World’s richest man appoints daughter as the new boss of Dior
SHE is the new boss of Christian Dior. But Delphine Arnault is hardly a stranger at the French luxury fashion house she will now run.
For the 47-year-old, whose promotion was announced yesterday, just happens to be the daughter of the owner.
Bernard Arnault is the world’s richest man, with a €183billion fortune. He is the co-founder and chairman of the LVMH conglomerate that owns Louis Vuitton, Moet and Hennessy as well as Dior.
Mr Arnault has appointed Delphine, oldest of his five children, as his heiress apparent as he tightens the family’s grip on the €390billion luxury goods empire. However, the man nicknamed ‘the wolf in cashmere’ for his ruthless approach has signalled he has no intention of standing down soon – the group recently raised its age limit for chief executives from 75 to 80.
All his children have major roles at the firm’s brands.
Mother-of-two Ms Arnault, who begins her new role on February 1, has been executive vice-president of Louis Vuitton since 2013 and was previously Dior’s managing director. She grew up mostly in Lille, but spent three years in the US and has a degree from the London School of Economics.
Her career began in the late 1990s at consultancy firm McKinsey and she moved to Dior in 2000.
Announcing Ms Arnault’s promotion yesterday, her father, who founded what is now LVMH in 1987 and overtook Elon Musk last year to become the world’s richest man, said: ‘Her keen insights and incomparable experience will be decisive assets in driving the ongoing development of Christian Dior.’