Editor’s Note
This article outlines a key leadership appointment at Chanel, with Olivier Kessler-Gay taking on dual roles overseeing the US market and the jewelry division.
French luxury company Chanel has appointed Olivier Kessler-Gay as its US Market Representative and Senior Jewelry General Manager, effective March 3. He will report to the company’s President, Stéphane Blanchard. He replaces Emilie de Tramasure, who was appointed as General Manager of Fragrance and Beauty last September. Prior to joining Chanel, Olivier Kessler-Gay had over 25 years of experience in the luxury jewelry, luxury goods, and fashion retail sectors.
Earlier, Kessler-Gay also worked at the French high-end jewelry brand Cartier, holding various positions in sales, marketing, and product promotion over nearly 20 years. Before becoming the General Manager of Western Europe and the Iberian Peninsula, he participated in market expansion in the Middle East, Africa, Russia, and Eastern Europe, helping to transform the region into Cartier’s best-performing segmented market.
In his new role, Olivier Kessler-Gay will lead the department in formulating long-term strategic visions and help expand the department’s watch and high-end jewelry business in the United States.
Recently, the Italian luxury brand Gucci, under the Kering Group, has appointed Christophe Marque as the new President and Chief Executive Officer of the Gucci Americas region, reporting to Gucci’s Chief Commercial Officer, Cayetano Fabry. This appointment will take effect on April 1. Christophe Marque succeeds Federico Turconi, who left Gucci last October to become the Chief Executive Officer of the Italian hotel management group SA Hospitality Group.
Christophe Marque has 25 years of work experience in brand, sales, and retail management. Most recently, Marque worked at the travel retail company DFS under the LVMH Group, serving as Deputy CEO of Marketing and Global Marketing President.
The American Estée Lauder Group announced that International Business President Peter Jueptner will step down from his role on April 1 and leave the company on June 30.
Peter Jueptner joined Estée Lauder in 2009, serving as Senior Vice President of Strategy, New Business Development, and Transformation Planning. In this role, he created a series of structures, frameworks, and strategic principles that guided the company through a period of exceptional growth. He also helped shape the product portfolio through strategic acquisitions, leading numerous brand acquisitions including Le Labo, KILIAN PARIS, Dr.Jart+, and Editions de Parfums Frédéric Malle.
In 2016, Peter Jueptner was promoted to President of Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, and was transferred to Paris to lead the company in the most complex multi-market region culturally and economically. During his tenure, Peter Jueptner was a transformational leader who encouraged joint ventures to adopt a full brand portfolio, winning the favor of a broad consumer base. This enabled the company to achieve multiple growth spurts in many markets and channels, and gain a leading share of prestige beauty products. He also excelled in leading the region’s work during the most severe period of the new crown epidemic.
In 2022, Peter Jueptner was promoted to President of International Business, extending the commercial principles he adopted during the transformation of Europe, the Middle East, and Africa to a global scale, and initiating a key transformation of the group’s global commercial organization.
On January 29, the French luxury brand Maison Margiela and its owner, the Italian OTB Group, announced that Belgian designer Glenn Martens has been appointed as the brand’s new Creative Director, effective immediately. Last December, Maison Margiela announced the departure of Creative Director John Galliano, who had held the position for ten years.
OTB Group CEO and Diesel founder Renzo Rosso expressed this sentiment. Like Martin and John, Glenn Martens also graduated from the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp, Belgium, and Martens, like Martin Margiela, trained in craftsmanship in Paris and once worked for French fashion design master Jean Paul Gaultier. In 2012, after leaving Gaultier, Martens founded his own eponymous brand, operating for three seasons. Subsequently, after the unfortunate passing of Y/Project brand founder Yohan Serfaty, Glenn Martens began overseeing the design work of Y/Project from 2013.
French beauty giant L’Oréal Group’s North America Consumer Products Division President Nathalie Gerschtein has departed, succeeded by Christina Fair.
Christina Fair’s most recent position was President of the North America Dermatological Beauty Division, managing brands such as SkinCeuticals, SkinBetter Science, La Roche-Posay, and CeraVe. Christina Fair joined L’Oréal’s Consumer Products Division’s Garnier brand in 2008 and has held her current position since the end of 2020. Under her leadership, the North America Dermatological Beauty Division achieved fourfold growth over five years, becoming the group’s third-largest division in the US, with market share significantly increasing. Nathalie Gerschtein had been with the L’Oréal Group for 23 years, serving as President of L’Oréal USA Consumer Products from 2019, and then assuming her current role from 2022.