Richemont exec leaves to pursue ownership role with Breitling

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Richemont executive Georges Kern, a 17-year veteran of Compagnie Financière Richemont, has resigned from his position. This announcement comes after Kern nearly rose to the top position in the Swiss luxury goods company.
Kern was head of Watchmaking, Marketing and Digital for Richemont, a newly-created position he held for less than four months. Prior to this, he held an extremely successful 15-year leadership role with IWC Schaffhausen, a Richemont-owned watch brand.

 

This move is rather surprising to industry experts, who felt that Kern had a strong chance of being tapped as Richemont’s CEO.
According to various reports, Kern is leaving Richemont for a stake in Breitling, although the brand has yet to comment on the situation.

 

“Georges has been offered an interesting opportunity to become an entrepreneur,” says Richemont chairman and founder Johann Rupert. “He has had a very successful career at IWC Schaffhausen and we wish him well.”

Now, Richemont’s watchmaking, marketing and digital activities will report to its senior executive committee.

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