Meet Frédéric Arnault, the Tag Heuer CEO vying to run LVMH: Bernard Arnault’s third son bagged Ryan Gosling as brand ambassador, plays tennis with Roger Federer and launched an NFT-friendly watch

Jul 23 , 2022

Europe’s wealthiest man, Bernard Arnault, with his fourth child, Frédéric Arnault, back in 2018. Photo: Reuters

Europe’s richest man, Bernard Arnault, has yet to reveal his LVMH succession plan, but his fourth child Frédéric has more than proved himself as CEO of Tag Heuer

The 27 year old once interned at Facebook, speaks four languages, and plays tennis with Roger Federer and Félix Auger-Aliassime – he even plays piano like his mum

The Arnaults are the world’s first family when it comes to luxury goods. Headed by Bernard Arnault – aka Europe’s wealthiest man – the family have created an impressive empire out of the merger that is LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton.

Tech savvy Tag Heuer CEO Frédéric Arnault has shaken up the brand since taking over. Photo: @frederic.arnault/Instagram

As time passes, whispers about who will replace Bernard have grown louder, made worse by the fact that the family refuse to address the topic in public. One of those in the running, Bernard’s third son Frédéric, has been making a name for himself thanks to his ongoing success as chief executive at Tag Heuer.

So who is this 27-year-old business whizz, and what more is there to know about him?

He studied computer science and interned at Facebook

Frédéric Arnault at the launch of his Tag Heuer Connected watch in New York, in March. Photo: @frederic.arnault/Instagram

Frédéric graduated from École Polytechnique, one of France’s most prestigious universities, with a degree in applied mathematics and computer science. Per his LinkedIn profile, he also interned at Facebook and with McKinsey & Company before joining Tag Heuer. He speaks English and French fluently and is also able to converse in Italian and German.

He is already being groomed to take over from his dad

Current Tag Heuer CEO Frédéric Arnault was trained by the brand’s former chief executive officer Stéphane Bianchi. Photo: Tag Heuer

Like all of Arnault’s children, Frédéric has always been groomed to eventually take over the French brand.

He first joined the company in a temporary role as head of connected technologies in 2017. Back then, Stéphane Bianchi, former head of Tag Heuer, was tasked with preparing the younger Arnault to become CEO. According to The New York Times, Bianchi acknowledged that it was not the easiest transition. “We clashed everywhere in the beginning, but now we laugh about it,” he revealed. “You can have a big brain and not be a leader. He has both.”