LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton yesterday tapped Seventh Avenue veteran Mark Weber to serve as chief executive of LVMH Inc. (U.S.), a newly created post that encompasses the Donna Karan and Thomas Pink brands.
Weber, who was named to the LVMH executive committee, will also oversee support functions for the French luxury conglomerate’s other brands in the United States, including its flagship Louis Vuitton label.
Antonio Belloni, an LVMH group managing director, said that Weber would lend his support in corporate functions such as media buying and recruitment. “The president of Louis Vuitton North America will still report to Paris,” Belloni said. “But when it comes to these other functions, there is value in having a broader look.”
At Donna Karan, where Weber was named chairman and CEO, he is expected to spearhead a turnaround that has been a long time in the making.
“The Donna Karan and DKNY brands are underdeveloped, and I see much more opportunity for them,” Weber said.
Weber spent more than three decades at Phillips-Van Heusen, most recently as its CEO, until he lost his job in a management shakeup in February, just eight months after being appointed to the top post.
While at PVH, Weber oversaw myriad brands and was instrumental in developing Calvin Klein, which PVH acquired in 2002, into a global business.
“I spent a career as a trouble shooter,” Weber said. “I understand how to go into companies and come up with a strategy and then implement it.”
Of his initial meeting with Karan, he said: “When I met Donna, I was coming from a place that was unfamiliar to her.”
“As we continued to talk, she was able to appreciate what I bring to the table. And I was able to appreciate her vision.”