Delphine, Antoine, Alexandre… What is the place for Bernard Arnault’s children in the LVMH empire?

Luxury giant LVMH announced on January 25 that it is nominating the two sons of CEO Bernard Arnault, Alexandre, 31, and Frédéric, 29, to its board of directors. Who are Bernard Arnault’s Children?

Who will rule the kingdom one day? At nearly 75 (he will be on March 5), Bernard Arnault is apparently thinking about his succession and continues to move the pawns forward. Even if it’s not time yet. During the annual results presentation on January 25, he clarified: “I have no plans to leave in the short or medium term, I’m still here for a while”.

According to LVMH’s rules, he still has 5 years to spend on the throne of the luxury giant. But to prepare for the future, according to the second richest person on earth Forbes (185 billion dollars) continues to place its children in key positions in the group.

Bernard Arnault has five children and may not all be able to lead the group when the time comes. Antoine and Delphine, the two eldest children from the billionaire’s first marriage, are already in management positions. Antoine Arnault was appointed head of LVMH’s controlling holding company Christian Dior SE in late 2022, and the eldest Delphine Arnault took over as president of Christian Dior Couture in early 2023.

The luxury giant has just announced that it will propose the appointment of two other sons (born from his second marriage to pianist Hélène Mercier-Arnault) to the group’s board of directors. Alexandre Arnault who is Executive Vice President From American jeweler Tiffany Bought back in 2020 after a bitter financial battle. and Frederic who heads luxury watch manufacturer TAG Heuer.

If Bernard Arnault favors family succession, who will ultimately succeed the founder of the LVMH empire?

Delphine Arnault, 48, the eldest

Born to a family in Roubaix on April 4, 1975, after his first marriage to industrialist Anne Devaverin, Delphine Arnault joined LVMH in 2000. An ad hoc and graduate of the London School of Economics, she initially gained experience at consulting firm McKinsey.

“I was learning strategy,” she told the Financial Times in 2014. “During a presentation in the United States, they started with the conclusion and explained how they got there, and I found that very interesting. ‘It was straightforward.’

It is through the “fashion” door that Delphine Arnault enters the family group. She then worked for the brand of designer John Galliano who is also the artistic director of Dior. Appointed deputy general director of Christian Dior Couture in 2008, she was on the front lines during John Galliano’s ouster in 2011 following anti-Semitic comments made by the designer. She protects the brand from fallout and hires Raf Simons to replace him.

She joined the group’s flagship Louis Vuitton in 2013, where she was deputy general manager for a decade. In early 2023, she was promoted to the presidency of Christian Dior Couture, a house she knows well as she spent 12 years there.

“The appointment of Delphine Arnault marks the continuation of the journey of excellence in fashion and leather goods. Under her leadership, the desirability of the products has advanced significantly, allowing the brand to soar from record to record. Her acumen and her unrivaled experience continue to grow Christian Dior. Be critical assets”, commented Bernard Arnault in a press release on his appointment.

He is now considered the favorite to succeed Bernard Arnault as head of the LVMH group.

After a five-year first marriage to Italian vineyards heir Alessandro Vallarino Gancia, she has since been in a relationship with Xavier Neill, with whom she now has two children.

Antoine Arnault, 46, king of communications

The first son of Bernard Arnault, born in Roubaix in 1977 from the businessman’s first marriage, Antoine Arnault excels in communication and marketing. A graduate of INSEAD Business School, he joined LVMH in 2005 in the marketing department before being appointed communications director of Louis Vuitton two years later.

In particular, it is at the core of the “Core Values” campaign in 2012 that features political figures (Mikhail Gorbachev), artists (Francis Ford Coppola, Sean Connery, Keith Richards) and athletes (Muhammad Ali, Zinedine Zidane).

Internally known for its social commitments, whether with the charter for the well-being of models in 2017, during the mission on gender equality with the government in 2018 or as part of the unusual collaboration with Secours Popular in 2019, Antoine Arnault has been the director of the group since 2006. And after running shoe manufacturer Berluti between 2011 and 2022, he took over as general manager and vice-president of the board of Christian Dior SE, none other than the family holding company that controls more. than 40% of LVMH.

An accredited poker player, he has been married to Russian model Natalia Vodianova since 2011, whom he married in 2020.

Alexandre Arnault, 31 years old, friend of the stars

Born in 1992, Alexandre is the first son of Bernard Arnault’s second marriage. After studying at the prestigious Parisian high schools of Saint-Louis-de-Gonzague and Louis-le-Grand, he joined Telecom Paris, but failed the polytechnic entrance exam. Undeterred, however, he pursued a master’s degree there in 2015 after receiving a diploma in telecom.

Subsequently, Alexandre Arnault joined the family business by co-managing Rimova, which has just joined the LVMH group. He is also said to have played a crucial role in his father’s decision to acquire the German luxury luggage brand in 2016.

Between 2019 and 2021, he cut his teeth replacing his father on the board of directors of distributor Carrefour, which he left for the prestigious jewelery house Tiffany. He has been the Executive Director of Products and Communications for three years.

If his record at the American jeweler is mixed, Bernard Arnault will announce his appointment to the LVMH board of directors next April. Indeed, the company’s turnover growth is lower than expected given the huge marketing spend.

On the personal side, Alexandre is also known as a friend of the stars. Thus we find photos on her Instagram account with Pharrell Williams, Beyonce and Jay-Z. At her wedding in October 2021, the guest list included many celebrities.

Frédéric Arnault, 29 years old, a young genius

Frederic Arnault will also be offered a position on the family group’s board of directors. Often presented as the family genius, he was admitted to the École Normale Supérieure, but chose to join the Polytechnic to better follow in his father’s footsteps.

At the end of his studies, Frédéric Arnault joined an entity of the LVMH group, after gaining experience during his time at consulting firm McKinsey and Facebook’s Artificial Intelligence Research Center. In 2017, he joined Tag Heuer to take charge of the smartwatch business, and in 2020, he was named CEO of the company.

At the age of 29, in early January, he was appointed CEO of the new watch division of LVMH, the world leader in luxury. In this expanded role, he will lead not only TAG Heuer, but also Hublot and Zenith. Its passage may be faster than expected.

Frédéric Arnault is also known as an excellent pianist and an excellent tennis player.

Jean Arnault, 26, the youngest

Born in 1998, he is the youngest of the Arnault dynasty. His educational background is also remarkable. Jean Arnault holds a master’s degree in financial mathematics from the prestigious MIT in Cambridge near Boston (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) and a master’s degree in mechanical engineering from Imperial College London. Just bright.

A watch enthusiast, he arrived at Louis Vuitton in 2021 as director of marketing and development for Louis Vuitton watches. He evolved sensibly a year ago, becoming the director of the watch division of the same brand. The letter describes him as “prudent, but committed to his work, (…) admired by the barons and executives with whom he works”.