Who is Cartier owner Richemont’s controversial would-be board member? Ex-Bulgari CEO Francesco Trapani was a close aide to rival LVMH’s Bernard Arnault
- Johann Rupert’s Richemont, behind Cartier jewellery, is advising its shareholders to vote against Francesco Trapani joining the board as he’s worked too closely with LVMH
- It was Bluebell that suggested Trapani, but Richemont has counter-proposed South African entrepreneur Wendy Luhabe to represent its ‘A’ shareholders instead
Richemont, the maker of Cartier jewellery, said shareholders should vote against the appointment of Francesco Trapani to the board because he is too closely associated with arch-rival LVMH.
In a ratcheting up of the battle between the luxury group and activist investor Bluebell Capital Partners Ltd., which proposed the appointment, Richemont said Trapani is an “inappropriate candidate” and his election is not in the interest of the company.
Richemont chairman Johann Rupert controls the high-end group through its “B-class shares”. The South African billionaire holds 10 per cent of the company’s share capital and 51 per cent of its voting rights, according to the company’s most recent annual report. The “A” shares are publicly traded and have a bigger economic interest but lower voting rights than Rupert.
Bluebell, which has a history of taking on large European companies, wants a representative for the “A” shareholders and proposed ex-Bulgari chief executive officer Trapani, who led the jewellery brand for nearly three decades until 2011. Trapani was also a founding partner of Bluebell in 2019.
Richemont said on August 15 that Bluebell, which has a relatively small stake, lacks the “legitimacy” to represent the “A” shareholders.
The luxury group’s shares were little changed in early Swiss trading, and have fallen 17 per cent this year.
