Catherine Renier at the 2019 Venice Film Festival. (Photo by Daniele Venturelli/Getty Images)
Richemont on Tuesday said that Catherine Rénier, currently CEO of Jaeger-LeCoultre, will succeed Nicolas Bos as CEO of Van Cleef & Arpels, effective September 1.
This announcement comes hours after the Swiss luxury goods holding company announced that that Louis Ferla, currently CEO of Vacheron Constantin, will succeed Cyrille Vigneron as CEO of Cartier, effective September 1.
Rénier will report to Bos, who was recently named CEO of Richemont.
Rénier, a French national, brings more than 20 years of jewelry and luxury watchmaking experience at Richemont. She joined the Group in 1999 as Cartier North America’s retail development director in New York. In 2003 she moved to Paris to join Van Cleef & Arpels as deputy marketing manager, where she contributed to the development of the brand, Richmont said in a statement. In 2008, she relocated to Hong Kong to support Van Cleef & Arpels’s growth in the Asia Pacific Region. She first served as commercial director, then as managing director for Hong Kong and Macau SAR, China in 2011, and finally as president for Asia Pacific, a position that she held for eight years. Rénier was appointed as CEO of Jaeger-LeCoultre in 2018.
“I am delighted that 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,” Bos said in the company’s statement. “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, Jaeger-LeCoultre CFO, will assume the role of administrative interim CEO for the luxury watch brand until a new CEO is named.
Richemont is one of the largest luxury goods holding companies in the world operating in jewelry, watches, fashion, luxury accessories and online categories. In addition to Cartier, Van Cleef & Arpels, Jaeger-LeCoultre and Vacheron Constantin, the 28 brands and businesses it owns or operates include Buccellati, Baume & Mercier, IWC Schaffhausen, Panerai, Piaget, Roger Dubuis, AZ Factory, Chloé, Delvaux, dunhill, Gianvito Rossi, Montblanc and Watchfinder & Co.
In addition, Richemont operates Net-A-Porter, Mr Porter, The Outnet, YOOX and OFS.
This newest appointment, announced on the same day as the Cartier management change, is part of a long list of management and executive level staff changes that Richemont has undergone for the past year. They include the following:
- The appointment of Bram Schot, an independent non-executive director of Shell, as non-executive deputy chairman of the Richemont board, effective September 11.
- The promotion of Karlheinz Baumann to Richemont’s senior executive committee as group director of Operations, in charge of Manufacturing, Research & Innovation, Customer Service, Logistics & Supply Chain, Indirect Procurement, Responsible Sourcing and Security.
- In May 2023, Richemont, named Fiona Druckenmiller, a U.S.-based vintage jewelry dealer, former Wall Street financier and philanthropist, as a non-executive director.
