World’s Richest Man Arnault Appoints Daughter to Head His Company

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Bernard Arnault has appointed his daughter, Delphine Arnault to head his fashion house, Dior.

Arnault is the world’s richest billionaire and Chief Executive Officer of LVMH.

Arnault promoted his 47-year-old daughter to the new role as part of a reshuffle at LVMH, Europe’s most valuable company, according to BBC on Thursday.

The company owns a portfolio of high-end brands including Fendi and Louis Vuitton and is worth about £336bn.

The outgoing head of Dior, Pietro Beccari, will move to replace long-time Louis Vuitton chief executive Michael Burke.

Both Arnault and Beccari “are well respected”, so these are “logical promotions within the group,” said Credit Suisse analyst Natasha Brilliant.

BBC said all five of Arnault’s children hold management positions at brands in the group.

The changes, which come into effect in February, follow the recent appointment of Antoine Arnault, the eldest son, to head the family’s holding company.

Also, the 30-year-old Alexandre Arnault is in charge of products and communication at Tiffany, while Frederic Arnault, 28, is the chief executive of another group brand, Tag Heuer.

The youngest child, Jean Arnault, 24, overseas marketing and product development for Louis Vuitton’s watches division.

Arnault’s companies sell goods including luxury suitcases by Louis Vuitton and Moet and Chandon champagne.

“Succession planning in strategic roles has been instrumental to the success of LVMH’s key brands over the past 20 years, hence today’s moves are significant,” said Thomas Chauvet, an analyst at Citi.

Christian Dior is the brand of LVMH that sells only shoes and clothing that can only be bought in Dior stores.

Christian Dior’s catwalk presentations in Paris are attended by global celebrities including K-pop star Jisoo and singer Rihanna, drawing enthusiastic crowds of fans.

Arnault overtook Elon Musk in December 2022 to become the world’s richest man.