Catherine Lacaze takes over as head of watches and jewellery at Louis Vuitton

By

Dominique Muret

Published
Oct 18, 2018

Louis Vuitton is continuing with the reorganisation of its watch and jewellery division with the appointment of Catherine Lacaze. According to information obtained by FashionNetwork.com, LVMH's flagship brand has brought the French manager on board as vice president of watches and jewellery, a role in which she succeeds Hamdi Chatti, who left the brand last June after nine years leading the division. 
 

Lacaze has 20 years of experience in the luxury industry, 15 of which were spent in the UK and the US. Prior to her latest appointment, the 48-year-old executive was serving as VP of marketing for North America at Tiffany & Co. The HEC Paris Business School graduate began her career at Van Cleef & Arpels, before moving to De Beers LV where she worked as marketing director, then Cartier, where she led jewellery marketing, as well as merchandising in North America.

According to her LinkedIn profile, before joining Tiffany & Co. in 2014, she held the role of vice president of global marketing and communication at US-based watch and jewellery brand Harry Winston. 

News of Lacaze's appointment comes on the heels of Francesca Amfitheatrof's nomination as creative director of Louis Vuitton's watches and jewellery in April. The designer joined the brand after a stint as creative director at Tiffany & Co. from 2013 to 2017, a period which coincides with Lacaze's tenure at the New York-based jeweller.
 
Louis Vuitton's new chief of watches and jewellery will report directly to Antony Ledru, who has been the brand's executive VP of global commercial activities since February 2017, having previously served as president and CEO of the French label's Americas region. 

Comme Catherine Lacaze, il a suivi le même itinéraire sur le continent américain, en travaillant tour à tour chez Cartier, Harry Winston et enfin chez Tiffany & Co, où il a occupé le poste de vice-président pour l’Amérique du Nord entre 2013 et 2015 et où il a dû croiser la nouvelle recrue de Louis Vuitton.

Just like Lacaze, he has pursued his career in the US, successively working at Cartier, Harry Winston and Tiffany & Co., where he served as VP for North America from 2013 to 2015, a period during which he almost certainly already met Louis Vuitton's new recruit.