Serge Brunschwig has departed LVMH, the cerebral and affable executive has revealed. He made the announcement this weekend on his LinkedIn account, with a posting that began: “ Farewell hashtag#LVMH.”
In a three-decade career with LVMH, the French-born Brunschwig had ended as CEO of Fendi for six years until being succeeded by Pierre-Emmanuel Angeloglou in June 2024. At the time, LVMH spokespeople explained he was “pursuing another mission in the group.”
In an impressive career, Brunschwig had previously spent almost a decade at Christian Dior, ending as president of Dior Homme. Prior to that, he had been CEO of Celine, joining from Louis Vuitton, where he was director general for nearly four years. That came after two years as CEO of yet another LVMH company, Sephora.
“Always the unexpected since 1854. This is Louis Vuitton’s promise, leader of a luxury industry driven by this goal, as reveals its Latin etymology “luxus”: luxation, extravagance… This is the world I was fortunate to enter when meeting Bernard Arnault (LVMH CEO) as a consultant in 1992 to help him restructure champagne division, following (the) first Gulf War crisis,” wrote Brunschwig in his posting.
“These almost thirty years have been an extraordinary journey through LVMH treasures: Louis Vuitton, Christian Dior, Fendi, Sephora, Celine. A series of exceptional encounters with people with spark in their eyes, passion for their maison, starting with artisans and sales associates. An apprenticeship of infinite exigence: the main enemy of every brand and every manager is success. Managing crisis is basic, managing success, ego, hubris,” added Brunschwig, a 1984 graduate of elite Paris college Science Po, who then cut his management teeth at McKinsey & Company.
His posting was greeted with scores of compliments by fellow contacts and professionals.
“I want to thank all my collaborators in every Maison and all my bosses through all these years : late Yves Carcelle, Sidney Toledano, Toni Belloni, Pierre Letzelter, Pierre-Yves Roussel. And, of course, Bernard Arnault for his ever-demanding trust,” he concluded, without revealing any future career position.