A chance meeting in 1985 with Alain-Dominique Perrin, Cartier’s international chief executive at the time, changed the life of the young Thierry Chaunu.
The Frenchman was already paddling in the shallow end of the luxury industry, selling designer sunglasses to American department stores, when he got talking to Mr Perrin (affectionately known as ADP) at a Cartier polo meeting in Palm Beach and was offered a job on the spot with the brand at its Paris headquarters.
“Suddenly I found myself at the heart, and at the start, of the luxury global revolution,” Thierry remembers.
“It was a time when all other brands were still quite small and family-owned. The Louis Vuittons, Hermès, Guccis, Bulgaris of the world were certainly not the powerhouses they are today.”
He started in Paris as a product manager at Cartier, but his prior experience of living and working in America prompted ADP to pack him off to New York to become vice-president of marketing.
This led to other opportunities, including becoming president and chief executive of North American subsidiaries for luxury companies such as Christofle and Chopard, and then becoming the global chief operating officer of the diamond retail empire of Lev Leviev.
After 25 years as a chief executive for hire, Thierry decided to strike out on his own and created BeauGeste Luxury Brands, a sales agency for independent luxury watch and jewelry brands.
On its books are Anonimo, Artya, Eberhard & Co, Kerdedanz, Meerson, Rudis Sylva, Tonno Lamborghini, U-Boat, Vulcain and Yunik.
His main role is to get these brands into great retailers, and he believes the time is right for a shake up.
“To them I say, it is time to reinvent yourself, let new brands bring some fresh air in your store, bring new customers, excite them with something new, and don’t carry the exact same roster of brands that are seen everywhere,” he advises.
Away from work, Thierry is passionate about navigation, the oceans, and geopolitics; a legacy of his time as a French Navy officer in his youth.
“I have been elected president of an American patriotic society whose main mission is to preserve the memory and tombs of more than 2,000 French officers, soldiers and sailors who died for the cause of freedom since the Revolutionary War, World War I and World War II, buried right here in the United States,” he shares.
“This aspect of history is meaningful to me.”
