Ron Johnson joins board of Ermenegildo Zegna

Ermenegildo Zegna has tapped a retail veteran and Silicon Valley businessman to join its board of directors. Ron Johnson will be bringing his business expertise to the Italian luxury label. He is best known for being the man behind the growth and innovation of Apple's retail stores as senior vice president of retail from 2000 to 2012 reporting to Steve Jobs himself.

Under his tenure 400 shops were opened in 13 international locations. He is currently the CEO of Enjoy, a startup company. Johnson was also previously the CEO of J.C. Penney where his ill-conceived approach to rebranding the company led to a 51 percent decline in shares and ultimately his firing.

In a statement, Ermenegildo Zegna CEO, Gildo Zegna, said Johnson's experience will help overcome "technological and cultural challenges in the future." As luxury brands work to become more technologically advanced, Johnson's expertise is much needed. This is the man behind concepts like Apple's Genius Bar which helped catapult the company's retail stores to success. If he can find a similar formula for Zegna, competing against other Italian luxury brands will be much easier for the company.