Faced with a slowdown in business worldwide, the French luxury goods group LVMH announced several changes to its executive committee on Thursday, November 14. Jean-Jacques Guiony, current CFO, will take over on February 1, 2025 as head of the wines and spirits division, replacing Philippe Schaus, who, after a 21-year career with the company, will be stepping down. Cécile Cabanis will replace Guiony as CFO. Bernard Arnault, the group’s CEO and owner, has also appointed alongside Guiony his son Alexandre Arnault, currently vice president of the New York jewelry brand Tiffany’s. Alexandre Arnault will leave Manhattan to become deputy director general of the luxury giant’s cognac and champagne brands, including Hennessy and Moët Hennessy. Charles Delapalme will become CEO of the Hennessy brand, succeeding Laurent Boillot, “whose new responsibilities will be announced at a later date,” LVMH said in a press release.
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The group with €86.2 billion in revenue has also confirmed the departure of Chantal Gaemperlé, LVMH’s human resources director for the past 17 years, as revealed by La Lettre on Thursday, November 7. According to La Lettre, Gaemperlé had “been suspended with a view to her dismissal,” following an “internal investigation lasting several months by the general administration and legal affairs teams,” who were “particularly interested in the accumulation of benefits in kind” obtained by the executive from the various subsidiaries of the group that owns the Louis Vuitton, Dior and other Celine brands. Maud Alvarez-Pereyre, currently director of talent and transformation for the 210,000-employee group, has been appointed as her successor.
These changes come a few weeks after the announcement of the retirement of Chris de Lapuente, 61, also a member of the executive committee and CEO of the selective distribution division, which includes Sephora, Le Bon Marché, la Samaritaine and the company’s duty-free business. Guillaume Motte, CEO of Sephora, will become a member of the group’s executive committee from February 1, 2025, LVMH also announced on Thursday, November 14.
Rejuvenation
At the same time, the multinational is once again rejuvenating its executive committee. In March, Bernard Arnault promoted Stéphane Bianchi, former head of the Yves Rocher group, to the position of deputy director general, replacing one of his loyal followers, Antonio Belloni, aged 70. This promotion comes just four years after he joined the group as CEO of Tag Heuer watches.
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