Delphine Arnault

Delphine Arnault
Born
Delphine Caroline Marie Arnault

(1975-04-04) 4 April 1975 (age 49)[1]
Neuilly-sur-Seine, France
Spouse
Alessandro Vallarino Gancia
​
​
(m. 2005; div. 2010)​
PartnerXavier Niel (2010–present)[2]
Children4
FatherBernard Arnault
RelativesAntoine Arnault (brother)

Delphine Caroline Marie Arnault (French: [dɛlfin aʁno]; born 4 April 1975) is a French businesswoman who is the daughter of Bernard Arnault and sister of Antoine Arnault.[3] She is a director of LVMH and has been Executive Vice President of Louis Vuitton since 2013.[4] She became the chairperson and chief executive officer of Christian Dior Couture in February 2023.[5]

Early life

She is the elder child of Bernard Arnault from his first wife, Anne Dewavrin. She has a younger brother, Antoine Arnault, as well as three half-brothers from her father's second marriage.

Between the ages of seven and ten, she and her family lived in New Rochelle, New York, where she and her brother attended a French-American school.[6][7] She later earned degrees from the London School of Economics and EDHEC Business School (Ecole des Hautes Etudes Commerciales du Nord).[8][9]

In 1994, she was presented as a debutante at Le Bal des débutantes in Paris.[10]

Career

Arnault began her career working at McKinsey & Company for two years.[6] She joined LVMH in 2000,[11] initially working with Dior creative director John Galliano's own label.[7][12]

Since 2003, Arnault has been a member of the management board of the LVMH group, the first woman and youngest person to occupy that post.[13] She is also a member of the board of directors for Moët Hennessy and M6, as well as a managing partner of a wealth management company.

In 2008, Arnault was named deputy chief of the designer Christian Dior Couture, which she quit in 2013 to join Louis Vuitton as a director and executive vice president.[14][15]

In May 2014, Arnault started the LVMH Prize, an international competition for young fashion designers.[16][17] The objective of the LVMH group is to discover the talents and creativity of new designers – "It is necessary to recognize the talent and creativity, as well as the ways in which we can best help the growth of their business", she confirmed.[18]

In January 2023, Arnault was appointed as CEO of Christian Dior Couture, effective in February.[5][19] She was ranked 45th on Fortune's list of Most Powerful Women in 2023.[20]

Other directorships

Recognition

On 1 December 2022, Arnault was among the guests invited to the state dinner hosted by American president Joe Biden in honor of French president Emmanuel Macron at the White House.[25]

Personal life

Arnault married Alessandro Vallarino Gancia, heir to the Italian winemaker Gancia, on 24 September 2005.[6] They divorced in 2010.[6]

Arnault has 4 children – 2 daughters born 2010 and 2012, and 2 sons born 2013 and 2017. Her 2 children with French businessman Xavier Niel, she has briefly mentioned in an interview with Vogue, are named Elise and Joseph.[12]

References

  1. ^ "Delphine Arnault". Archived from the original on 26 December 2023. Retrieved 4 February 2024.
  2. ^ "Biographie de Xavier Niel" (in French). Challenges. Retrieved 25 May 2020. Le compagnon de Delphine Arnault, fille de Bernard Arnault, est le plus gros business angel français
  3. ^ Rupert, Neate (11 January 2023). "LVMH billionaire Bernard Arnault appoints daughter to run Dior". The Guardian. Retrieved 20 August 2024.
  4. ^ "Delphine Arnault, LVMH chairman's daughter, named CEO of Christian Dior Couture". American City Business Journals. Retrieved 10 December 2024.
  5. ^ a b Neate, Rupert (11 January 2023). "Luxury goods billionaire Bernard Arnault appoints daughter to run Dior". The Guardian. Retrieved 11 January 2023.
  6. ^ a b c d Ellison, Jo (10 October 2014). "Lunch with the FT: Delphine Arnault". Financial Times. Retrieved 25 May 2020.
  7. ^ a b Levine, Joshua (16 February 2013). "The Arnault Legacy". The Wall Street Journal.
  8. ^ "Delphine Arnault devient numéro 2 de Louis Vuitton". Les Echos (in French). 25 June 2013. Retrieved 30 April 2020.
  9. ^ "Les petits secrets de la famille Arnault, propriétaire de LVMH". Capital.fr (in French). 5 April 2017. Retrieved 30 April 2020.
  10. ^ "le Bal des Débutantes 1994". Le Bal. 23 June 2023. Retrieved 24 February 2024.
  11. ^ Delphine Arnault, Forbes, 15 May 2007.
  12. ^ a b Goodman, Gaby Wood,Annie Leibovitz,Tonne (15 February 2024). "Delphine Arnault on Family Ties, Protecting History, and a Year of Leadership at Dior". Vogue. Retrieved 28 May 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  13. ^ Delphine Arnault – Director and Executive Vice President of Louis Vuitton, LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SA, Investing Businessweek
  14. ^ Lisa Wang,Power Moves | Delphine Arnault to Leave Dior for Louis Vuitton Archived 27 October 2014 at the Wayback Machine, Business of Fashion, 24 June 2013
  15. ^ Arnault's Girl Makes Vuitton Move, Vogue.co.uk, 25 June 2013.
  16. ^ Delphine Arnault : l'instinct de mode, Le Figaro Madame, 27 May 2014.
  17. ^ Delphine Arnault, 39, Fortune
  18. ^ Un prix pour se mettre au travail, Le Monde, 9 June 2014.
  19. ^ "Who is Delphine Arnault, Dior's new CEO and the eldest daughter of the world's wealthiest man, Bernard Arnault?". The Fashion Enthusiast. 11 February 2023.
  20. ^ "Most Powerful Women". Fortune.
  21. ^ Daniel Cassady (16 November 2022), Gagosian Forms Star-Studded Board of Directors, Offering a Glimpse at the Gallery's Future ARTnews.
  22. ^ a b Carole Bellemare avec Caroline Beyer,Delphine Arnault-Gancia impose sa marque chez Dior, le Figaro, 16 April 2008
  23. ^ Sue Zeidler (18 October 2013), Murdoch re-elected Twenty-First Century Fox chairman Reuters.
  24. ^ Board of Directors Ferrari.
  25. ^ Aishvarya Kavi (1 December 2022), The Full Guest List for the State Dinner New York Times.