Anton Rupert Jr, son of Richemont’s chairman Johann Rupert, has been appointed as a director of Watchfinder, according to a filing at Companies House.
30-year old Mr Anton Rupert was appointed to the board of Richemont as a non executive director in 2017 and is a member of the Strategic Security and Nominations Committee.
His biography on the Richemont corporate website says he “brings valuable insight into changing consumer behaviour in digital marketing and web-based commerce. Over the past eight years, he has had extensive exposure to all of the Group’s businesses”.
Richemont’s acquisition of Watchfinder was announced at the beginning of June. A statement from Mr Johann Rupert at the time said: “Sixteen years ago, Watchfinder’s founders foresaw the need for an online marketplace for premium pre-owned timepieces. Watch enthusiasts themselves, they established Watchfinder to provide excellence in customer experience. We believe there are substantial opportunities to help grow the Company further. Today, Watchfinder operates both as an ‘online’ and ‘offline’ business in a complementary, growing, and still relatively unstructured segment of the industry.”
There have since been no further announcements from either of the founders, Stuart Hennell or Matthew Bowling, or from Richemont.
Today’s disclosures at Companies House are the first public information since the acquisition was finalised.
Mr Hennell and Mr Bowling remain directors of Watchfinder.
As well as Mr Anton Rupert Jr, they are joined as directors by Burkhart Grund, chief financial officer of Richemont, Rupert Brooks, lead legal counsel for Richmemont in the UK, and Frank Vivier, the group’s chief transformation officer.
Watchfinder executives contacted by WatchPro today would not clarify whether Mr Rupert will take an active role in the running of the business. His experience in digital marketing and ecommerce make him a natural fit for the task, but his role as a non executive director since his appointment last year has been described by Richemont as providing a link between the controlling shareholders and the managers of individual maisons such as Cartier and Dunhill.
