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Richemont’s management shuffle continues. Louis Ferla, currently chief executive officer of Vacheron Constantin, will succeed Cyrille Vigneron as chief executive officer of the group’s largest brand, Cartier, effective 1 September. Catherine Rénier, CEO of Jaeger-LeCoultre since 2018, will succeed Nicolas Bos as CEO of Van Cleef & Arpels, also effective 1 September, following Bos’s recent appointment as Richemont CEO.
Vigneron, who is retiring after eight years at the helm, will assume the position of chairman of Cartier culture and philanthropy and work with Ferla to ensure a smooth transition, the Swiss luxury conglomerate said Tuesday. Chief commercial officer Laurent Perves will assume the role of interim CEO for Vacheron Constantin, while chief financial officer Philippe Hermann will fill in as interim CEO for Jaeger-LeCoultre.
Ferla joined Richemont in 2001, starting at Alfred Dunhill as area sales manager in Hong Kong and then as general manager of Taipei. In 2006, he joined Cartier, where he held various senior executive positions, namely across the Middle East, India and Africa, before being appointed CEO of China. In 2015, he was promoted to the jewellery maison’s executive committee as international director of clients and business. Ferla has been CEO of Vacheron Constantin since 2017. In May 2023, Richemont said that annual sales at Vacheron Constantin, the largest brand of the speciality watchmakers division, surpassed €1 billion. It’s Richemont’s third largest brand after Cartier and Van Cleef & Arpels.
“He has earned the admiration and respect of his colleagues across the group and of the industry at large for having brilliantly positioned Vacheron Constantin at the pinnacle of haute horlogerie,” Richemont chairman Johann Rupert said in a statement.
Rupert added: “I would like to express my gratitude to Cyrille for his vision and bold leadership over the last eight years, under which Cartier has reached new heights becoming the reference in the world of luxury. I would also like to thank Cyrille for helping identify Louis as his successor. I wish Cyrille all the best in his new role, where I know he will be working on topics that he has always felt passionate about.”
Vigneron has led Cartier since 2016, a period during which the brand’s sales have more than doubled, Morgan Stanley estimates. Cartier generated €10.5 billion in sales in fiscal year 2024, per Morgan Stanley, making it the world’s largest jeweller.
“Cartier has improved in terms of perceived innovation and communication, which has resulted in greater appeal among younger customers,” Exane analyst Antoine Belge told Vogue Business in 2021. “The management of the innovation pipeline has become more effective, with Cartier finding the balance between nurturing iconic lines introduced many years ago and launching new lines.”
Van Cleef & Arpels generated sales of €3.52 billion in fiscal year 2024, according to Morgan Stanley estimates, making it the third largest jewellery brand, behind Cartier and Tiffany.
Last month, Richemont announced a management shuffle led by the appointment — effective from 1 June — of Bos as group CEO. This comes just a few days after Bloomberg reported that LVMH chairman and CEO Bernard Arnault had bought a small stake in Richemont.
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