Take two of the handover at LVMH Fashion Group unfurled on Tuesday, further expanding the scope of Pietro Beccari, who will remain chairman and chief executive officer of Louis Vuitton and succeed Sidney Toledano as overseer of a clutch of luxury houses including Fendi, Celine, Loewe, Givenchy, Kenzo, Marc Jacobs, Pucci and Patou.
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“Replacing Sidney is very difficult because he has an incomparable track record of experience, and he did the job fantastically in the period he was there,” Beccari said of Toledano, who first became chairman and CEO of LVMH Fashion Group in 2018. “So it’s up to me to try to combine my job at Vuitton and dedicate time to this team and to these brands which have great potential. I will give the best of my experience and the best of my knowledge.”
The change is effective Jan. 1. Next year, Beccari will mark his 20th anniversary at LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, 14 of them as CEO, first leading Fendi, then Dior and now Vuitton to greater heights.
In his new capacity as head of LVMH Fashion Group, the driven, audacious and exacting executive will once again work directly with the likes of Maria Grazia Chiuri and Ramon Ros, respectively the new chief creative officer and CEO at Fendi, along with Celine CEO Séverine Merle, Loewe’s chief commercial officer Jérôme Baudy, and Camille Miceli, creative director at Pucci — all alums of Vuitton and/or Dior.
Meanwhile, Toledano, who is stepping down from his operations role, plans to remain active within the French luxury giant as special adviser to Bernard Arnault, chairman and CEO of LVMH.
“I would like to warmly thank Sidney Toledano, who has been by my side for over 30 years and has always been present, in all circumstances, with determination, talent and loyalty,” Arnault said in a statement.
“After a rich decade of leading Dior and Louis Vuitton, I am delighted that Pietro Beccari has also agreed to bring his expertise to the LVMH Fashion Group maisons,” the luxury titan continued. “Pietro is a great leader and a unique talent with boundless energy. He knows how to surround himself with talents and develop them to prepare the future of the maisons.”
LVMH, Dior, IFM, ANDAM Sidney Toledano
In tandem with Beccari’s promotion, Damien Bertrand, deputy CEO of Louis Vuitton, will become a member of the LVMH executive committee.
In Tuesday’s statement, Arnault noted that Beccari “will be able to rely even more on Damien Bertrand, whose contribution has been significant in recent months and who now joins the group’s executive committee.”
LVMH noted there would be a transition period between Toledano and Beccari, who is already a member of the executive committee.
Toledano told WWD he expects the handover to extend into the first quarter of 2026, meaning he would probably be present at the next round of international fashion weeks.
Roughly a year ago, LVMH announced that Michael Burke, Beccari’s predecessor as chairman and CEO of Louis Vuitton and the architect of its upscaling drive, would succeed Toledano at LVMH Fashion Group, but the transition did not stick.
Last July, Burke was appointed chairman and CEO of LVMH Americas, a new post charged with promoting the best interests of the group in North and South America. In addition, Burke was named nonexecutive chairman of Tiffany & Co.’s board of directors.
On Tuesday, Beccari was in South Korea for the opening of the “Louis Vuitton Visionary Journeys Seoul” exhibition, one of the many attractions at the new LV The Place Seoul, the latest example of how Vuitton is leaning into “retailtainment.” The brand now counts three such experiential flagships in Asia that combine brand history, exclusive collections and fine dining.
In a telephone interview, Beccari said he’s already familiar with where the LVMH Fashion Group brands sit in malls and cities around the world. “It’s a base of experience that is not common thanks to the experience I gained at LVMH, and the trust that Mr. Arnault always had in me.”
Asked how much potential he spies in the clutch of fashion houses now under his purview, he declined to talk numbers but expressed much confidence.
“These are all important brands with an incredible history and an incredible legacy that we try to single out and to exploit the best we can,” he said, noting that many of them are already moving in the right direction with new creative directors, strong CEOs in place and “great teams. So I think the groundwork is laid for me to blow a little bit of my energy into them and see what I can do.”
How will he manage the extra workload?
“When you take over a job, you never know. You first have to learn and to adapt to circumstances,” he said. “I will see how much time I can dedicate to the other companies, and how much time they need. I will learn by doing. In any case, you know that I’m an intense worker, and that I’m pretty quick.”
Beccari touted his “great relationship” with Bertrand, forged when they worked together at Dior. “Definitely Vuitton has my unconditional attention, and my focus….It remains my number-one priority,” he stressed.
The dynamo behind Dior’s stupendous growth trajectory since 2018, Beccari was moved to the management helm of Vuitton in 2023 as part of a management shakeup that installed Delphine Arnault as his successor at Dior.
It marked the second time Beccari had succeeded Burke. In 2012, Beccari became chairman and CEO of Fendi after Burke took the management helm of Bulgari SpA. (Delphine Arnault also succeeded Beccari for the second time in her career: She had taken over Beccari’s responsibilities when she arrived at Vuitton under Burke, and then took his place at Dior.)
Famous for bold decisions and projects, Beccari recruited musician Pharrell Williams as Vuitton’s men’s creative director, and he has been at the forefront of “retailtainment,” rolling out experiential Vuitton flagships in Shanghai, and Beijing as well as Seoul that blend brand history, exclusive collections, fine dining and a strong wow factor.
“Don’t think big, think huge,” is one of his famous refrains.
During his five years at Dior, Beccari orchestrated high-visibility events around the world, and overhauled its historic Avenue Montaigne boutique, vastly expanding and transforming it into a brand temple like no other.
A native of Parma, Italy, Beccari once played soccer professionally and started his career in international marketing at consumer products giant Reckitt Benckiser in Milan. He went on to work for Parmalat in New York for a couple of years before joining Henkel in Germany, where he worked for 10 years.
He joined Vuitton in 2006, initially as director of strategy and marketing coordination, ultimately taking on responsibility for business units including ready-to-wear and accessories and rising to executive vice president.
Meanwhile, Toledano said he has every confidence in the handover.
“I think it was the right time to pass the baton, and the right person,” he told WWD. “To give the baton, you must be running. You don’t do it walking.
“We have this agility in the group to pass the baton internally, which is so important. And Mr. Arnault knows how to do it at the right moment,” he added.
Toledano noted that Beccari is already up to speed on the main subjects at LVMH Fashion Group via executive committee meetings.
“He’s a man of action; he knows the business; he knows the world by heart, the right locations, and he did such a great job before, so I’m pretty happy about that,” Toledano said. “I will continue advising Mr. Arnault and the family, which I have known for so many years.”
One of the fashion industry’s most accomplished and admired executives, Toledano noted that Beccari previously succeeded him at the helm of Christian Dior Couture in 2018. At the time, Toledano was eager to indulge his passion for transmission via mentoring, coaching and guidance.
During his eventful tenure at LVMH Fashion Group, he earned a reputation for bold recruitment choices — and strong business results.
According to market sources, revenues at the division more than doubled, with profits multiplying more than eight times. It is understood the chief engines of that growth were Celine, Loewe and Marc Jacobs.
Among the key hires during Toledano’s tenure were Hedi Slimane and later Michael Rider for Celine, Sarah Burton for Givenchy, Nigo for Kenzo and Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez for Loewe.
Toledano is probably best known for his eventful 18 years as CEO of Christian Dior Couture, nimbly steering the French fashion house through many delicate creative transitions, economic and other crises. He was widely admired for his decisive and dignified handling of John Galliano’s fall from grace in 2011, and managing strong growth in the aftermath, first with Galliano’s deputy Bill Gaytten and then Raf Simons. He also selected Chiuri as the French house’s seventh couturier, and its first female creative head.
Toledano famously expanded the Dior business tenfold, transforming the company from a licensing-driven operation to one centered on control of production and distribution.
An engineer by training, Toledano’s strong financial and analytical skills are married to a passion for the fashion industry. After getting his engineering degree from École Centrale Paris, he started his career at market research firm A.C. Nielsen.
His first step into fashion came when a friend of his invested in French firm Kickers, known primarily for its shoes and children’s clothes. After two years, he was recruited by Lancel — a pivotal move that let him “discover the world of leather goods,” which would become the engine of the luxury goods sector.
In 1993, Toledano joined Dior to help Arnault build a leather goods business for the storied French house. By 1998, he assumed the management helm and initiated its global expansion.
A right brain/left brain type, Toledano has a knack for managing creative leaders, and boasts a gold-plated Rolodex of industry contacts.
Outside of LVMH, Toledano is chairman of the board of the Institut Français de la Mode; president of the Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture, and a member of the Fédération de la Haute Couture et de la Mode’s executive committee. On a personal basis, he is also active in fundraising for scientific and medical research.
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