In 2018 Charles Leung made history as the first Asian executive named chief executive of a brand owned by LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton. As head of its jewelry brand Fred, headquartered in Paris, he leveraged more than two decades of industry experience and his expertise in the Chinese market to grow the company during six years on the job.
Now the Hong Kong native has moved to Place Vendôme as chief executive of Chaumet, the jewelry house founded in 1780 that also is part of the LVMH portfolio (along with Bulgari, Repossi and Tiffany & Company.).
“I see a lot of opportunities at Chaumet,” he said. “It is all in the way you tell the story.” And he certainly has had an interesting first chapter, as Chaumet is the first jeweler to create the medals for the Olympic and Paralympic games. Its design, presented early last month, included a bit of steel from the Eiffel Tower on each one.
At Fred, whose best-known piece is probably the ruby and diamond necklace in “Pretty Woman,” Mr. Leung opened markets in Australia, Southeast Asia and the Middle East as well as several new brand stores. And in September, he announced that, for the first time, the house’s high jewelry collection would include lab-grown blue diamonds in one set.
As Mr. Leung arrived at Chaumet in January, Jean-Marc Mansvelt, who had led Chaumet since 2014, became the chief executive of the LVMH fashion brand Berluti. The moves were part of a top management shuffle mainly within the watches and jewelry division of the luxury giant. A new head at Fred had not been announced as of early March.
