Billionaire Bernard Arnault Appoints His Daughter To Run Dior

(CTN News) – It has been announced that Bernard Arnault, the richest person in the world, has appointed his daughter Delphine to run Christian Dior, the second-largest brand within the LVMH luxury goods empire, as its new CEO.

There are many businesses within the group that Bernard Arnault is responsible for overseeing, including Louis Vuitton, Tiffany, Givenchy and Moet Hennessy, among many others. Arnault, 73, is the group’s chief executive, chair and majority shareholder.

According to reports, he announced on Wednesday that his eldest daughter would become chief executive and chair of Dior as part of a shake-up of the €382 billion (£337 billion) conglomerate that he founded.

Taking up the newly created position on 1 February is Delphine Bernard Arnault, who is currently the executive vice-president of Louis Vuitton and in charge of all product-related activities of the brand.

She is 47 years old and has worked in the family business since 2000 after spending two years at the management consultancy firm McKinsey.

She also studied at the London School of Economics. LVMH invited her to join the board in 2003, which was the first time a woman served on the board and the youngest person to do so.

In the words of her father, “Under Delphine’s leadership, the desirability of Louis Vuitton products advanced significantly, resulting in the brand continually setting new sales records and becoming the most desirable brand in the world.”

In addition to her keen insights and incomparable experience, she will also be a decisive asset in driving the ongoing development of Christian Dior.”

As part of the appointment, Bernard Arnault will be returning to the brand she first worked for in 2001.

There, she started working on shoes before progressing to become deputy general manager and collaborating directly with Galliano as Dior’s then creative director.

The fashion designer has been credited with reducing the fallout following Galliano’s racist and antisemitic rants at people in a Paris bar in 2011.

This led to him being sacked and convicted for racism and antisemitism.

As a child, Bernard Arnault says she wasn’t heavily exposed to the family’s brands or extreme wealth, but she does recall getting a Louis Vuitton Noé bag on her 18th birthday, and attending her first lavish party as soon as she turned 21 (now retailing at £1,160).

“I remember very well the 100th anniversary ceremony that took place in 1996. In 2014, Naomi Campbell told the Financial Times in an interview that at a party she attended, there was a giraffe arriving on stage at the top of the room,” she said at the time.

How did Bernard Arnault become successful?

Arnault graduated from the École Polytechnique in Paris with a degree in engineering. In 1971 he took control of his father’s construction firm Ferret-Savinel. Eight years later he changed the company’s name to Férinel Inc. and shifted its focus to real estate.

SEE ALSO:

Thai AirAsia Ranks 3rd in the World for on-Time Low-Cost Flights And Most Punctual in Asia-Pacific