What do Amancio Ortega and Bernard Arnault have in common?
The first are two of the richest men in the world. Amancio ranks 23rd on this list with an estimated fortune of $56 billion and Bernard tops the list with $191 billion. Secondly, they are giants in their fields of activity, textiles and luxury products. Finally, they bet on their daughters to fall behind in leadership of the business.
In April 2022, Marta Ortega takes over the presidency of Inditex, the holding company that owns brands such as Zara, Massimo Dutti and Oysho. Now it’s Bernard Arnault’s turn to announce that his daughter, Delphine, will step up to CEO of Dior.
Bernard has five children, all of whom work for the company, but Delphine, 47, will be the only one to sit on the 14-member executive committee of LMVH, a holding company whose portfolio includes brands such as Tiffany & Co. Christian Dior, Fendi, Givenchy, Marc Jacobs, Loewe, Sephora, Tag Heuer or Bulgari.
Spanish Marta and French Delphine do not share the fact that they were born in golden suspenders. Both are conservative and focused on the business they inherited.
Bernard Arnault, for The Guardian, mentioned his daughter’s qualities to succeed him. He said he has a “sharp grasp” and “unmatched experience” that will allow for the continued development of the brand.
For now, says an analyst for financial times, “Investors do not have a good impression of it.” But people who know Delphine Arnaud, heard by the English newspapers, warn of the danger of underestimating her.
They argue that he has a knack for working with designers, a sense of what products will work and how to market them, which is important for a company that makes most of its profits from leather goods, and he is the eye of a successful bag.
A graduate of Edhec Business School in France and the London School of Economics, Delphine Arnault began her career as a consultant at McKinsey and learned luxury business secrets from two of LVMH’s top executives, Sidney Toledano and Michael Burke. He uses tricks he copied from his father, such as making surprise shop visits.
“There’s a special bond, she’s his only child and eldest, she has a strong personality and she can be direct with him,” Toledano told the Financial Times.
Born April 4, 1975 in Neuilly-sur-Seine, a town west of Paris, she is married to Xavier Niel, a French multi-millionaire connected to the telecommunications industry, co-owner of Le Monde newspaper and owner of a portfolio of assets that includes the rights to Frank Sinatra’s song My Way. Two children were born from the marriage.
Those who deal with a dolphin rave about her calm management style and her ability to build consensus rather than force decisions.
In February, when he takes over as CEO of Dior, he will be challenged to hone these qualities to keep the family business on track and increase revenue. Which will not be an easy task, given that the bar will be high. Suffice it to say that in the first nine months of 2022, LVMH earned €56.5 billion.
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