The 29-year-old son of the second-richest man in the world is now head of watches at LVMH. Here’s what to know about Frédéric Arnault.
ADVERTISEMENTFrench luxury conglomerate LVMH named a new head of watches at the start of the year – Frédéric Arnault, the 29-year-old son of billionaire founder Bernard Arnault.
The second youngest of Arnault’s five children – who all hold management positions at LVMH – Frédéric first joined the group six years ago as the Head of Connected Technologies at Swiss watchmaker TAG Heuer. He became CEO of the brand in 2020.
Under his leadership, TAG Heuer moved in a more modern direction, embracing new technology with its Connected Watch while staying true to tradition with its vintage-inspired 'Glassbox' Carrera collection.
Frédéric helped revive the brand’s cultural relevance with high-profile celebrity collaborations – featuring stars like Jacob Elordi, Ryan Gosling, Patrick Dempsey and Chinese singer Cai Xukun.
He also gave the brand a playful touch, releasing a Super Mario special edition smartwatch in 2022.
In a 2021 interview with the New York Times, he described TAG Heuer as “the watch for people who will reach success. Not people who have reached success. People always looking for the next achievement.”
The risks he took as CEO seem to have paid off. According to Morgan Stanley estimates, Tag Heuer sales were CHF 729 million (€784 million) in 2022, up from CHF 682 million (€733 million) in 2021.
“His unique and disruptive vision for the watchmaking industry led to a spectacular transformation for TAG Heuer, which recovered its credentials in record time as the luxury watch brand driven by high performance,” CEO of LVMH Watches & Jewelry Division Stéphane Bianchi said in a statement announcing Frédéric’s appointment.
In his new role as CEO of LVMH Watches, which was newly created just for him, Frédéric will oversee the three main pillars of the group’s watch business – Hublot, TAG Heuer and Zenith.
Bernard Arnault’s luxury empire LVMH runs 75 fashion, luxury and beauty brands including Louis Vuitton, Dior, Dom Perignon and Sephora.
Forbes values Arnault and his family at $187.2 billion (€171 billion), an astronomical sum that represents the second largest fortune in the world.
The 74-year-old’s eldest daughter, Delphine, 48, is CEO of Christian Dior. Antoine, 46, is LVMH’s head of communications. Alexandre, 31, is executive vice president of US jewellery brand Tiffany & Co., which LVMH acquired in 2019. And Arnault’s youngest son, Jean, 25, is director of watches at Louis Vuitton.
