LVMH is restructuring its watch division.
Frédéric Arnault has been appointed to the role of CEO of LVMH Watches at the luxury goods group, LVMH announced on Friday. In the newly created role, the son of CEO Bernard Arnault is responsible for the watch brands Hublot, Zenith and Tag Heuer.
Arnault, who will report directly to Stéphane Bianchi, CEO of LVMH Watches & Jewelery, joined Tag Heuer in 2017 and served as CEO of the watch brand from 2020. His move follows the restructuring of the watches and jewelry division within the luxury goods company. Over the past six years, Arnault has successfully accelerated Tag Heuer’s transformation and growth, and now he is tasked with strengthening LVMH’s role within the watch industry.
“I am very pleased that Frédéric is now responsible for our three watch maisons within the LVMH Watches & Jewelry Visistion and am excited to see what his unique insights and vision will bring for additional and sustainable growth,” said Bianchi.
Backing chairs at LVMH
The new CEO of Watches hands over the baton as CEO of Tag Heuer to Julien Tornare, who in turn has been CEO of the watch brand Zenith since 2017. His experience within the group will help continue current development and maximize the value of its iconic product ranges, it said.
The executive chair at Zenith will be occupied by Benoit de Clerck. According to his profile on the career network Linkedin, De Clerck most recently worked as Chief Commercial Officer at the watch brand Panerai for eight years. With him at the helm, Zenith’s unique history of innovation will be preserved while building on the foundations to take the future of Swiss watchmaking one step further.
Both Tornare, de Clerck and Ricardo Guadalupe, the CEO of the watch brand Hublot, which is also part of LVMH, will report to the new CEO of the watch division, Arnault.