The Business of Executive Development

LVMH executive Michael Burke has spent more than 40 years at the side of LVMH founder Bernard Arnault, flourishing in a wide variety of important, strategic assignments.

As the former CEO and chairman of Louis Vuitton, Burke has himself been an advisor to Arnault in-between assignments in recent months — living as a first-chair soloist in the LVMH executive talent orchestra —awaiting his next challenge.

Last week, Burke assumed his new role as the CEO of LVMH Fashion Group, responsible for overseeing the brands of the group, including Celine, Fendi, Givenchy, Kenzo, Loewe, Marc Jacobs, Patou and Pucci.

Burke assumed his new position from Sydney Toledano, who was appointed Advisor to Bernard Arnault and leaves the LVMH Executive Committee. As Bernard Arnault made clear with the announcement, Mr. Toledano has many more ways to enrich and benefit LVMH.

In addition to advising LVMH, Toledano will serve as chairman of French fashion school IFM. AOC has a strong hunch of how this role will evolve.

BOF has an excellent interview from January 2024 with Toledano. It’s superb. There’s no share button, and I don’t believe there are any free articles on BOF. If you’re a subscriber, do read it.

The more AOC studies LVMH from every angle, the more impressive the organization becomes.

A Dose of Humanism

I’ve been researching ways in which LVMH has addressed the philosophy of humanism, as articulated by Brunello Cucinelli. Bernard Arnault himself is not as overtly humanist as Cucinelli in his public speeches about the philosophy and what it says about the intersections of successful businesses, the people who work in those businesses and the public at large in communities impacted by its enterprises.

Yet, the concept of humanism flourishes across the maisons, and it seems that great care is given to developing both the executives and the artisans.

Fundamental to the maisons is a similar vision for how the brands interact with their clients — and not only their elite-class clients.

Idealistic Capitalism?

LVMH plants deep, dynamic forests in which their brands can flourish financially while lifting all boats. It’s an idealistic form of capitalism and money at work. AOC understands that many people believe that no one deserves to be as rich as the Arnault family.

Anne of Carversville is inclined to accept this reality as a fact of life on planet earth. Our focus is how does this family operate. What are their values and are they self-consumed in the style of Elon Musk or do they operate with a sense of moral and ethical obligations to their staffs, workers, artisans and communities?

As everyone says, LVMH moves fast, but it’s also the case that huge mistakes are avoided because of a culture of deep roots and also deep knowledge about the humans who work across the maisons.

I’ve read countless LVMH-related interviews in recent months and the executives all reference helping each other with comments like “I’m always one call away as a sounding board” or “We have breakfast every week to compare notes.”

The BOF interview referenced above, goes very deeply into the human psychology of the LVMH organization and leaves me wanting to know so much more about a company I respect perhaps even more than Apple. Both are A+ listers, but LVMH manages more complex business challenges across a wide range of product categories. ~ Anne