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Chris Del Gatto has resigned as global CEO of Jacob & Co. to start a jewelry buying company, leaving Jacob Arabo to head his eponymous company.
New York---Chris Del Gatto has resigned as global CEO of Jacob & Co. to start a jewelry buying company, leaving Jacob Arabo to head his eponymous company.
Del Gatto left Jacob & Co. in September after a year in the position and is now chairman of The Del Gatto Luxury Group.
He said with the group, he aims to start a number of companies under one umbrella that focus on jewelry as well as other luxury categories. He has launched one company under the Del Gatto umbrella, Luxury Solutions, which buys overstock and second-hand inventory from jewelry and watch retailers, brands and distributors worldwide.
Del Gatto said in addition, the company will begin buying from the public in 2015 and is in the process of locating its offices and assembling a marketing campaign.
He said his “understanding and experience” in this particular segment of the luxury market will give all sellers confidence that their items will be handled with respect and discretion.
Prior to his time at Jacob & Co., Del Gatto spent 11 1/2 years at Circa, the jewelry buying company he co-founded in 2001 and led as chairman and CEO until his departure in August 2012. At the time, Circa stated that its co-founder had taken an “indeterminate leave of absence” and refused to give a reason for his departure.
RELATED CONTENT: Circa CEO exits company indefinitely
Del Gatto never returned to Circa from his “leave of absence” and joined Jacob & Co. that October. He came on board at a time of change for the company, which was in the midst of rebranding that debuted at Baselworld last year.
He said once he felt the job of rebranding Jacob & Co. was “in hand,” he decided to return to building his own companies, something he’s always wanted to do. “The Del Gatto Luxury Group is the realization of a lifelong dream of mine--to create a group of companies under one umbrella that represents the best in class in their respective categories,” Del Gatto said.
Jacob & Co. founder and Chairman Jacob Arabo is now acting as operating CEO and the company said there are no plans at this time to hire another CEO.
“It was a good term working together and Chris went on to pursue other interests at the end of last year,” Arabo said.
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