufacturers Lumens and Louis Poulsen. The company has a presence more than 130 countries.
In April, Design Holding’s CEO Daniel Lalonde said its e-commerce business is expected to rise in the double digits, noting that lighting and accessories remain the main catalyst for e-commerce sales.
Flos, helmed by Silva since 2019, is also one of the few Italian companies led by a woman. A recent study by Italian stock market regulator Consob revealed that only two percent of Italy’s listed companies were helmed by female CEOs at the end of 2022; 4 percent were helmed by a female president. The proportion of women members of Italian corporate boards of directors, however, reached a new high of 43 percent, up from 41 percent in 2021. In its 2022 Sustainability Report, Design Holding said among its main goals, it will work on increasing the percentage of female senior leaders from 37 percent in 2021 to 42 percent in 2026, as well as a completion of a survey on the entire group’s population.
