The Transfer Window Has Opened...

At Richemont and Panerai -

Courtesy of Richemont

It is now official, Emmanuel Perrin will be the CEO of Panerai effective April 1. He will take over from Jean-Marc Pontroué.

Up to this point, Mr. Perrin has been in charge of Richemont's Specialist Watchmakers division. But with the earlier move of 

Jérôme Lambert back to Jaeger‑LeCoultre was perhaps a foretelling that the Specialist Watchmakers division might not continue on in its previous format.

With Watches and Wonders around the corner, there is sure to be other news coming from other brands, so stay tuned ; )

The Last Man Standing

Well, at Richemont it would appear to be Jérôme Lambert.  For many of us, this had been a forgone conclusion for some time.  It was never going to be a tenable solution for the long term, putting two alpha males at the same perceived level with the ultimate prize only available to one of them.  Not unlike Thunderdome, two men went in, one man came out.

I know that sounds a bit dramatic, but when you are talking about getting the corner office after that many years of service?  Well, let's just say that if you felt strongly enough that you were not going to be at the final rose ceremony, you might set out for potential pastures greener in say, I dunno', Grenchen.  Put more simply, you don't tend to walk away from the biggest pot of your life if you think that you have the winning hand.  

It also bears mentioning, that it is entirely possible that this was not exactly the way it was planned, but Mr. Kern's surprise departure to play Head Pilot at Breitling might have forced Mr. Rupert's (and Richemont's) hand.  

It has been a drama full of twists, turns and palace intrigue.  But for now, it appears that Mr. Lambert has won this particular game of Powerball.