Jean frederic dufour images of flowers
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Rolex Names Jean-Frédéric Dufour CEO
ZURICH — Rolex has tapped Zenith honcho Jean-Frédéric Dufour as its new ledare executive officer.
Dufour, 45, is to take over from Gian Riccardo Marini. His start date has not been set.
At the management helm of Zenith, the most thoroughbred of LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton’s stable of watch brands, since 2009, Dufour has also worked at Chopard, Swatch Group’s Blancpain subsidiary and independent firm Ulysse Nardin.
Dufour is Rolex’s third ceo since 2008 — an extraordinary turnover for a company that has only had six bosses in its 109-year history.
Marini, already in his 60s, was enlisted as a “safe pair of hands” after the surprise departure in 2011 of Bruno Meier, the group’s former chief financial officer, previously a top executive at Deutsche Bank’s Geneva-based private banking operation.
Meier’s was a shock appointment, promoted to the ceo slot aft
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Following a long career including that included stints at Blancpain and Chopard, and most recently as CEO of Zenith, Jean-Frederic Dufour, 45, is reportedly the new CEO of Rolex, according to reports from Swiss media and industry sources.
At Zenith Dufour was credited for aligning the brand with its strong watchmaking heritage and focusing it on technical expertise. Reports say Rolex employees were informed today. Rolex reportedly makes around 800,000 watches per year, according to published reports in Switzerland.
Dufour’s expertise on the manufacturing side of the business could be helpful for Rolex if it seeks to compete with brands that specialize in highly complicated watches, an area of the business that has attracted attention from ultra high net worth consumers.
Zenith, which is owned by LVMH, recently appointed Hublot Chairman Jean-Claude Biver to oversee Zenith and Tag Heuer.