Luxottica slumped in Milan trading after losing its second chief executive in little more than a month, raising questions about the ability of the world’s largest eyewear company to attract top talent in the future.

The shares fell as much as 10 per cent to €36.86 amid a flurry of analyst downgrades. The decline was the steepest on an intraday basis since October 2008.

Chief executive Enrico Cavatorta will leave the group following a dispute about appointments to the board, according to a person familiar with the matter.

The debate reportedly centred on the appointment of a person close to Luxottica’s founding family to the board, said the person, who declined to be identified.

Luxottica chairman Leonardo Del Vecchio (pictured) will propose Massimo Vian as the company's new co-chief executive.

Mr Cavatorta's departure comes on the heels of last month's resignation of Andrea Guerra, who led Luxottica for a decade. Luxottica installed its then finance chief Mr Cavatorta as part of a three- strong leadership team that included Mr Del Vecchio and a person to be appointed from outside Luxottica.

Mr Cavatorta’s resignation calls into question the ability of Luxottica to recruit outside management in the future, analysts said.

Luxottica “may struggle to attract strong candidates with an international background for the as yet unfilled role of co-CEO”, Mauro Baragiola, an analyst at Citigroup in Milan, said in a note yesterday. Citigroup downgraded the stock to neutral from buy.

Mr Del Vecchio last month denied he was considering his children for management roles at the company he started in 1961. The 79-year-old billionaire, who still owns a 65 per cent stake, was responding to a report in Il Sole 24 that cited him as saying that Mr Guerra's exit made room for his family. – (Bloomberg)