The Number One in luxury goods is carrying out a major reshuffle of its watchmaking companies. The CEO of Hublot, Ricardo Guadalupe, is replaced by Julien Tornare, previously CEO of TAG Heuer. Antoine Pin, previously Managing Director of Bvlgari Horlogerie, takes his place.
Game of transfers in the Lvmh Watchmaking team.
On July 17, Frédéric Arnault, Chairman and CEO of the world leader in luxury goods’ Watches Division, announced major appointments at the helm of its Hublot and Tag Heuer watchmaking houses, effective September 1, 2024.
And to achieve this, he takes no risks: he has chosen only experts in the sector, who have passed through (among others) his own Maisons.
Ricardo Guadalupe appointed Honorary Chairman of Hublot
A major announcement is the replacement of Ricardo Guadalupe as CEO of Hublot by Julien Tornare, previously CEO of TAG Heuer.
Appointed Honorary Chairman of Hublot, Ricardo Guadalupe has “decided to retire from the operational management of this House”. The challenge for his successor is considerable: Ricardo Guadalupe “orchestrated the exceptional growth” of Hublot “over two decades”, recalls Lvmh.
Julien Tornare: 26 years in watchmaking
But Julien Tornare is no newcomer either. This IMD and London Metropolitan University graduate, who has been CEO of TAG Heuer since January 2024, also has a fine track record in the luxury timepiece sector, with 26 years’ experience in the field.
His vacant position at the helm of TAG Heuer will be filled by Antoine Pin, who has been Managing Director of Bvlgari Horlogeriesince September 2019.
Hublot is one of the few watch manufacturers to have emerged and enjoyed such success in the 21st century, breaking the codes of design and communication and exploring uncharted territory in watchmaking,” commented Frédéric Arnault, in passing ‘sincerely thanking Ricardo and the teams for the fantastic work of building the brand over the last 20 years’.
“During 8 years as Managing Director and then 12 years as Chairman and CEO, Ricardo truly embodied the Hublot brand and its development, notably through his product vision, his in-depth knowledge of the business and the links he forged with all commercial and industrial partners. I am confident that Ricardo will continue to uphold the values that have made Hublot such a success.
New Chapter
Frédéric Arnault is also delighted “by the arrival of Julien (Tornare) at the head of Hublot, which marks the beginning of a new chapter in the company’s future and the consolidation of its unique position among the benchmark watch brands”.
Finally, he says he is “delighted to welcome” Antoine Pin “to the Watches Division, as head of TAG Heuer”. t he is counting on “his extensive international experience, his recognized expertise and passion for watchmaking” “to continue the growth and elevation” of the latter company.
Behind Hublot’s success
Ricardo Guadalupe has spent his entire career in the watchmaking industry, but only joined Lvmh in 2008, when the group acquired Hublot. He was appointed CEO in 2012.
After graduating from a Swiss business school and spending some time at the University of Los Angeles (UCLA), he joined Blancpain in 1994, alongside Jean-Claude Biver, which had been acquired two years earlier by the Swatch group. l became sales and marketing director, before going independent in 1997 as a consultant to independent watchmaking companies. n 2004, he was reunited with Jean-Claude Biver, newly appointed CEO of Hublot. In 2005, he contributed to the immediate success of the Big Bang, which led to “spectacular growth for Hublot”.
Career at Richemont and Lvmh
For his part, Julien Tornare spent two years at Raymond Weil before joining Vacheron Constantin (Richemont Group), where he stayed for 17 years. Initially Director for the Swiss market, then President of the brand in the United States, he was appointed International Sales Director based at headquarters, then Asia-Pacific Director. In 2017, he joined the Lvmh group as CEO of Zenith, before taking the helm, for a brief period at the beginning of the year, of another of the group’s watchmaking Houses, TAG Heuer.
Starting out…with TAG Heuer
He has been replaced by Antoine Pin, a graduate of IMD and London Metropolitan University. He began his career in 1994…with TAG Heuer as Junior Sales Manager, then Product Manager for DFS and the Middle East. In 2002, he joined LVMH as International Marketing Director for Zenith. He then held several management positions at LVMH Watches & Jewelry UK, TAG Heuer Japan and Korea, then Bvlgari China and Australia, before being promoted to Executive Vice-President of Berluti. But Watchmaking called him back… and he rejoined Bvlgari Horlogerie in 2019 as Managing Director of the Watch Division.
New momentum?
With its new configuration of managers, Lvmh intends to give new impetus to its watch and jewelry division. In 2023, this division, which also includes other watch brands such as Zenith or watch and jewelry brands such as Chaumet, Fred, Repossi or Tiffany & Co, saw its sales decline by 5% to 2.5 billion euros in the first quarter of 2024.
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Read also > LVMH: FRÉDÉRIC ARNAULT APPOINTED HEAD OF WATCH DIVISION
Featured Photo: © LVMH
