CEO Talks

Inclusive, not exclusive: we share personal encounters, exciting discussions and revealing insights by sitting down with the most important personalities in the watch industry.
Lunch with: Piaget CEO Chabi Nouri

Our conversation with Chabi Nouri took place back in January – so before COVID-19 and all that followed with it. Nouri’s optimistic views on watchmaking and the sector itself are remarkable. She speaks with passion and enthusiasm about the rich…

Jaquet Droz CEO Christian Lattmann
Lunch with: Jaquet Droz CEO Christian Lattmann

Jaquet Droz is all about emotions. Almost 300 years ago, Pierre Jaquet-Droz already knew how to excite people around the world, from France to China, with his snuff boxes, pocket watches and automata. Today, it’s up to Christian Lattmann and…

François-Henry Bennahmias, CEO of Audemars Piguet in his office
Lunch with: Audemars Piguet CEO François-Henry Bennahmias

Audemars Piguet’s company hybrid Porsche takes us from Geneva airport to our meeting with François-Henry Bennahmias in the Vallée de Joux. But not to a fancy restaurant – our lunch takes place at his office desk. Later, he will suddenly…

lunch with zenith ceo julien tornare
Lunch with: Zenith CEO Julien Tornare

50 years ago, Zenith made watch history. On January 10th, 1969, it introduced the first chronograph with an automatic movement, in the form of the ‘El Primero’. It was a tough race between a few Swiss watch brands, and Zenith…

mbandf founder and creative director maximilian buesser
Lunch with: MB&F CEO and Founder Maximilian Büsser

A conversation with Maximilian Büsser is (at least in a metaphorical sense) like a rollercoaster. Our talk over lunch was a wild journey through the human soul, shaped by euphoria and joy, which suddenly headed free fall into deep compassion…

lunch with a lange soehne ceo wilhelm schmid
Lunch with: A. Lange & Söhne CEO Wilhelm Schmid

Wilhelm Schmid, CEO of A. Lange & Söhne, is a pleasantly grounded, sovereign and refreshingly optimistic person – making him a person who is symbolic of the proud Glashütte-based manufacture he represents. For Schmid, there has never been a better…

panerai ceo jean marc pontroue
Lunch with: Panerai CEO Jean-Marc Pontroué

For almost 20 years, Angelo Bonati guided and shaped the Florentine brand Panerai. Since just over a year, however, there is a new man at the helm: Jean-Marc Pontroué, who has been with the Richemont group for almost 20 years…

lunch with parmigiani fleurier ceo davide traxler
Lunch with: Parmigiani Fleurier CEO Davide Traxler

Watch restoration is one of the main pillars of Parmigiani Fleurier. With the experience of numerous restorations and 300 years of watchmaking under its belt, CEO Davide Traxler and his team aim to design enduring watch collections that withstand time.…

lunch with iwc ceo christoph grainger herr titel
Lunch with: IWC CEO Christoph Grainger-Herr

If Christoph Grainger-Herr had to stereotype the average IWC customer, he might catch himself picking his own name. Not out of sheer vanity, but because the young CEO embodies and leads the brand with so much genuine dedication, and has been doing…

lunch with arminstrom ceo claude greisler titel
Lunch with: Armin Strom CEO Claude Greisler

Claude Greisler is a determined man with a clear attitude and vision. Not least because of these reasons he managed, together with his business partner Serge Michel to make the brand Armin Strom a manufacture in only three years. Nearly…

lunch with montblanc ceo nicolas baretzki
Lunch with: Montblanc CEO Nicolas Baretzki

Montblanc CEO Nicolas Baretzki has grown up with watches, but still manages the business of one of the most traditional brands for writing instruments. He sees many similarities when it comes to the manufacturing of both product divisions, especially in…

lunch with corum ceo jerome biard
Lunch with: Corum CEO Jérôme Biard​

Just over one year ago Jérôme Biard took the lead of CORUM. He doesn’t want to be compared to his predecessors – Biard, already as a child a big fan of the brand, has his very own vision. To our…