Not all images were able to load for printing. Please close the print window and try again. Management Reshuffle at LVMH Watches, New CEO for Hublot and TAG Heuer
It's yet another musical chair moment at LVMH Watches...
It wasn’t so long ago when LVMH, the French luxury powerhouse, announced shifts in top management positions. In January 2024, the group announced the creation of a new entity, LVMH Watches, as well as its CEO, Frédéric Arnault, the son of the Group’s owner Bernard Arnault and ex-CEO of TAG Heuer. As a consequence, Julien Tornare, ex-CEO of Zenith, became CEO of TAG Heuer, to be replaced by Benoit de Clerck. The status quo didn’t last long as yesterday LVMH announced new appointments within the division, following the decision of Ricardo Guadalupe, current CEO of Hublot, to step back from operational management. As such, Julien Tornare takes the lead of Hublot in the middle of a softening market for the watch industry.
With sales of watches currently declining, shifts in top managing positions are becoming the norm – see Louis Ferla appointed CEO of Cartier, replacing Cyrille Vigneron. The reshuffle at LVMH Watches, the division led by Frédéric Arnault, with Tornare taking the lead of TAG Heuer, only lasted 6 months and the situation is changing once more. Yesterday, Arnault announced some important changes within the group, as Ricardo Guadalupe, now CEO of Hublot, “wishes” to step back from operational management, after 20 years at within the company’s management – his role pre-dated LVMH’s acquisition. He has been appointed Honorary President of the brand, effective from September 1st. Despite being the largest brand of the watch division, with revenues of CHF 670 million according to Morgan Stanley in 2023, Hublot was on the decline recently with sales down 10% (CHF 744 million in 2022 according to the same source).
With the idea to rethink the strategy of Hublot, LVMH appoints Julien Tornare as the new CEO of the brand, following his role at Zenith (2017-2023) and TAG Heuer (first months of 2024), a brand with estimated revenues of CHF 610 Million. Replacing him as CEO of TAG is Antoine Pin, General Manager of Bulgari Horlogerie since September 2019. Jean-Christophe Babin remains CEO of Bulgari. No word yet on who will replace Pin at the Rome-based jeweller-watchmaker, even if some sources have announced the arrival of Laura Burdese to the newly-created role of Deputy CEO of Bulgari. She previously was vice president of marketing and communication for the brand.
