François-Henri Pinault: "I no longer have a front row seat. But you might find me backstage."

This is the first time, since the highly publicized announcement of Luca de Meo 's appointment as CEO of Kering before the summer, that François-Henri Pinault has taken stock of his own achievements. In a long interview with WWD, the French leader looks back, not without emotion, on the last twenty years at the helm of the group he built with his father François Pinault . The man who changed the face of luxury ten years ago but also experienced the fall of Gucci since Covid, is optimistic about the future. Excerpts.

Also read: Chanel, LVMH, Kering… the challenges of the artistic director transfer window

In March 2005, François-Henri Pinault took over as president of PPR and repositioned the group on distribution and, above all, on luxury, which was then experiencing rapid growth across the globe.

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"I remain the reference shareholder and I remain chairman ( of the board of directors ), so I don't feel like I'm leaving. But it makes me realize what I've accomplished over 20 years, and it's been an extraordinary adventure. First of all, I was very lucky to take on these responsibilities very early. I was 43, so I'm very, very grateful. At the time, my father was about my age, he was 65 or 66, and I'm 63. Above all, he let me do it, he trusted me from the start... and I realize that even more now that it's my turn to hand over the reins on the operational side . "

“At the time, my father told me two things: ' If I were your age, I would want to have full responsibility for the group .' And ' At 65 or 66, I don't want to cling to power at all costs. It's always very dangerous to hang on beyond a certain age .' So I thought, ' Wow, I hope when the time comes, I'll be able to do the same.' "

"It's not an easy decision to make, but it's very rewarding. That's why I have to tell myself that it's not about me, but about the company's interests. The group is entering a new phase of its development. We need a new vision, new perspectives."

“In 2012, when I took over directly all the CEOs of our houses, the question was: ‘ How do we become an international player? ’ That’s when we changed the rules somewhat, differentiating ourselves through the creative component rather than the know-how aspect. Heritage is very important in luxury, but we told ourselves that if we did what everyone else was doing, it would take a long time. So I said to myself: why not use this creative component to create a difference? That’s when we changed artistic directors to choose personalities who had a stronger creative point of view and a more global vision of the house. (...) This allowed us to change the dimension of our houses and establish a more modern, more dynamic, but also more coherent vision of luxury. (...) We did it first with Hedi ( Slimane, artistic director of Saint Laurent from 2012 to 2016 ), then with Alessandro ( Michele at Gucci from 2015 to 2022 ) and Demna ( at Balenciaga from 2015 to 2025, now at the head of Gucci ). We preferred not to change the aesthetic every six months or every year. There was a very long continuity to establish a strong aesthetic. And that's what we managed to do in our main brands."

“At Kering, we took the risk of hiring artistic directors with a very precise, very sharp creative vision, without trying to please everyone. We did it with Alessandro, with Demna and also Matthieu ( Blazy at Bottega Veneta from 2021 to 2024, today at the head of creation at Chanel ). The important thing is to take the right risks and know how to backtrack. It's not easy, but you have to have the ability to regularly question yourself and not be afraid to change when you've made a mistake.”

"I've grown attached to the artistic directors, to many of the group's collaborators whom I will see less often, by definition. But it's not a regret. It's a natural evolution and it's good for them too. They'll have the chance to have a new, different leader, who has different ideas. It's very enriching for everyone."

"It's not up to the company to adapt to the family that controls it, but up to the family to adapt to the needs of the company. What would be very dangerous is for the company to wait until a family member is ready to take over. (...) Since the members of the third generation are too young anyway, the time had come for Kering to have a new CEO, a new perspective, a new vision. So we followed a very structured process with Serge Weinberg ( Kering director ) and the nomination committee, and Luca ( de Meo ) naturally emerged as the ideal candidate for the group."

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“Luca is a very active personality, so he has already met almost all the CEOs, almost all the artistic directors, and all the general managers in the group. He is eager to get to work, and he met all these people without me, of course. From the feedback from colleagues, he is very charismatic, while remaining humble and straightforward in his relationships. He fits well into the group culture. He is someone who has a real sense of urgency. He is constantly reflecting on priorities, brand by brand, based on the discussions he has had. What is really interesting is that even though he does not know the world of luxury, he has a real sensitivity to the brands. He was immediately interested in questions relating to their positioning. He loves the products. He has visited all our stores in Paris.”

“Luca has also met a lot of outsiders and is really keen to understand why things are done the way they are in the luxury sector before changing them. What is certain is that he is someone who will bring something new. It's about bringing a new vision, new ideas to help the group evolve in its new phase. It's a young group, there's a lot to do. He already has some very interesting ideas. It's very exciting.”

“In the luxury sector, we have revived houses that were dormant or struggling in the 2000s, such as Saint Laurent, Balenciaga and Bottega Veneta, and we have propelled them into another dimension. We have thus enriched the competition in the luxury sector, which is always a very good thing.

"Furthermore, highlighting and promoting the creative dimension of luxury has undoubtedly contributed greatly to introducing younger generations to luxury. We weren't the only ones, but I think we contributed to it."

Now that three of Kering's iconic houses have just changed artistic directors and will be showing the new vision at the end of September or beginning of October, in Milan for Gucci and Bottega Veneta, and in Paris for Balenciaga, will we still see the businessman who was a regular spectator at the shows?

"Yes, but discreetly. I no longer have a front row seat. But you might find me backstage."