P448 is bolstering its leadership team as it continues to secure new investments.
The brand has hired Rocco Bennici as its new chief financial and operating officer. He will report to Wayne Kulkin, executive chairman of P448 parent company StreetTrend LLC.
In this newly created role, Bennici will oversee all financial and treasury functions as well as P448’s teams in Italy, Spain, USA, Hong Kong and China.
Bennici joins P448 from Diesel parent company OTB Group, where he most recently served as group treasury and corporate finance director since 2021. Prior to OTB Group, he held other leadership finance roles at Stiga, Fincantieri and Saipem.
“I’m excited to join P448,” Bennici said in a statement. “I plan to contribute immediately to the impressive body of work that has been done thus far and will put forward my best strategic energies to support successfully the company growth and its projects.”
Kulkin added that the executive will play a “vital role” in navigating the brand’s path as P448 evolves into its next stage of growth. “Not too many people have the diversified skill set and curiosity that Rocco possesses, so I feel we all will benefit greatly from his thoughtful leadership,” Kulkin said.
This addition to the executive team comes at the same time P448 announced a new strategic financial partnership with Loop Capital. While terms of the investment were not made public, P448 noted that the firm made a small contribution to the brand and will utilize its network of athletes and celebrities to further P448 brand awareness to “all corners of the world.”
“We at Loop Capital are excited to enter into this new relationship with Wayne and the P448 team,” Jim Reynolds, founder, chairman and chief executive officer at Loop Capital, said in a statement. “We believe that the platform is poised for considerable growth, and we are appreciative of the opportunity to partake in their journey. We are proud to join the ranks of other notable investors, including Jeff Hecktman of Hilco Global and Mark Wahlberg, while bringing our own unique set of skills and capabilities to the table.”
StreetTrend LLC, which owns P448, was formed in 2017 as joint venture partnership with Kulkin and Hecktman, CEO of the international investment and financial services company Hilco Global. Wahlberg joined the team in 2022 as a strategic investor in the company, having taken a significant minority stake in the business, and John Hansen, an experienced investor in the consumer space, is an investor.
In April, P448 formed a joint venture partnership with The Camp Brands, a Barcelona-based company that specializes in the distribution of international brands. The new partnership will expand the footwear brand’s European wholesale distribution and enhance P448’s retail strategy with the opening of stores in Europe. In addition, The Camp Brands will manufacture and market P448 brand apparel globally.
