Richemont Names New CEOs for Cartier, Van Cleef & Arpels
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Geneva—Richemont announced major changes to its executive team Tuesday, appointing two of its watch brand CEOs to lead Cartier and Van Cleef & Arpels.
Cyrille Vigneron, CEO of Cartier, will step down on Sept. 1. He is retiring after eight years as head of Cartier and decades in the luxury industry.
Vigneron will take on the role of chairman of Cartier Culture and Philanthropy and help with the transition period.
Louis Ferla, currently CEO of Vacheron Constantin, will take over as CEO of Cartier.
Ferla joined Richemont in 2001, starting at Alfred Dunhill as area sales manager in Hong Kong and then as general manager in Taipei, Taiwan.
In 2006, he joined Cartier, where he held various senior executive positions in the Middle East, India, and Africa before being appointed CEO of the brand in China.
In 2015, Ferla was promoted to Cartier’s executive committee as the international director of clients and business. He was named Vacheron Constantin CEO in 2017.
Richemont did not say who would take on this soon-to-be vacant role.
Johann Rupert, Richemont’s chairman of the board, welcomed Ferla.
“I am delighted Louis has accepted to take on the top role at Cartier. He has earned the admiration and respect of his colleagues across the group and of the industry at large for having so brilliantly positioned Vacheron Constantin at the pinnacle of haute horlogerie. His experience and leadership qualities will prove invaluable for Cartier’s long-term success,” he said.
Rupert also thanked Vigneron for his service to the brand.
“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.”
The new CEO of Van Cleef & Arpels is Jaeger-LeCoultre CEO Catherine Rénier.
She succeeds Nicolas Bos, who was appointed CEO of Richemont, and will take over on Sept. 1.
Rénier has more than 20 years of experience in jewelry and watches at Richemont, joining the company in 1999 as Cartier North America’s retail development director in New York.
In 2003, she moved to Paris, joining Van Cleef & Arpels as deputy marketing manager, where she helped to develop the brand.
She relocated again in 2008 to Hong Kong to drive the brand’s growth in the Asia Pacific region. She was its commercial director, then managing director for Hong Kong, Macau, and China in 2011.
Rénier later was appointed president of the Asia Pacific region, a role she held for eight years.
She became CEO of Jaeger-LeCoultre in 2018.
Bos welcomed Rénier to her new role.
“I am delighted Catherine will be taking on the role of CEO of Van Cleef & Arpels after 6 years at the helm of Jaeger-LeCoultre where she built a strong leadership team and a clear and differentiated positioning for the maison, which has been foundational to its success during her tenure,” he said.
“Catherine brings the perfect mix of experience and leadership skills to the role, which, coupled with her deep knowledge of the maison, will enable her to ensure Van Cleef & Arpels long-term success.”
Philippe Hermann, chief financial officer of Jaeger-LeCoultre, will take on the role of ad interim CEO at the watch brand until a new CEO is announced.