TAG Heuer CEO departs

Antoine Pin, TAG Heuer’s CEO, has left the brand after less than 18 months in the role.

In one of the worst-kept secrets in the industry, Pin has left “to start a new chapter in his career,” according to an LVMH statement.

“We thank him for his contribution and wish him success in his future endeavors. Antoine Pin’s succession will be announced shortly,” the statement concluded.

The news was originally broken on January 3 by Swiss website Business Montres & Joaillerie, but attempts by Watch Insider to verify the rumour were fruitless until LVMH’s statement today.

“His own poor results, accumulated between [French leather maker] Berluti and TAG Heuer have made him persona non grata with the Arnault family, which makes his reassignment within the group unlikely,” Business Montres & Joaillerie opined as it broke the news at the start of the month.

Pin’s exit is the latest move in what has been something of a managerial merry-go-round at LVMH’s watch division in the past 18 months. He himself had replaced Julien Tornare, who was only in the job for half a year in 2024 before taking the reins at Hublot, taking over from Ricardo Guadalupe.

Frédéric Arnault was promoted from TAG Heuer CEO to the newly-formed role of CEO of LVMH Watches in January 2024, but just over a year later left that job to become CEO of the cashmere brand Loro Piana. Frédéric is the son of Bernard Arnault, who is CEO and chairman of LVMH, and one of the top three richest people on the planet. Whether any preferential treatment or nepotism can partly explain his rapid ascension through the LVMH ranks is for others to speculate on.

And since April 2025, Jean-Christophe Babin has taken over as head of LVMH Watches, while continuing to act as CEO of Bvlgari.

In relative terms it makes Benoit de Clerck’s stint at Zenith look solid and stable, having been appointed CEO almost exactly two years ago.

The timing of the announcement of Pin’s departure is less than optimal for TAG, with LVMH Watch Week kicking off in just three days in Milan.

From a UK perspective, LVMH’s watch and jewellery division has suffered in the past few years. LVMH Watches & Jewellery (UK) Limited’s accounts show turnover in particular suffering since a peak in 2022.