François-Henri Pinault - business artist in the year of the Tiger

 François-Henri Pinault - business artist in the year of the Tiger

Under François-Henri Pinault, Gucci and many other members of the Kering group became the world's leading luxury fashion brand.

François-Henri Pinault (born 1962) is a French businessman, Chairman and CEO of Kering since 2005. Under his leadership, the retail group PPR was transformed into a high fashion group. Kering level.

Referring to the name Pinault, people often think of his father, François Pinault, the founder of PPR. Even Salma Hayek, the wife of François-Henri, made that mistake before their first date in 2006.

Mimma Viglezio - the former CEO of Gucci, who was credited with matching the couple, said: "She was shocked and asked, 'What do you mean? I wouldn't date a 70-year-old man. somewhere'. At first, Salma Hayek thought she was going on a date with François-Henri's father."

François-Henri Pinault in the announcement of the annual Kering report 2019. Photo: Reuters

François-Henri Pinault in the announcement of the annual Kering report 2019. Photo: Reuters

From being known only as "one of the three children of the founder of PPR", François-Henri gradually redefined his name when he was assigned by his father the mission to reform the aging retail group. In 1999, two industry giants, François Pinault's PPR and Bernard Arnault's LVMH, vie for control of the illustrious Italian brand - Gucci. His father was the one who won, but with that came a lot of debt.

Four years later, when some of PPR's new luxury brands were in dire straits, François Pinault invited his son to dinner at L'Ami Louis, a Parisian restaurant known for its Rabelaisian roast chicken. Before that, François-Henri had worked many jobs from computer programmer, soldier to pharmaceutical equipment salesman in Africa for his father's corporation. For all that time, no one really knew who he was.

At dinner that night, his father informed François-Henri that he had resigned and that his son would take over the PPR. This decision takes effect immediately when the two leave the restaurant.

"It was funny, dramatic and even surreal. I knew I was going to take over PPR at some point, but never thought it would happen so quickly. I'm still only 40 years old, still my father is 66 years old and is very fit, has all the plans for PPR. To me, he is an almighty father. I think this is also a very difficult decision for him," François-Henri shared with The The New York Times at that time.

Then in just 10 years, François-Henri reshaped his father's "empire of chaos". The French billionaire rarely appears in front of the media, he only focuses on shortening the business and taking time to answer all questions. The New York Times called his quiet working style "unobtrusive".

At the helm, François-Henri