LVMH makes forward-looking personnel decisions

LVMH makes forward-looking personnel decisions

The 76-year-old Chairman and CEO of the French luxury goods group, Bernard Arnault (pictured left), can continue to hold his powerful positions until he reaches the age of 85. LVMH shareholders recently approved the amendment to the company's articles of association with 99.18 percent of the vote to raise the age limit for the company's CEO from 80 to 85. The age limit had already been raised to 75 in 2022.

Bernard Arnault, who is also the majority shareholder of LVMH, has been president of the company since 1989. All five of his children now hold senior positions within the group, but the company leader, who is one of the world's wealthiest people, has not named a successor.

Is François-Henri Ben Nimmias joining LVMH?

In January of last year, the long-standing and extremely successful CEO of Audemars Piguet left the watch brand's headquarters in le Brassus for the last time.

Since 2012, under his leadership as CEO, Audemars Piguet's revenue more than tripled, from CHF 670 million to CHF 2.3 billion in 2023. During this period, the number of watches produced increased much more modestly, from 32,000 to 51,000.

He did not give any insight into his future when he left.

Now, the news portal Bloomberg, among others, is reporting that he will sit on the board of Moncler, which also owns the Stone Island brand, alongside Alexandre Arnault, son of Bernard Arnault.

Last fall, LVMH announced an agreement with Remo Ruffini (CEO and majority shareholder of Moncler) under which the luxury goods group would acquire up to 22 percent of Moncler's investment company, Double R. Analysts at Barclays Bank estimate that through this deal, LVMH indirectly holds a stake of approximately 1.6 percent in Moncler, which could rise to a maximum of four percent.

This wasn't the first time LVMH acquired a minority stake in an Italian fashion company. In 2021, the group secured a stake in shoe manufacturer Tod's.

Oliver R. Müller (owner of the Geneva-based consulting firm LuxeConsult) expects that François-Henri Bennahmias will soon be seen again in projects that “will be closer to his watchmaking past as a visionary entrepreneur.”