Richemont replaces CEOs at Cartier, Van Cleef & Arpels

July 2, 2024

Announced Tuesday, Louis Ferla of Swiss watchmaker Vacheron Constantin is appointed CEO of French jewelry house Cartier. Image credit: Cartier

By Zach James for Luxury Daily News Service

Swiss luxury conglomerate Richemont is strengthening leadership across a sales-critical division.

Announced Tuesday, Louis Ferla of Swiss watchmaker Vacheron Constantin is appointed CEO of French jewelry house Cartier, as Swiss watchmaker Jaeger-LeCoultre's CEO Catherine Rénier takes the reins at French jeweler Van Cleef & Arpels. Effective Sept. 1, 2024, the new executives will succeed Cyrille Vigneron and Nicolas Bos, who have led the companies since 2016 and 2013, respectively.

Internal shifts
Philippe Hermann, Jaeger-LeCoultre's CFO, will serve as interim CEO in Ms. Rénier's stead. She will take over as Mr. Bos, the former head of Van Cleef & Arpel, transitions into a position as Richemont CEO.

“I am delighted that Catherine will be taking on the role of CEO of Van Cleef & Arpels, after six 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,” said Nicolas Bos, CEO of Richemont, in a statement.

The programming includes a lot of nature-centric spaces, moon phase watches and colorful reimaginings of heritage styles. Image credit: Van Cleef & Arpels Ms. Rénier has more than 20 years of executive experience in luxury jewelry. Image credit: Van Cleef & Arpels

“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.”

After seven years as chief executive officer of Vacheron Constantin, Mr. Ferla will join Cartier, replacing Mr. Vigneron, who is retiring after spending decades with the French heritage brand across various levels of management.

Mr. Vigneron will remain onboard as Cartier's chairman of culture and philanthropy, assuming the title on Sept. 1, 2024.

“I am delighted that Louis has accepted to take on the top role at Cartier,” said Mr. Bos, in a statement.

The three-band configuration contains three golds, each color representing a different value. Image credit: Cartier Mr. Ferla has served in various executive positions at Richemont-owned brands since 2001. Image credit: 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,” he said. “His experience and leadership qualities will prove invaluable for Cartier’s long-term success.

“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.”

The c-suite shifts come just days ahead of Richemont's next earnings call, scheduled for July 16, where the conglomerate will discuss sales performance for the first quarter of its 2025 fiscal year, which ran from April 1 to June 30, 2024.

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Richemont replaces CEOs at Cartier, Van Cleef & Arpels

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