LONDON – In a day that will go down in the fine jewelry history books, Richemont has made a rapid-fire series of top management appointments, naming Louis Ferla chief executive officer of Cartier, and Catherine Rénier CEO of Van Cleef & Arpels.
Richemont announced the two key appointments within hours of each other on Tuesday morning. Both managers are current Richemont executives and will take up their positions at the group’s on Sept. 1.
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Ferla, who is currently head of Vacheron Constantin, will take over from Cyrille Vigneron as chief executive officer of Cartier. Rénier, currently CEO of Jaeger-LeCoultre, will succeed Nicolas Bos, now Richemont’s CEO, as head of Van Cleef & Arpels.
Vigneron, 63, is retiring after eight years at the helm of Richemont’s biggest brand, and will assume the position of chairman of Cartier Culture and Philanthropy. He’ll also work with Ferla on the management transition.
Both appointments come in a year of management change for Richemont, which has a new CEO in Bos.
The shuffles are part of Richemont chairman and founder Johann Rupert‘s succession planning as a generation of top managers reaches retirement age.
Richemont has high levels of management loyalty, with many members of staff clocking decades at the Geneva-based luxury giant. Employees tend to retire between the ages of 63 and 65, although Rupert often likes to keep some of them on as advisers, or in ad hoc positions.
Ferla, who turns 49 this year, has “earned the admiration and respect of his colleagues across the group, and of the industry at large,” for his work at the high-end watch brand, Rupert said.
Bos said that Rénier built a strong leadership team and a clear and differentiated positioning for Jaeger-LeCoultre.
“She 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,” he added.
Both Ferla and Rénier have big shoes to fill.
On Tuesday, Rupert said Cartier reached “new heights” under Vigneron, who served as CEO over the past eight years, and who helped to choose Ferla 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,” Rupert added.
Barclays was broadly positive about Ferla’s appointment earlier on Tuesday.
The bank described Vigneron’s departure as “a small negative,” but not a big surprise considering the ongoing management reshuffle.
“We believe that Vigneron was highly-respected among investors thanks to his ability to reinforce Cartier over the past years,” the bank said.
Ferla, a French national, joined Richemont in 2001, starting at Dunhill as Area Sales manager in Hong Kong, and then as general manager in Taipei.
In 2006, he joined Cartier, where he held various senior executive positions, namely across the Middle East, India, and Africa before being appointed CEO in China.
In 2015, he was promoted to Cartier’s executive committee as international director Clients and Business. Ferla has been CEO of Vacheron Constantin since 2017.
Under Ferla’s tenure, the watchmaker has stepped up its cultural partnerships, signing a collaboration with the Louvre in 2019 and inking an agreement for educational programs with the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 2023.
Bos said he has “always admired Louis’ strategic vision and inspiring management style, which have served him well in turning Vacheron Constantin. I look forward to seeing Cartier continue to thrive under his leadership.”
Vigneron said he helped to choose Ferla for his “outstanding leadership skills, exceptional business acumen, and deep affinity for our maison.” He said those qualities make Ferla “the ideal candidate for the role. I look forward to working with Louis in my new role.”
Rénier, who is also a French national, joined Richemont 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, and in 2008, she relocated to Hong Kong to support the brand’s growth in the Asia Pacific Region.
She served first as Commercial director, then as managing director for Hong Kong and Macau SAR, China in 2011. Her last role in the region was as president for Asia Pacific, a position that she held for 8 years. She was named CEO of Jaeger-LeCoultre in 2018.
