< The 2014 All-Europe Research Team Luca SolcaLuxury GoodsExane BNP Paribas
Luca Solca debuted on the All-Europe Research Team in 2009, when he led the Sanford C. Bernstein squad to a runner-up finish in Retailing/General. He matched that feat the following year while also piloting the crew that captured second place in Luxury Goods. In 2011 his two teams ranked again, in third and first place, respectively.
That same year Solca left Bernstein to become global head of European equity research at Crédit Agricole Cheuvreux, then moved to Exane BNP Paribas in 2012 to direct coverage of luxury goods companies. He returns to the All-Europe Research Team this year in the same spot he last held, heading the No. 1 team in Luxury Goods.
The London-based leader credits “serendipity” for his move from industry consultant to corporate executive to equity analyst. “I headed a publicly traded luxury goods conglomerate that I had served when I was a partner of Boston Consulting Group, and I was in touch with analysts on an ongoing basis,” Solca recalls. “When a headhunter called me one day and told me about a broker interested in my profile, I got curious. And little by little I was drawn into moving to finance and working to establish my franchise as an analyst.”
His prior experience has proved instrumental to his current success. “This is a very entrepreneurial job that you can shape and organize as if it was your own company,” observes Solca, 50. “It becomes tough as markets move against you. At one point, every analyst will be very openly wrong. This is not pleasant! But one has to face this, learn, rework and move forward.”Read His Profile
