Portions of this article first appeared on Forbes.com.
Frederic Arnault named CEO of LVMH Watch Division.
In an announcement sent out just a few days ago by LVMH Watches & Jewelry Division, a number of new CEO appointments have taken place. For many inside the watch world, the naming of several of these executives was not surprising. For instance, Frédéric Arnault, who was most recently CEO of TAG Heuer, has been named CEO of LVMH Watches.
The son of Bernard Arnault, Frédéric Arnault has been with TAG Heuer since 2017 and has made a host of huge inroads for the brand, including implementing a tech division and significantly growing the brand’s production of Connected watches. Similarly, Frédéric Arnault has leaned strongly into the importance of the history of the TAG Heuer brand, reinventing a host of significant collections with new modern twists on legendary pieces like the Carrera and Aquaracer. As CEO of LVMH Watches, he will be in charge of Hublot, TAG Heuer and Zenith and will report to Stephane Bianchi who is the CEO of LVMH Watches & Jewelry Division.
Meanwhile, it was rumored several months ago that Julien Tornare, most recently CEO of Zenith (with a long 17-year stint at Vacheron Constantin prior to that), would be leaving his post as CEO of the brand. Today, he was appointed CEO of TAG Heuer –filling the shoes of Frédéric Arnault. His track record – both as US President for Richemont’s Vacheron Constantin, and then as CEO of Zenith – is impeccable. He is known for his ability to focus on the strengths of the brand and build not just the right product around those strengths, but marketing and narratives, as well.
Filling Tornare’s space as CEO of Zenith is Benoit de Clerck – another long-time watch veteran executive who spent 25 years with the Richemont Group in a variety of positions, and most recently was Chief Commercial Officer at Panerai.
Both Tornare and de Clerck, along with Hublot CEO Ricardo Guadalupe, will report directly to Frédéric Arnault.
In the press release, Bianchi noted about Frédéric Arnault’s past six years at TAG Heuer that “His unique and disruptive vision for the watchmaking industry led to a spectacular transformation for TAG Heuer, which recovered its credentials in record time as the luxury watch brand driven by high performance.”
