LVMH set to appoint Iris Knobloch, Yann Arthus-Bertrand to board of directors

By

Olivier Guyot

Translated by
Nicola Mira

Published
Mar 15, 2019

On the occasion of the forthcoming AGM, LVMH shareholders will be asked to deliberate on the appointment of two new members to the luxury giant’s board of directors. On March 14, LVMH announced in fact it proposes to appoint Iris Knobloch, president of Warner Bros. Entertainment France, as a new board member.

Knobloch, in charge of the US media group in France since 2006, trained as a lawyer and, in the course of her career, previously worked in Germany and the USA. She would be taking over the seat left vacant by Bernadette Chirac, wife of the former President of France, Jacques Chirac, who has asked to leave the board. Board Chairman Bernard Arnault “warmly thanks Bernadette Chirac for her contribution to the board’s work and for having been a part of the group during all these years,” stated LVMH in a press release.

In parallel with Knobloch’s nomination, the board is also putting another candidate forward for the shareholders: French photographer and director Yann Arthus-Bertrand, well-known for his films and reports on the planet’s environmental crisis, who is being nominated as board observer. LVMH stated that Arthus-Bertrand “said he wishes to donate to the Good Planet foundation the director's fees he would receive if appointed.”

According to the group's articles of association, observers are “invited to attend the board’s sessions and take part in its deliberations in an advisory capacity. They may be consulted by the board chairman on the group’s strategic choices and more generally on all issues concerning the group’s organisation and development.” An observer’s absence does not however impact on the board’s decisions.

The two new appointments are notably intended to foster “renewed attention to environmental and societal issues” within the board.

LVMH's board of directors is currently chaired by Bernard Arnault, with Antonio Belloni as group managing director, and features 13 other members: Antoine and Delphine Arnault (who recently joined the group’s executive committee with an operational remit), Nicolas Bazire, Sophie Chassat, Charles de Croisset, Diego Della Valle, Clara Gaymard, Marie-Josée Kravis, Lord Powell of Bayswater, Marie-Laure Sauty de Chalon, Yves-Thibault de Silguy and Hubert Védrine. An observer role is currently granted to Paolo Bulgari.

On January 29, the LVMH group published its 2018 annual results, with total group sales reaching the record amount of €46.8 billion, up 10% over the previous year