贝尔纳·阿尔诺为家族控股公司任命新董事长兼CEO

Billionaire Bernard Arnault has appointed a new head of his closely held investment vehicle Financiere Agache, choosing an insider at a time when he’s struggling to turn around his luxury empire and facing greater scrutiny over succession.

Former banker Aymeric Le Clere was named chairman and chief executive officer, succeeding Florian Ollivier, according to a French company filing, which says the change took effect Aug. 4.

Financiere Agache is Arnault’s main holding company through which he owns a majority stake in LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE, the luxury conglomerate he built up over more than four decades that forms the bedrock of his fortune.

While LVMH reported sales growth last quarter for the first time in two years at its key unit — which includes Louis Vuitton — it’s been tepid compared with some competitors such as Chanel Ltd. Arnault, 77, has also faced increasing media and investor attention in recent months about who will succeed him at the helm.

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In his new role at the top of Financiere Agache, Le Clere will play an important part in overseeing Europe’s biggest individual fortune. Arnault has a net worth of $163 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, placing him at No. 10 on the ranking of the 500 richest people in the world. The slump in LVMH’s share price has led to a $45 billion drop in his wealth since the start of the year, the second-largest decline after Larry Ellison.

As head of Financiere Agache, Le Clere will work closely with one of Arnault’s sons, Frederic, 31, who is managing director and sits on the board, according to its website. All five of Arnault’s children work at LVMH or at one of its brands, which include Christian Dior Couture, Tiffany & Co. and Hennessy. Frederic is CEO of Italian cashmere brand Loro Piana.

Le Clere, who maintains a low public profile, has long been an Arnault company insider, having spent the past seven or so years at Financiere Agache, according to his LinkedIn profile. He’s also chief financial officer for Christian Dior SE, another in the family’s collection of holding companies that own LVMH shares. Le Clere earlier spent almost nine years at French bank Natixis in roles linked to equity transactions.

Like Bernard Arnault and son Frederic, Le Clere graduated from the elite Polytechnique engineering school before later earning a master of science in accounting and finance from the London School of Economics. He started his career at France Telecom, the phone carrier that later became Orange SA.

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Earlier this year, Arnault used Financiere Agache in part to increase his stake in LVMH to 50.01% with voting rights of 65.94%. The Arnault family also made a splash about two years ago when they used the vehicle to invest in football club Paris FC.

Arnault invests via other vehicles including Agache-backed and tech-focused venture fund Aglae Ventures, whose website shows investments in a range of companies from Airbnb Inc. and ByteDance to Revolut and Spotify Technology SA. LVMH and Arnault also back the private equity firm L Catterton, which specializes in consumer goods and has about $40 billion of equity capital under management.