Leading luxury group LVMH has named Michael Burke, a close adviser to CEO Bernard Arnault and formerly chairman and CEO at Louis Vuitton, as head of its North and South American unit, according to an internal memo seen by AFP on Tuesday, July 8.
Burke, 68, who cut his teeth at Arnault Group’s investment division, will head LVMH Americas, having held several senior management posts, notably with Bulgari, Dior and Fendi.
The Franco-American has spent more than four decades working with Arnault and has headed Louis Vuitton or a decade.
He has served as an advisor to Bernard Arnault since February 2023 and was appointed CEO of the LVMH Fashion Group a year later. The division encompasses brands such as Celine, Givenchy, Kenzo, Loewe, Marc Jacobs, Patou, Pucci, and Rossimoda. In addition, he is the non-executive chairman of the board of directors at Tiffany & Co., the American jeweler acquired by LVMH in January 2021.
Meet & Match recruitment agency, specialised in luxury, said the Americas post is a newly created position to represent the company in “a complex geopolitical context”.
The group, which generates a quarter of its sales in the United States, reported a small decline in sales in the country in the first quarter, and now also faces the threat of new tariffs announced by President Donald Trump.
China and the United States, the most important luxury-sector markets, are enduring a decline in demand amid fluctuating US tariffs and mixed fortunes for China’s middle class, consulting firm Bain and Company said in a study last month.
