In the inevitability of inevitabilities, Richemont Group has appointed Jérôme Lambert as group CEO, with immediate effect.

After having done away with the CEO role, in November of 2016, the top role at the Group was initially divided up among Georges Kern as Head of Watchmaking, Marketing and Digital, and Lambert as Head of Operations. The drastic shakeup was decided upon, knowing full well that the Group urgently needed to rethink the way it was operating, at the leadership level, to remain competitive in the digital era.

Upon Kern’s exit, to take up the helm at Breitling, Lambert was then appointed as COO, overseeing all Maisons, minus Cartier and Van Cleef & Arpels. At the same time, Emmanuel Perrin, then the International Sales Director of Cartier, was appointed Head of Specialist Watchmakers Distribution and added onto the Senior Executive Committee.

Now, of course, in the present chapter of development, we see the Group having reinstated the CEO role and giving it to a most capable industry veteran from within its ranks.

Lambert has already been with the Group for 22 years. His most notable appointments during this time being his tenure as CEO of Jaeger-LeCoultre and later as CEO of Montblanc. Montblanc’s rapid rise to becoming a serious contender in the realm of watchmaking can solely be attributed to the quality of Lambert’s leadership.

Richemont has rightfully identified that it needs to swiftly switch up the way it operates to take on a more forward thinking digital strategy and leapfrog current trends. In this time, Lambert’s deep understanding of the Group’s dynamics, paired with his track record for radically turning businesses around is the exactly the sort of leadership that is required.

Check out richemont.com for more on Jérôme Lambert’s appointment as group CEO.