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LVMH appoints Vanessa Moungar as head of diversity and inclusion
Like other luxury groups, LVMH is committed to emphasising its attention to diversity and inclusivity, issues that the French luxury group said are “a core priority of its human resources [policies].” The group has recently appointed as Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer Vanessa Moungar, a Franco-Chadian executive who is well-known for her commitment to global social justice.
Moungar joined LVMH at the beginning of July, and she will be working closely with all stakeholders, reporting directly to Chantal Gaemperle, director for human resources and synergies at LVMH. Moungar’s mission is to oversee and coordinate all diversity and inclusion initiatives across the group. To do so, she will rely on an already active network of well-established diversity and inclusion leaders in the various regions where LVMH operates, as well as on the LVMH labels’ own initiatives in this area, as the group said in a communiqué.
A graduate in business administration from the Paris Business College - INSEEC, with also a master’s degree in general management from Harvard University, Moungar, 36, grew up between Chad and France, and from very early on has been active in helping accelerate social transformation in Africa.
As a student, she and a friend set up a consulting company, AV Consulting, to support young entrepreneurs in Africa and the Middle East through specific consulting missions. Once in the USA, she began working at New York agribusiness start-up Terrafina, where she spent eight years in various capacities, eventually being appointed head of sales and marketing.
In 2013, she moved to Switzerland to join the World Economic Forum (WEF), an international organisation known chiefly as the organiser of the Davos Summit. At WEF, Moungar was in charge of public-private sector relations for Central and West Africa.
In 2017, she moved to Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, to assume the role of director for gender, women and civil society at the African Development Bank. In parallel, in summer 2017, she was asked to become a member of France’s Presidential Council for Africa, set up by President Emmanuel Macron, a position she still holds.
In the last few years, LVMH has shown a strong commitment to diversity. In 2019, the group appointed Malika Savell as director of cultural diversity/partnerships and engagement. She left LVMH in 2020 to become Chief Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Officer at Italian luxury label Prada. Last year, the French luxury giant also introduced the post of vice-president of diversity and inclusion for North America, appointing Corey Smith to the role.
“Vanessa will bring her extensive experience to take our ambition in this field to the next level, and accelerate our efforts in continuously shaping a more diverse and inclusive culture at LVMH,” Gaemperle said in the communiqué. Like LVMH and Prada, other labels have introduced the role of diversity director in the last 12 months, among them Gucci, Kering and Chanel.
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