trophy slideshow-left slideshow-right chevron-left chevron-right chevron-light chevron-light play play-outline external-arrow pointer hodinkee-shop hodinkee-shop share-arrow share show-more-arrow watch101-hotspot instagram nav dropdown-arrow full-article-view read-more-arrow close close close email facebook h image-centric-view newletter-icon pinterest search-light hodinkee-logo search magnifying-glass thumbnail-view twitter view-image checkmark triangle-down chevron-right-circle chevron-right-circle-white lock shop live events conversation watch plus plus-circle camera comments download x heart comment default-watch-avatar overflow check-circle right-white right-black comment-bubble instagram speech-bubble shopping-bag shop watch Stories Sort Arrows New Search Clear Search

Audemars Piguet CEO François-Henry Bennahmias Will Leave AP In 2023

He'll leave behind a company transformed by his vision.

ADVERTISEMENT

François-Henry Bennahmias, CEO of Audemars Piguet, will leave the company at the end of 2023. News of his departure was first reported by Astrid Wendlandt, at MissTweed.com in January of 2022, and has been confirmed by Bennahmias and the chair of AP's board of directors, Jasmine Audemars, in an interview with Le Temps. Bennahmias told Le Temps, "I've been in this position for ten years, and I think it's time to move on, also for the good of the company."

Bennahmias has been with Audemars Piguet since 1994, and in 1999, he became managing director of Audemars Piguet North America. He was appointed interim CEO in 2012, and the title became permanent in 2013.

Ref. 16202, 50th Anniversary Royal Oak Jumbo with caliber 7121

Ref. 16202, 50th Anniversary Royal Oak Jumbo with caliber 7121

Ref. 16202, 50th Anniversary Royal Oak Jumbo with caliber 7121

Bennahmias leaves Audemars Piguet in a remarkable position in luxury watchmaking. In 2013, he told WorldTempus that in 2012, "Audemars Piguet did a little more than 600 million Swiss francs in revenue and sold between 31 and 32,000 watches." In 2018, Audemars Piguet reached over CHF 1 billion in sales for the first time and in 2021, AP sales hit CHF 1.6 billion – placing it ahead of Patek Philippe and making it the fourth-largest watch brand by sales in Switzerland. 

AP Museum, Le Brassus

AP Museum, Le Brassus

At the same time that revenues increased, points of sale decreased as part of Bennahmias' strategy to exert greater control over inventory and sales environments. The greatest innovation was the development of AP Houses – spaces with private club-like atmospheres designed to foster social interactions as well as watch sales. AP has also increased its footprint in Le Brassus, with the establishment of a new AP Museum, which was completed in 2020. 

ADVERTISEMENT

Most recently, Bennahmias presided over the design and production of watches for the 50th anniversary of the Royal Oak, AP's most iconic model and one which has become, for all intents and purposes, by far the most representative of the brand. Over the course of the last decade and a half, Audemars Piguet has reduced the number of collections it offers and has eliminated the Jules Audemars, Edward Piguet, Tradition, and Millenary collections. Upon his departure, Bennahmias will leave AP with four collections: Royal Oak, Royal Oak Offshore, Royal Oak Concept, and Code 11.59.

Code 11.59 Chronograph

Code 11.59 Chronograph

Bennahmias has been responsible for some high-profile and controversial moves, including a partnership with Marvel that began with a limited edition Royal Oak Concept Tourbillon based on the Black Panther, played by Chadwick Boseman for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. His most widely discussed and hotly debated project, however was undoubtedly the launch of the Code 11.59 Collection, an ambitious undertaking which launched in 2019 with 13 references, including a completely new in-house automatic chronograph, a new time-and-date automatic movement, and a minute repeater.

While not every decision Bennahmias has taken for AP has met with uncritical acclaim from the notoriously vocal online watch community, his ten years at Audemars Piguet have been a period of unprecedented growth and undeniable commercial success. Whether or not he'll remain in the watch industry is an open question – neither he nor AP have offered any hints as to what's next – but it seems pretty clear that whenever he does take on another leadership role, whether in the watch industry or elsewhere, it'll be news worth following.