Christian Dior SE, the holding company through which French billionaire Bernard Arnault and his family control luxury goods conglomerate LVMH, has named Antoine Arnault its CEO and vice-chairman.
In his new role, Arnault (the second-oldest of Bernard’s 5 children) replaces Sidney Toledano, the 71-year-old president of LVMH’s Fashion Group and former chief of the Christian Dior Couture brand, which was merged into LVMH’s wider portfolio in 2017. Arnault will continue in his roles as a member of LVMH’s board of directors, as well as overseeing image and communications for the group and leading the Berluti brand.
Christian Dior SE’s reported revenues are identical to LVMH’s since selling its namesake brand to the larger group for €6.5 billion. The entity has historical significance, however, as the cornerstone of Bernard Arnault’s empire: after acquiring ailing textiles group Boussac in 1984, Arnault spun off the Dior brand and used it, as well as a windfall from selling his family’s engineering company, to mount a takeover of LVMH in 1988 with support from the bank Lazard and drinks distributor Guinness.
In a statement, Bernard Arnault thanked Toledano for “for the utmost professionalism he has always demonstrated while serving this mandate of trust” as CEO of Dior SE.
Toledano was succeeded by Pietro Beccari as CEO of the Christian Dior Couture brand in 2018. As president of LVMH’s Fashion Group, he now oversees most of the group’s midsize luxury fashion houses, including Celine, Loewe and Givenchy.
Toledano is also chairman of French fashion school IFM and was recently appointed president of the Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture, the governing body for France’s prestigious haute couture designation.
