Reshuffle at LVMH; Frédéric Arnault Named CEO of LVMH Watches, Julien Tornare CEO of TAG Heuer

For some months now, we’ve heard and seen evidence that things were about to change at LVMH, a reshuffling strategy that industry insiders love to call the musical chairs of management. Things are now official as Julien Tornare, ex-CEO of Zenith, becomes CEO of TAG Heuer. He’s replaced in this role by Benoit de Clerck, who previously was COO of Panerai, a branch of LVMH’s competitor, the Richemont Group. However, while many insiders expected Frédéric Arnault, the son of the Group’s owner Bernard Arnault and ex-CEO of TAG Heuer, to take the lead at Bulgari, things appear different. Instead, he’ll take the position of CEO of LVMH Watches (a new role), overseeing Hublot, TAG Heuer and Zenith. 

29-year-old Frédéric Arnault, who joined TAG Heuer in 2018 as Head of Strategy, later to become CEO of the company in 2020, has just been promoted to a different position, that of the newly-created role of CEO of LVMH Watches, a branch that includes the Group’s three watch brands, TAG Heuer, Hublot and Zenith – which, according to the Financial Times, accounts for a turnover of about 1.6 billion Swiss francs in 2023. His younger brother Jean Arnault remains out of his scope, being head of watches at Louis Vuitton (incl. Gerald Genta and Daniel Roth), and this LVMH Watches division does not include Bulgari, Tiffany and other jewellery brands owned by LVMH (Chaumet, Fred, Repossi). In his new role, Arnault will report to Stéphane Bianchi, CEO of the Watches & Jewelry Division of LVMH and a member of the Executive Committee.

In the meantime, Frédéric Arnault will be replaced at TAG Heuer by Julien Tornare, who, up until today, was the CEO of Zenith – he was named to this position in 2017. After leaving the Le Locle-based brand, he will be replaced by a man with a solid watchmaking background (25 years of experience in this field), Benoit de Clerck, the COO of Panerai, a brand owned by Richemont. Ricardo Guadalupe remains in his position as CEO of Hublot and will be reporting, like Tornare and de Clerck, to the newly-appointed CEO of LVMH Watches, Frédéric Arnault.

For more details, please visit lvmh.com.