Second-hand luxury fashion retailer Vestiaire Collective has promoted its current chief financial officer Bernard Osta to chief executive.

Osta will succeed Maximilian Bittner who held the position for seven years.

Osta joined Vestiaire Collective in 2021 as a strategy officer and was promoted to chief financial officer in 2023.

Prior to this, he held senior positions in the financial sector for fifteen years, including executive director at Goldman Sachs.

From 2005 to 2011, he was an investment banker at Lazard.

Osta is also currently an independent member of the Supervisory Board of media group Vivendi. 

Founded in 2009 by Sophie Hersan and Fanny Moizant, Vestiaire is now used by 23 million buyers and sellers.

On Tuesday, the French resale giant said the global platform enters its “next chapter of growth” with the new appointment.

The board of directors of Vestiaire Collective wished Bittner “every success in his future professional projects.”

Commenting on his departure, they said: “We want to thank Maximilian Bittner for his dedication and the significant role he has played in the development of the Company since he joined in late 2018.”

In a statement, the retailer praised Osta’s in-depth knowledge of the company, his international experience, and his strong leadership as “invaluable assets” for the company’s growth strategy.

In a statement, Osta emphasised that AI will offer an “extraordinary opportunity” to enhance retailers' product roadmaps and deliver engaging customer experience services while boosting market share.

In 2021, the fashion retailer raised €178 million in a financing round which brought the company closer to a $1 billion valuation.

The round was led by global French luxury group Kering and US investment firm Tiger Global Management.

Existing shareholders included Condé Nast, Vestiaire Collective’s chief executive Max Bittner, Bpifrance, the Eurazeo Group, Korelya Capital, Vitruvian Partners, and funds managed by Fidelity International.

---