How Startup Culture Helped Zenith's New CEO Chart a Fresh Path for the Venerable Swiss ...

Aiming to dust itself off and forge ahead into the 21st-century, the historic brand enlisted the maverick direction of new CEO Julien Tornare Having spent the last 17 years growing Vacheron Constantin's business, Tornare was tapped by watch industry titan, Jean-Claude Biver-the former president of the LVMH Watch Division-to lead Zenith in a new direction The new CEO is tasked with a tough turnaround at the struggling brand, but he is already making big moves-not only with new product and new avenues for sales, but also within the manufacture itself.

What are you focusing on as you head into 2019?Zenith has amazing history and brand culture, but it's always been a little bit hidden because it's been a quiet brand that's not been so clear in its direction In the watch industry today, you have two categories: You have brands that are completely new and they do what they want without having to honor any history, and then you have a lot of brands that have such a long history that they become almost a prisoner of [it] The booths are only open to press and retailers and some brands don't even show their new watches on the outside of the booths.

I think I'm bringing in all these years of experience of working on developing a brand, which are tools that I'm using at Zenith now. . Source