Louis Vuitton welcomes Jean Arnault, the French luxury dynasty’s youngest heir

By

Dominique Muret

Translated by
Nicola Mira

Published
Dec 17, 2021

Bernard Arnault's fifth and youngest child, Jean, made an understated entry into the LVMH universe this summer. He holds the position of director of watches development and marketing at Louis Vuitton, as a spokesman for the luxury giant’s iconic label has told FashionNetwork.com, confirming a report by US magazine WWD.

Jean Arnault, who has recently turned 23, splits his time between Louis Vuitton's headquarters in Paris and the label's watch manufacturing site in Switzerland, and reports directly to Catherine Lacaze, global director watches and jewellery at Louis Vuitton. “Jean has joined us after two successful missions at Louis Vuitton, first at the Champs-Elysées flagship, then at the headquarters’ watches and jewellery department. In his new role in the watches team, he will be involved across the entire value chain, tasked with defining the strategy, leading product development and innovation, and launching new products in-store," said Lacaze in an internal memo.

Jean Arnault holds a master’s degree in financial mathematics from MIT in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and a master’s degree in mechanical engineering from Imperial College London. Before joining Louis Vuitton, he worked as financial analyst with investment bank Morgan Stanley and did a stint with the McLaren Formula 1 team.

His appointment comes a few months after his brother Alexandre, 29, previously the CEO of German luggage brand Rimowa, was promoted to the position of executive director of products and communications at jewellery brand Tiffany. Last year, it was the turn of Frédéric Arnault, 26, to advance his career. Frédéric, Bernard Arnault's fourth child, previously director of strategy and digital at Swiss watch brand Tag Heuer, was promoted CEO in June 2020.

Bernard Arnault's two eldest children, Delphine and Antoine, aged 46 and 44 respectively, have been active in the group for several years. Delphine is Louis Vuitton's deputy managing director, charged with overseeing the label’s entire product development activity. Antoine is Berluti’s managing director and Loro Piana’s president, as well as being head of image and environment for the luxury giant.

According to French news website La Lettre A, the five Arnault heirs are also part of “Agache, the discrete family holding company that owns LVMH via a number of intermediary companies.” In other words, Bernard Arnault, 72, is leaving nothing to chance as he continues to carefully prepare his succession.