PARIS – France’s luxury trade association Comité Colbert has elected Guillaume de Seynes as chairman for a four-year mandate, it said on Friday.
De Seynes, who is executive vice president of the manufacturing division and equity investments at Hermès International, succeeds Michel Bernardaud, chief executive officer of Bernardaud. De Seynes is also chairman of shoemaker John Lobb, a subsidiary of Hermès.
He was previously vice-chairman of Comité Colbert and also heads the European Cultural and Creative Industries Alliance on behalf of the organization.
De Seynes heads the board of directors that validates the strategy of Comité Colbert, as well as the general assembly that adopts it.
Elisabeth Ponsolle des Portes, president and ceo of Comité Colbert, is charged with implementing strategy and is the spokesperson for the grouping, which has 81 members in fields ranging from fashion to hotels and gastronomy.
