“Our maisons’ desirability is fuelled by dedicated and passionate leaders. Damien, Frédéric and Pierre-Emmanuel’s vision, entrepreneurial spirit, creativity and commitment to excellence will be assets to pursue the dynamic development of our maisons,” Bernard Arnault, LVMH chairman and chief executive officer said in a statement. “These three nominations also reflect our group’s ability to craft careers,” he added.
With this new role, the fourth child of Bernard Arnault is making a strategic shift, one from hard luxury to fashion, which is LVMH’s core business.
Frédéric graduated from France’s prestigious École Polytechnique. After interning for Facebook’s AI department in New York, he joined Tag Heuer in 2017, then led by industry veteran Jean-Claude Biver. Executive Stéphane Bianchi arrived in 2018 as CEO of Tag Heuer and of the watchmaking division, then was promoted to CEO of LVMH’s watches and jewellery division in 2020, leaving Arnault to take over Tag Heuer. Frédéric became CEO of the watch brand in 2020, and in January 2024, was appointed CEO of LVMH Watches in charge of Tag Heuer, Hublot and Zenith. He also joined the LVMH board last year. His track record in the last year includes the acquisition of L’Épée 1839, a Switzerland-based manufacturer of high-end clocks and the strengthening of the LVMH Watch Week as well as LVMH’s decade-long partnership with Formula One through Tag Heuer’s role as the official timekeeper.
The roles of the Arnault family within the LVMH empire have been reshaped in recent years: Delphine Arnault was named chairman and CEO of Christian Dior Couture in January 2023; Antoine Arnault has been overseeing the group’s communications and environmental issues since 2018 and chairman of Loro Piana since LVMH acquired it in 2013. He has also served as chief executive of the family holding company, Christian Dior SE, since December 2022; Alexandre Arnault, who headed up product and communications at Tiffany & Co, in February became deputy CEO of the wine and spirits division, which includes champagne houses like Moët & Chandon and cognac brand Hennessy. Jean Arnault is watch director of Louis Vuitton.
Frédéric joins Loro Piana at a good time: the brand, which turned 100 last year, is strategically positioned in the very high-end segment. It has become a poster child for the quiet luxury trend, especially on the back of the prominent display of its wares in Succession, the hit HBO TV series. Back in 2023, Antoine Arnault was somewhat dismissive of the concept of quiet luxury — at least the “quiet” part. “I don’t see Loro Piana as a quiet brand. It’s a house that innovates. We are doing more events, more on social media, etc. If you go to the store, it’s a vibrant brand. For me, ‘quiet’ is a synonym of ‘boring’ — it’s not boring at all,” he insisted. In late 2024, Loro Piana took over the window display at Harrods.
LVMH doesn’t break down sales of individual houses but stressed “a remarkable performance” in its annual earnings statement. Depending on analyst estimates, sales at Loro Piana were between €2 billion and €3 billion in 2024. They were approximately €700 million in 2013 when LVMH acquired 80 per cent of the Italian house for €2 billion.
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