Breaking: TAG Heuer CEO Babin Moves to Bulgari

According to an LVMH release and as part of a management reshuffle, Jean-Christophe Babin, CEO of LVMH watch brand TAG Heuer will move over to jewellery brand Bulgari. The move was triggered when Louis Vuitton chief Jordi Constants quit in December over health problems and Michael Burke left his Bulgari post to head Maison de Vuitton.

LVMH announces the appointment of Jean-Christophe Babin as Chief Executive Officer (Amministratore Delegato) of Bulgari which belongs to the Watch and Jewelry Division of LVMH headed by Francesco Trapani. – LVMH Group Internal Annoucement

According to TAG Heuer press office, the Italian Frenchman will officially assume the role at Bulgari before June 30 and no successor has been named for role he leaves vacant.

Babin took over as TAG Heuer CEO in 2000 after a career in mass consumer goods at Procter & Gamble and a lengthy tenure at Boston Consulting Group. His foray into the luxury industry was spearheaded by his wife and marketing director of Moet Hennessy (The MH of LVMH).

Under his leadership, TAG Heuer has expanded its in-house watchmaking production, a tactical decision made on the basis that TAG Heuer was the biggest client of Swatch owned ETA. As a result. TAG Heuer now makes at least a third of its cases while movements are manufactured completely in house. Its latest acquisition under Babin was that of a dial maker in Switzerland.

His sudden move to Bulgari comes in the middle of a trip to New Delhi on 8 Feb just as news of the Chinese ban of TV and radio advertisements for luxury goods was announced. We’ll be watching the developments with great interest.

 

Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

return-to-top__image
Back to Top