First non-family CEO for Pikolinos
Footwear and leather manufacturing group Pikolinos has announced Francisco Sánchez as its new chief executive, a departure from the group’s family-run structure.
The company produces footwear in the area around Elche and also runs its own leather finishing company, Pies Cuadrados. Its shoes sell in 60 countries around the world. It runs 20 own-brand stores and has more than 8,000 points of sale in total.
Founder, Juan Perán, launched Pikolinos in 1984 and ran the company until 2016, when he handed over the reins to his children. His son, Juan Manuel Perán, took over as chief executive, while his daughters, Rosana and Carolina, also assumed leadership roles. Rosana Perán was elected president of CEC, the European footwear industry confederation, in 2023.
At the start of 2026, after posting record results for three consecutive years, Pikolinos announced that it was entering a new stage of development, with Francisco Sánchez as the first person outside the Perán family to lead it.
Mr Sánchez is an engineer by trade but has a track record in business transformation, with many of the projects he has worked on having links to the leathergoods sector.
On taking up his new position at Pikolinos, he said: “Leading a business these days is about much more than results. It is about building organisations that have meaning, that are centred on people and on the sustainability of both the business and its surroundings.”
