Editor’s Note
This article details a significant leadership transition at the world’s largest luxury group. With the departure of longtime deputy Antonio Belloni, Stéphane Bianchi has been promoted to a central role, assuming broad strategic, operational, and supervisory responsibilities across the conglomerate.
Stéphane Bianchi has ascended to the second-highest position within the world’s leading luxury group. Following the departure of Antonio Belloni, Bernard Arnault’s steadfast right-hand man for twenty-three years, the former head of the French giant’s watchmaking and jewelry division has taken on a multitude of roles: President of the Group’s Executive Committee, strategic and operational supervision of the fashion houses, and oversight of the regional presidents as well as the group’s digital and data transformation.
Stéphane Bianchi was Deputy CEO of Yves Rocher from 1998 to 2013, stepping down from the helm of the cosmetics group after guiding the family heir, Bris Rocher, to the top. A member of the Maus Frères board since 2016, he made his mark at the global luxury leader by first heading TAG Heuer from 2018, before overseeing all watch and jewelry brands from 2020.
In the press release announcing this managerial shift, Mr. Bianchi emphasized:
This is an allusion to the mentoring role he played with Frédéric Arnault. The latter joined TAG Heuer in 2017 and took over its leadership in 2020. Since January 2024, Bernard Arnault’s third son had been CEO of the watch division alongside Mr. Bianchi. He is now solely in charge of this unit, which includes TAG Heuer, Zenith, and Hublot, and generates an estimated 1.4 billion in revenue according to Morgan Stanley/Luxe Consult.