Compagnie Financière Richemont SA appointed Anton Rupert as non-executive co-deputy chairman of its board on September 9, effective immediately. The Geneva-based luxury group, owner of Cartier and Van Cleef & Arpels, said Rupert — the son of chairman and company founder Johann Rupert — will share the deputy chair role with Bram Schot, the former Audi chief executive who has served as deputy chair since 2024.
Johann Rupert said in the announcement that the appointment "is an important step in the board's long-term succession planning" and that Richemont's strength "has always rested on the continuity that comes from close family involvement, on rigorous governance, and on an unwavering commitment to creativity and craftsmanship." Richemont said Anton Rupert's role will focus on strategic product and communications matters — the creative and commercial direction that has defined the group's brands.
A family-controlled group formalises its next chapter
Richemont's dual-class share structure keeps the Rupert family firmly in control of one of the most valuable luxury groups in Europe. Anton Rupert's move to co-deputy chair puts a second Rupert on the board while retaining an experienced outside executive in Schot, an unusually explicit signal that succession will be structured, gradual, and combine family stewardship with independent oversight.
A luxury sector rethinking who inherits
The appointment lands as European luxury houses — from LVMH's ongoing family choreography to Kering's leadership reshuffle earlier this year — publicly navigate their own generational handovers. Richemont's version, formalised through a co-deputy chair role rather than an executive title, keeps day-to-day management with chief executive Nicolas Bos while giving the family's next generation a defined board seat from which to learn the business.
