Pinault family reveals succession path at Christie’s

The Pinault family behind one of France’s biggest luxury fortunes has elevated a third-generation descendant to one of its prominent businesses, naming one of the founder’s grandchildren to the board of Christie’s auction house. 

Francois Louis Nicolas Pinault, 26, became a director of the London-based art dealer on 26 March, according to a filing published this week. He replaces his 87-year-old grandfather, Francois Pinault, who founded what became fashion conglomerate Kering SA and is now run by son, Francois-Henri. A spokeswoman for the family confirmed the appointment. 

The move puts the Pinault dynasty on a path of succession much like what is happening at some of France’s other fashion and beauty empires, including bigger rival LVMH and L’Oreal SA. 

Christie’s is held by the Pinaults’ holding company Artemis SA, which also has stakes in Kering and Puma SE, vineyards, a cruise company, a news magazine as well as tech firms. More recently, Artemis agreed to buy a majority stake in talent-management giant Creative Artists Agency, a further move toward diversification.

The unexpected ascension of the next-generation Pinault—whose occupation is listed as “product marketing manager”—to the Christie’s board comes amid a difficult period for the clan’s biggest business. A slump in sales at Kering’s main brand, Gucci, has led to a steep decline in the company’s market value and shaken investor confidence. The fashion group has been trying to revitalize the Italian label that accounts for about two-thirds of its profit, so far without success.

Patriarch Francois Pinault has a net worth of $32 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, down from almost $45 billion a year ago.

Since handing the operational reigns to son Francois-Henri, 61, about two decades ago, the eldest Pinault has focused on amassing a vast art collection and three major European museums located in Venice and Paris. Francois-Henri’s other two siblings aren’t involved in daily management although they oversee the Artemis supervisory board.

In addition to the board seat at Christie’s, the youngest Francois Pinault is also listed in a filing as being a director along with other family members of the Pinault Collection, which oversees some 10,000 modern and contemporary artworks, according to its website. He’s the eldest of Francois-Henri’s four children. 

At LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE, founder Bernard Arnault’s five children all work in parts of the conglomerate, while at L’Oreal, the two sons of heiress Francoise Bettencourt Meyers are on the board of the beauty products giant.