Feature
Power List: New Generation Watch Leadership
Feature
Power List: New Generation Watch Leadership
Today we look at up and coming leaders in our Power List on the New Generation of Watch Leadership.
The prevailing thought I had after conducting a symposium during Geneva Watch Days on the new generation of watch leadership was, “Wow, the watch industry is in great hands!”
It is clear that the Swiss watch industry is experiencing a crucial generational shift, where young leaders in their 20s and 30s are now beginning to take up the mantel of managing some of the world’s most iconic brands and becoming the industry’s next significant entrepreneurs. What is perhaps most impressive to me is that even though almost all of these individuals have fathers who are icons of the watch or luxury world and most of them come from families with staggering wealth and power, they are all, to a fault, incredibly humble, 100 percent genuine, extraordinarily sincere, with each of them personifying a Herculean work ethic. With this in mind, I give you the Revolution 2022 New Generation Watch Leadership list, comprising the most significant individuals of our industry’s future.
Benjamin Arabov, CEO, Jacob & Co.
Frédéric Arnault, CEO, TAG Heuer
Case in point: the TAG Heuer Monaco “Dark Lord”, the 100 percent on-point tribute to the legendary blacked-out watch launched in 1974, but wisely introduced not as a limited edition but simply limited by production. Arnault explained to me at the Monaco F1 this year, where the timepiece was launched, “We sold our entire year’s supply moments after it was announced.” That was after TAG Heuer’s already strong showing at Watches and Wonders with the introduction of its Aquaracer Professional 1000 Superdiver, Aquaracer Professional 200 Solargraph with solar-powered quartz movement, and Carrera Plasma featuring a groundbreaking combination of carbon fiber and lab-grown diamonds. In October, Frédéric Arnault held a Paris event to celebrate the launch of two Carrera × Porsche RS 2.7 models made in tribute to this iconic car’s 50th anniversary. He also launched two Mario Kart watches, including a surprisingly cool tourbillon chronograph with Mario on the tourbillon’s cage.