Dior Founder Appoints Daughter as CEO

Billionaire Bernard Arnault, owner of luxury group LVMH, has announced the appointment of his daughter, Delphine, as president of Christian Dior.

Delphine, 47, will hold the position of President and CEO of the French brand, starting next February, after bringing about a major change in the group behind luxury international brands, including Louis Vuitton, Fendi, Givenchy, and Tiffany & Co.

Arnault, whose father became the world's richest man last month, will move from Louis Vuitton, where she has held the position of executive vice president since 2013.

She previously spent more than a decade at Dior and was closely associated with the LVMH Award for Young Fashion Designers.

The group's share price rose after news of a reshuffling of positions in the empire.

Recent years have also seen Dior appoint ambassadors and assistants from celebrities, from Travis Scott to tennis star Emma Raducano and K-pop star Jisoo.

Bernard Arnault has been widely credited with turning around Dior's fortunes over the years since he first became involved with the brand in 1984.

His net worth is $198.4 billion, meaning Elon Musk was overtaken as of 2022. 

In a press release, Bernard Arnault described his daughter's career in the company as "defined by excellence".

“Thanks to her leadership, the appetite for Louis Vuitton products has increased dramatically, which has enabled the brand to regularly achieve new sales records,” he was quoted as saying.

"Her deep insight and unparalleled experience will be crucial assets in driving Christian Dior's continued development," he continued.

Delphine joins a brand looking to resume the sustainable growth that Dior marked before COVID-19.

The move also comes as Dior, like other luxury fashion brands in the industry, heads into a season packed with major shows and new collections.

During the next two months, the brand is scheduled to present the new menswear collection, the haute couture collection, as well as the ready-to-wear collection for women, during the upcoming editions of Paris Fashion Week.

Wednesday's announcement comes after the LVMH group recently experienced a flurry of changes. Arnault's second son, Antoine, will replace CEO Sidney Toledano as CEO of the holding company, through which the family owns its controlling stake in the group.

It was also announced on Wednesday that the outgoing president of "Dior", Pietro Bicari, will take over the presidency of "Louis Vuitton", with Michael Burke, its current CEO, occupying an undisclosed position in the Arnault luxury empire.