Editor’s Note
This article details Tiffany & Co.’s strategic move to bolster its leadership by appointing David Ponzo as Deputy CEO. The appointment underscores the brand’s focus on enhancing its global commercial operations in a complex retail landscape.
Paris, January 19, 2026 – Tiffany & Co. continues to strengthen its executive team with the appointment of David Ponzo to the newly defined role of Deputy Chief Executive Officer.
In an industry where growth now hinges as much on retail execution as on the ability to manage a fragmented global clientele, this expanded role resembles less a symbolic promotion and more a governance instrument: a function designed to align regions, in-store experience, digital, and product strategy under a single commercial backbone.
Ponzo notably takes over part of the responsibilities of former Chief Commercial Officer Gavin Haig, who retired in 2025. However, the announced scope goes beyond a simple portfolio transfer: it encompasses Tiffany’s entire retail and corporate commercial organization, with oversight of regions and key functions—client relations, retail excellence, store & brand experience, digital and omnichannel, global servicing.
Added to this is a strategic lever rarely integrated at this level: oversight of the jewelry and high jewelry divisions, as well as a newly created strategic business development function.
The choice of David Ponzo aligns with this framework. He joins from Louis Vuitton, where he served as Chief Commercial Officer for five years, with a scope including the watches & jewelry division. His tenure is presented as having contributed to the brand’s elevation through a refocusing on local clientele and high-end categories—two axes that now structure growth strategies in luxury: reducing dependence on tourist flows and increasing value density per client.
Prior to that, Ponzo led Louis Vuitton Japan, a market that is simultaneously mature, demanding, and highly competitive, where performance is won through retail discipline, experience execution, and a nuanced understanding of the client. He also held leadership roles at Swatch Group and Omega in Asia, adding a watchmaking and regional dimension that, within LVMH, becomes a marker of versatility.
The phrasing is expected, but it reflects a deeper reality: Maisons are now seeking leaders capable of transforming experience into measurable performance without damaging desirability. Ponzo will report to Ledru and join the global executive committee. This point is central: Tiffany is not creating a peripheral position, but a function at the heart of regional arbitrations, retail investment, and client strategy.
The appointment is accompanied by a revealing internal reorganization. Thierry Vasseur is promoted to Executive Vice President in charge of jewelry, high jewelry, home, and accessories—and will report to Ponzo. The architecture is explicit: Tiffany aligns product under a strengthened commercial governance, confirming increased integration between product strategy, merchandising, and retail execution.
In a market where jewelry remains one of the most resilient segments of luxury, the ability to manage the mix (core jewelry vs. high jewelry), creative differentiation, and retail productivity becomes a leadership competency, not just a departmental matter.
Ponzo’s departure triggers a mirror movement at Louis Vuitton. Hugues Bonnet-Masimbert, current CEO of Rimowa, is appointed Chief Commercial Officer and will assume his role on March 1. His scope, as described, is particularly broad: geographic regions, international retail, digital, client development, client relations & experience, architecture & hospitality, as well as supply chain and logistics.
