After 30 years working alongside Bernard Arnault, Sidney Toledano is handing over the reins of the division that brings together several LVMH fashion houses (Celine, Givenchy, Loewe, Kenzo, Emilio Pucci, Patou) to Pietro Beccari, but will remain as Special Advisor to the CEO. His successor will combine his new responsibilities with his position as CEO of Louis Vuitton. Damien Bertrand, Deputy CEO of Louis Vuitton, joins the Group’s Executive Committee.
Another page has been turned in terms of governance at LVMH.
A loyal supporter of Bernard Arnault, CEO of the world’s leading luxury goods company, Sidney Toledano is handing over his position at the head of the LVMH Fashion Group to Pietro Beccari. After nearly six years in this role and three decades at LVMH, he has decided, according to a statement from the group, “to step down from his operational duties.”
Special advisor
Bernard Arnault said that Sidney Toledano, 74, would remain “his special advisor,” while warmly thanking him and praising the man who has “stood by his side for more than 30 years, who has always been there, in all circumstances, with determination, talent, and loyalty.”
Sidney Toledano joined LVMH in 1993 to develop leather goods at Christian Dior Couture. In 1998, he became CEO of the House, a position he held until 2018. At that time, he was appointed head of LVMH Fashion Group. In early 2024, he had already handed over this operational role to Michael Burke. However, following his appointment five months later as CEO of LVMH America, Sidney Toledano returned to this position.
The LVMH Fashion Group division includes a number of the group’s fashion houses (Celine, Givenchy, Loewe, Kenzo, Emilio Pucci, and Patou).
A dual role for Pietro Beccari
For his part, Pietro Beccari will combine his new role with that of CEO of Louis Vuitton, a position he has held since early 2023. This makes the 58-year-old Italian executive a key decision-maker in the group’s fashion division, even though he will not oversee the group’s other fashion houses, such as Christian Dior, Berluti, and Loro Piana.
Pietro Beccari’s new dual role has a positive effect on the role of Damien Bertrand, Deputy CEO of Louis Vuitton. Bernard Arnault announced that Bertrand, “whose contribution has been significant in recent months,” “is now joining the Group’s Executive Committee.” Petro Beccari, “at the head of Louis Vuitton,” will be able to “rely even more on Damien Bertrand,” emphasized the CEO of LVMH.
These two appointments will take effect on January 1, 2026, after a transition period between Sidney Toledano and Pietro Beccari.
Pietro Beccaro has been with LVMH for 19 years
A graduate of the University of Parma (Italy), Pietro Beccari began his career in marketing at Benckiser in Italy, then internationally at Parmalat in the United States and Henkel in Germany, where he held the position of Corporate Vice President of Hair Care Products.
In 2006, he joined LVMH, initially as Marketing and Communications Director for Louis Vuitton, before being appointed CEO of Fendi in 2012 and then Christian Dior Couture in 2018. At the same time, he became a member of the LVMH Executive Committee. Since February 2023, he had been at the helm of Louis Vuitton.
A graduate of HEC, after spending nearly 20 years at L’Oréal, Damien Bertrand, 52, joined the LVMH group in 2016, first as Director of the women’s, then men’s and baby divisions at Christian Dio Couture. In 2021, he was appointed CEO of Loro Piana and last June, Deputy CEO of Louis Vuitton.
Palace revolution continues
These latest appointments seem to illustrate once again what is perceived by a number of observers as a palace revolution, fomented by the new Arnault generation, namely the CEO’s five children, all of whom now hold positions within the group.
This revolution reached a high point with the sudden departure at the end of 2024 of Chantal Gaemperle, who had been the group’s HR director for 17 years and was until then considered a loyal supporter of Bernard Arnault. Before her, in a more subtle move, Antonio Belloni, 69, until then the luxury group’s number two and Chairman of the Executive Committee, was replaced in April 2024 by Stéphane Bianchi, a former Yves Rocher executive who is a decade younger. And at the end of October, Chris de Lapuente, CEO of the “selective distribution” division (Sephora, Le Bon Marché, La Samaritaine, DFS) and also a member of the executive committee, retired.
Speculation about Bernard Arnault’s succession
At the time, the group emphasized in a press release that “preparing for succession in key positions” was ‘part’ of its “priorities.”
However, patriarch Bernard Arnault is not relinquishing operational control of his group. The CEO, who turned 75 in 2024, had pushed back the age limit for exercising his functions, which was precisely that age, at the 2022 General Meeting… But the way in which his potential heirs have been distributed at the new temporary headquarters at 21, rue Jean Goujon, which is hosting the group’s top management during the renovation of its headquarters at 22, avenue Montaigne, has reignited speculation about his succession…
Read also > LVMH: what lies behind the move of the headquarters from 22, avenue Montaigne
Featured photo: © LVMH
