By Mimosa Spencer
PARIS (Reuters) - LVMH (EPA:LVMH)'s group managing director Toni Belloni will step down, the company said on Thursday, with Stephane Bianchi taking over his operational functions as a younger generation moves up the ranks of the world's biggest luxury group.
The move is a rare top management reshuffle at Europe's second-largest listed company, worth 425 billion euros ($461 billion).
Bianchi, 59, will chair the group's executive committee, and, alongside LVMH chairman and CEO Bernard Arnault, take up strategic and operational supervision of its labels, LVMH said.
Long-time retail executive Bianchi joined LVMH in 2018 and has moved up quickly through the ranks. He started out as chief executive of watch label Tag Heuer and the watchmaking division of the company. Two years later, his division was enlarged to encompass jewellery, and now includes Tiffany & Co (NYSE:TIF).
In his current role, Bianchi oversees Bernard Arnault's sons Frederic Arnault, CEO of LVMH watches, and Alexandre Arnault, executive vice president in charge of product and communications at Tiffany.
All five of Bernard Arnault's children hold key management positions in the group.
Arnault, who turned 75 this month, has not shown any signs of stepping back. Two years ago, LVMH changed its bylaws to raise the maximum age of its CEO to 80 from 75.
LVMH also said on Thursday that it would nominate Wei Sun Christianson, a former Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) executive with extensive experience in China, to the board of directors at its annual general meeting on April 18.
Belloni, 69, will remain at the group, in charge of strategic missions for Bernard Arnault and president of LVMH Italy.
(This story has been corrected to fix the age of Toni Belloni to 69 in paragraph 9)