Rolex's new supervisory board member has excellent Trump contacts

Coronet Magazine, which focuses on the Rolex brand, reports that Alexa Aponte, CFO of Geneva-based company MSC, joined Rolex's board of directors in October.

What is remarkable about this is not only that Alexa Aponte (left) is one of the few women on this Rolex committee.

She is the sister of MSC President Diego Aponte, who played a key role in organizing the recent visit of a Swiss business delegation to the White House.

The Swiss export industry has been suffering since the survey of 39 percent punitive tariff Exports to the USA have suffered considerably due to Donald Trump's tariff whims. This also applies to the watch industry.

According to the Swiss business newspaper Handelszeitung, participants in the Oval Office meeting included Alfred Gantner of Partners Group (Breitling's largest shareholder), Richemont CEO Johann Rupert, and Rolex CEO Jean-Frédéric Dufour. Diego Aponte himself was not present due to scheduling conflicts.

However, the connection to Trump still appears to be close. According to Coronet, the Italian had previously worked with Trump's allies on a planned deal to acquire Chinese port terminals through a partnership with BlackRock, including two at the Panama Canal – a project that aligned with Trump's efforts to expand US influence in the region.

The Italian entrepreneurial family Gianluigi Aponte owns the MSC Group, one of the world's largest container shipping companies and port operators. They also have a strong presence in the cruise industry. The family lives a secluded life in several villas around Geneva. The US business and finance magazine Forbes estimates the Aponte family's fortune at 63 billion CHF.