Ermenegildo "Gildo" Zegna was born in Turin on 30 September 1955 and raised in Biella, the son of Angelo Zegna and grandson and namesake of the founder. His father and uncle Aldo ran the company from the mid-1960s, and Angelo remained honorary chairman until his death in 2021. Gildo graduated in economics from the University of London in 1978 and completed a management programme at Harvard Business School in 1981.
He joined the family business in 1982 as president of Ermenegildo Zegna Corporation, handling distribution in the United States and Canada, and from 1986 to 1989 ran Italco SA, Zegna's Spanish distributor. He joined the group board in 1989 and became chief executive in 1997, with his cousin Paolo as chairman. Under him the group pursued brand extension and full vertical integration, building the Filiera of Italian textile makers (Tessitura di Novara, Bonotto, Dondi, Tessitura Ubertino, Filati Biagioli Modesto and others), bought 85% of Thom Browne in 2018 and took over the Tom Ford fashion business in April 2023. In December 2021 the group listed on the New York Stock Exchange, the first Italian fashion company to do so, and he added the role of chairman. Gianluca Tagliabue was named group chief executive from 1 January 2026.
He was made a Cavaliere del Lavoro in 2011, received the Leonardo Prize in 2016, sat on the Fiat Chrysler board from 2014 to 2018 and chairs Thom Browne, Tom Ford International and Monterubello, the family holding company. He is married with two sons.