Richemont Chairman: COVID- 19 Crisis Delayed Board Changes
Johann Rupert said board changes are coming, but stressed the group is remaining cautious in its operations due to the pandemic.
PARIS — The coronavirus crisis delayed changes to the board of Compagnie Financière Richemont as well as its business strategy, according to the group’s chairman Johann Rupert.
“It was quite clear that the world was changing long before COVID-19, and that business models needed to be addressed,” he told investors Wednesday in a brief question and answer session ahead of the closed door annual shareholder meeting on Sept. 9, according to a company transcript.
“The new profile of the board must reflect the opportunities and challenges that we’re facing, evolving tastes, consumption habits, digital, Chinese clientele, cyber criminalities, [diversity and inclusion] matters, training needs, change management,” Rupert said.
“So we will be changing the board and we would have started this year but for
COVID-19, we need time to also transition the committees,” he continued.
Noting that he had urged caution early on in the coronavirus crisis when it