In an apparent sudden yet strategic decision, LVMH has overhauled last year the key executives at the Maisons of its Watches unit, most notably at BVLGARI where Jean Christoph Babin has been replaced by Laura Burdese, formerly the CEO of Acqua di Parma, the Italian luxury beauty brand also owned by LVMH. Burdese arrives at BVLGARI with a drastically different approach – discreet and with grace – yet bold and courageous.
Although Burdese officially takes over her role from July 1st, she has been already making headlines, not only overhauling the beauty offering of BVLGARI but also overturning the existing roller of Global Ambassadors, most notably appointing Dua Lipa as a Global Brand Ambassador, a decision which is a major departure from LVMH’s typically cross-brand approach. Dua Lipa is a long time Brand Ambassador at CHANEL which also has a sizeable jewellery unit.
BVLGARI’s direct competitor CARTIER is almost twice larger and has been delivering exceptional performance under its discreet CEO Louis Ferla. BVLGARI has been facing strong competing headwinds from the other Richemont-owned Maison of VAN CLEEF & ARPELS. MESSIKA has been growing and expanding, not to mention Kering‘s BOUCHERON. Although LVMH does not break down financials for its individual brands, it is believed BVLGARI has been faltering.
Burdese’s influence will span over BVLGARI’s hospitality division, which was created as a joint venture with Marriott International. In contrast with LVMH’s other hospitality brands, including BELMOND and CHEVAL BLANC, BVLGARI has a lot lesser control over its properties, which are all owned by other entities and operated by Bvlgari Hotels & Resorts.
It remains to be seen whether the mastermind behind Bvlgari Hotels, Silvio Ursini will retain his SVP role, considering Jean Christophe Babin had been touted as taking over a newly created role of CEO at Bvlgari Hotels. It would make not only financial sense but also a more sensible brand approach if LVMH would decide to take more control of Bvlgari Hotels & Resorts.
In a recent post in Linkedin, Laura Burdese noted: I learned this while I was training, I saw it in the leaders who helped me grow, and I’ve experienced it firsthand since I started taking on leadership roles within organizations: the responsibility of a leader is not only to guide an organization or make decisions. It is to embody a posture.
I don’t believe in a leadership model based on orders being given and executed. And I don’t believe in a leadership that avoids necessary confrontation in order to appear “soft”. The leadership that truly works is the one that creates a shared attitude. Something others can absorb, interpret, and make their own in an organic way. That’s where responsibility becomes real.
For me, the key is care. And it has nothing to do with being indulgent. It means being firm while remaining open. Giving direction while listening. Acknowledging a problem and then coming together as a team to solve it. The most important part of leadership is creating the conditions for people to take responsibility themselves, holding humanity and high standards together rather than setting them against each other.
I spoke about this last week at the PR meeting of the Bvlgari Hotel Roma. In hospitality, this becomes clearer than anywhere else: leadership is exposed, it plays out on the front line. You see it in the way teams welcome guests, in how needs are anticipated, in how pressure is handled without losing human quality. It’s a posture that requires presence, clarity, and continuity.
This is how I think about leadership as an act of care today: as a responsibility that is carefully transmitted and that truly works when it sparks leadership in others.
Thank you to everyone who took part in the conversation, and to the teams who made it possible. Moments like this matter because leadership is never a solo act. It grows through exchange.
Laura Burdese BVLGARI
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