FB Roundup Frédéric Arnault, Gregorio Pérez Companc, Holly Branson
Frédéric Arnault named head of LVMH family holding group
As we reported at the time, Frédéric Arnault was promoted to the board of luxury goods empire LVMH by his father, the current world’s richest man, Bernard Arnault, in mid-April.
He has now been promoted once more.
The fourth of Arnault’s five children, Frédéric will now replace Nicolas Bazire as managing director of Financiere Agache, the family holding company that controls LVMH. He was previously chairman and chief executive of LVMH watches, according to the company website.
Financiere Agache owns 96% of the family holding company Christian Dior, which in turn holds 42% of LVMH.
A graduate of the French engineering school École Polytechnique in Palaiseau, Frédéric was previously chief executive of LVMH watches, which includes the brands TAG Heuer and Hublot, and before that chief executive of TAG Heuer.
He and his brother Alexandre were appointed to the LVMH board in April, joining his older siblings Delphine and Antoin.
Delphine Arnault was appointed chief executive of Dior at the start of 2023. Antoine is in charge of image and sustainability at the group and has been chief executive of Christian Dior SE since 2022. Alexandre is a senior executive at jeweller Tiffany & Co. The fifth sibling, Jean, currently runs watchmaking at Louis Vuitton.
Argentina’s Gregorio Pérez Companc dies aged 89
Argentinian businessman Gregorio Pérez Companc has passed away at the age of 89.
Often referred to as Goyo, Companc was a giant in the country’s food, telecommunications and energy sectors running the industrial giant called Perez Companc.
Born in Buenos Aires in August 1934, he was adopted by Frenchwoman Margarita Companc de Pérez Acuña in 1946. After studying at the La Salle School in Buenos Aires, he moved into the family business.
His career followed the ups and downs of Argentina itself. At points, he owned the Rio de la Plata bank and oil producer Pecom which he sold to Petrobras in 2002 for an estimated $1.1 billion.
In the 1990s, he benefitted from the economic reforms of President Carlos Menem and moved into gas, electricity, and telecommunications. He took over the company as a whole after the death of his sister in 1992.
He stepped down from active involvement in business at the end of 2009 and gave his 75% stake in food giant Molinos Rio de la Plata to his children.
A devout Catholic, he married María del Carmen Sundblad Beccar Varela in 1964 and they went on to have eight children. He is survived by Catalina, Cecilia, Jorge, Luis, Pablo, Pilar and Rosario.
Forbes estimated his worth at $3.9 billion.
Richard Branson reveals succession plan
British entrepreneur Richard Branson is making succession plans to pass the reins on to his son and daughter, Sam and Holly.
The chief executive of Virgin Group toldThe Times newspaper: “I plan to keep it in the family and they plan to keep it in the family”.
Holly is currently on the board of Virgin Group and serves as its chief purpose and vision officer; Sam works as an informal adviser to Virgin Group.
Holly joined the Virgin Group in 2008 as a member of the Virgin Management Leadership team, working across all Virgin companies. She is also Chair of Virgin Unite, the independent non-profit foundation of the Virgin Group, and Founder and Trustee of UK charity Big Change.
The younger child of Richard and Joan Branson, Sam founded the production company Sundog Pictures in 2012 which became a new studio, HiddenLight Productions, with former US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, and her daughter, Chelsea Clinton in 2021.
He is also involved in the charity Big Change.
Richard Branson’s fortune comes from the conglomerate of businesses that carry the "Virgin" brand name, including Virgin Atlantic and Virgin Galactic. Virgin Atlantic posted profits of $447 million last year on revenues of $3.9 billion.
The son of a barrister and flight attendant, Branson got his start with a mail-order record business 50 years ago. He is worth an estimated $3 billion according to Forbes.
