Luxury Leaders

Our regular series interviewing top figures in the luxury industry, including owners, CEOs, creative directors and fund principals.

Kering’s Marie-Claire Daveu on benefits of the blue economy

Kering’s Marie-Claire Daveu on benefits of the blue economy

The Kering group, owner of Gucci and Bottega Veneta, led the luxury industry by pioneering a sustainability strategy years ago. Marie-Claire Daveu, who spearheaded this move, explains how environmental accounting and the blue economy are good for business, consumers...

Prince Robert de Luxembourg on wine, gastronomy & storytelling

For the cosmopolitan Prince Robert de Luxembourg, owning one of the world’s most celebrated wine estates, Château Haut-Brion, was not enough. The former Hollywood screenwriter is creating a world of fine wine and cuisine fantasy for visitors to enjoy in Bordeaux and...

Designer Ali Behnam-Bakhtiar on bringing dream worlds to life

Iranian-born designer Ali Behnam-Bakhtiar does it all – interiors, architectural design, weddings. Whether large-scale events or private homes, a converted airplane or a château, he runs the gamut from extravagant to minimal with equal flair and imagination, bringing...

CEO of Azumi restaurants Sven Koch on the future of hospitality

CEO of Azumi restaurants Sven Koch on the future of hospitality

When chef Rainer Becker opened the first Zuma restaurant in Knightsbridge in 2002, it set a new benchmark for informal high end dining. Sven Koch joined the restaurant group Azumi Ltd Worldwide in 2011 and now, their portfolio includes ROKA, ETARU, Oblix at The Shard...

SKIN co-founder Lauren Lozano Ziol on creating inspiring homes

SKIN co-founder Lauren Lozano Ziol on creating inspiring homes

Founded by interior designer Lauren Lozano Ziol and graphic designer Michelle Jolas, SKIN is a luxury interior design studio that offers its clients the opportunity to accompany designers to furniture markets, design shows and antique shops. Ahead of the...

Entrepreneur Dr. Li Li on the importance of global relationships

Entrepreneur Dr. Li Li on the importance of global relationships

Li Li is a woman on a mission. Taking over her husband’s Beijing-based medical company MEBO after his unexpected early passing a few years ago, she has built it into one of the most significant and serious players in the rapidly developing field of regenerative...

Fashion superstar Giorgio Armani on his global empire

Fashion superstar Giorgio Armani on his global empire

The designs of fashion superstar Giorgio Armani have become synonymous with the relaxed yet restrained and sophisticated style that has, over the nearly half century he has been in the business, transformed Italian tailoring. Harriet Quick talks to the legend about...

Princess Yachts CEO Antony Sheriff on a new generation of yachting

Antony Sheriff has transformed the fortunes of Bernard Arnault’s yachtmaker Princess, creating boats that are stylish, in demand and environmentally innovative, for a new generation of consumer. LUX gets his story “It’s the sports car of the range. The hull reduces...

Van Cleef & Arpels CEO Nicolas Bos on the poetry of jewellery

Van Cleef & Arpels CEO Nicolas Bos on the poetry of jewellery

The heritage of Parisian jeweller Van Cleef & Arpels is being honoured by an exhibition at the Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle in Paris, in which their gems from across the years are being shown alongside the raw stones that such jewels are made from. On the...

Fashion designer Erdem Moralıoğlu’s guide to east London

Fashion designer Erdem Moralıoğlu’s guide to east London

Erdem Moralıoğlu’s flagship store is in Mayfair, but the heart of this designer to the stars is in hip east London, where he lives and has his studio. He gives LUX a pre-lockdown tour of his home patch My favourite view… The view from the restaurant at the...

Economist Portia Antonia Alexis on the future of the global elite

Economist Portia Antonia Alexis on the future of the global elite

Portia Antonia Alexis is a consumer business analyst, economist and mathematician, and a member of the economics department at The London School of Economics. Following the publication of a recent research paper entitled ‘The Global Elite,’ the McKinsey alumnus speaks...

Chef Alain Ducasse on the importance of telling your own story

Chef Alain Ducasse on the importance of telling your own story

With 21 Michelin stars to his name, Alain Ducasse is one of the world’s most decorated chefs. Over the course of his career, he has opened over 25 restaurants across the globe, launched a cooking school and an artisan chocolate company. Following the reopening...

Founder of Nila House Lady Carole Bamford’s guide to Jaipur

Founder of Nila House Lady Carole Bamford’s guide to Jaipur

Lady Carole Bamford, the founder of Daylesford Organic, beauty brand Bamford and numerous charitable foundations including Nila House gives us a guide to her spiritual home, Jaipur Where I hunt for treasures… I always look forward to visiting the government khadi...

Plaza Premium Group’s Founder Song Hoi-see on airport luxury

Plaza Premium Group’s Founder Song Hoi-see on airport luxury

Headquartered in Hong Kong, Plaza Premium Group is one of the world’s leading premium airport services companies. The group provides luxury airport lounges, transit hotels, meet & greet services and dining in over 42 international airports with plans for...

Smeg’s CEO Vittorio Bertazzoni on the Italian design ethos

Originally established as an enamelling plant in 1948 by the Bertazzoni family, Smeg is now globally renowned for making stylish kitchen appliances. Here, the brand’s third generation family member and CEO Vittorio Bertazzoni speaks to LUX’s...

Pedro Rodriguez of Sierra Blanca Estates on Málaga’s luxury future

Pedro Rodriguez of Sierra Blanca Estates on Málaga’s luxury future

Picasso Towers is Málaga’s latest luxury residential development, featuring 213 apartments on the seafront. Conceived by Sierra Blanca Estates in collaboration with Metrovacesa – and with endorsement from Antonio Banderas – the project aims to...

Jetcraft’s owner & chairman Jahid Fazal-Karim on global trading

Jetcraft’s owner & chairman Jahid Fazal-Karim on global trading

Jahid Fazal-Karim joined Jetcraft in 2008, and has since transformed the company from a primarily US-based organisation to a global trading platform. LUX Editor-in-Chief speaks to the Dubai-based businessman about the private jet market, why buying pre-owned makes...

OMM’s Creative Director Idil Tabanca on creating an art institution

OMM’s Creative Director Idil Tabanca on creating an art institution

This September will see the opening of Odunpazari Modern Museum (OMM), a major new art museum in Eskişehir, Turkey. Designed by architects Kengo Kuma and Associates, the museum is the brainchild of art collector Erol Tabanca, whose collection will provide the...

Savoir Beds’ MD Alistair Hughes on the value of craftsmanship

Savoir Beds’ MD Alistair Hughes on the value of craftsmanship

In 1905 The Savoy Hotel decided to create a bespoke bed for its guests, and so began the legacy of what’s now known as Savoir Beds. Every Savoir bed is crafted from chemical-free natural materials, carefully selected to provide the optimum sleeping environment....

Sir Rocco Forte on building his empire of luxury hotels

Sir Rocco Forte on building his empire of luxury hotels

Since he created it in 1996, Sir Rocco Forte has grown his eponymous luxury hotel group to include multiple properties in key destinations across Europe, with a major expansion this year within his family’s native Italy. And there are plans for the boutique...

Lightstone’s President Mitchell Hochberg on lifestyle hospitality

Lightstone’s President Mitchell Hochberg on lifestyle hospitality

President of Lightstone Mitchell Hochberg has put his stamp on New York with multiple real-estate developments, including luxury residences 130 William Street and 40 East End Avenue. In partnership with Marriott International, Lightstone are also developing lifestyle...

Knight Frank’s Chairman Alistair Elliott on research and tech

Knight Frank’s Chairman Alistair Elliott on research and tech

Alistair Elliott is Group Chairman and Senior Partner of Knight Frank, the London-based global commercial and residential real estate group. He started in the company as a graduate trainee, with no family background in property, in 1983. Knight Frank, which is still...

President of LEMA Angelo Meroni on business with a soul

Founded in 1970, LEMA still remains family-owned and true to its ‘Made in Italy’ philosophy. The group collaborates with famed architects and designers to produce elegant, modern furniture and made-to-measure interior fittings for residential and...

BASTIAN gallery director Aeneas Bastian on the global art world

BASTIAN gallery director Aeneas Bastian on the global art world

Established in 1989 by Celine and Heiner Bastian, BASTIAN opened its first gallery in 2007 in Berlin. Now, the gallery has placed itself on the global art map with the grand opening of a new space in Mayfair. LUX speaks to the founders’ son and gallery director...

Canary Wharf Group’s MD Camille Waxer on urban transformation

Canary Wharf Group’s MD Camille Waxer on urban transformation

Once an industrial dockyard, Canary Wharf Estate is now home to London’s most famous skyline of angular glass towers, but thanks to the vision of property developer Canary Wharf Group, it’s also a highly desirable residential area with a thriving Arts +...

Founder of Corinthia Hotels Alfred Pisani on going global

Under the leadership of Alfred Pisani, Corinthia Hotels has grown from a single family-owned banquet hall in Malta to a global luxury brand with properties in 9 destinations and forthcoming openings in Dubai and Brussels. LUX speaks to the Maltese businessman about...

Luxury watch designer Richard Mille on creativity and supercars

Richard Mille is the name adorning some of the world’s most expensive – and outrageous – timepieces. But the eponymous founder is a thoughtful, passionate creative who dreamed of creating a racing car company as much as a watch brand. Darius Sanai meets him Richard...

Entrepreneur John Caudwell on luxury property & philanthropy

Entrepreneur John Caudwell on luxury property & philanthropy

In 2006 British entrepreneur John Caudwell sold his pioneering telecommunications company, the Caudwell Group, which included high-street mobile phone retail giant Phones4U, and turned his attention to property and philanthropy. His luxury residential development...

Parisian designer Jacques Garcia on creating spaces for seduction

Parisian designer Jacques Garcia on creating spaces for seduction

Jacques Garcia is the master of decadent design. His portfolio includes the likes of Hôtel Costes in Paris, La Mamounia in Marrakech and NYC’s NoMad. Now the French designer is bringing a touch of Parisian style to London with luxury boutique hotel,...

Bruno Schöpfer, Managing Director of the Bürgenstock Selection, on the future of luxury hospitality

Bruno Schöpfer, Managing Director of the Bürgenstock Selection, on the future of luxury hospitality

Bürgenstock is the most ambitious resort development in European history, a spectacular complex of luxury hotels, spas, contemporary restaurants and a high-end medical clinic perched on top of a mountain overlooking Lake Lucerne in Switzerland, on the site of a...

Northacre CEO Niccolò Barattieri di San Pietro on creating dream homes

Northacre CEO Niccolò Barattieri di San Pietro on creating dream homes

Luxury real estate developer Northacre was founded in 1977 by German architect Klas Nilsson. Owner of The Lancasters, a luxe development of 77 apartments in Bayswater, the company is currently developing No. 1 Palace Street, a Grade II listed building featuring 72...

Co-founder & CEO of Spring Francesco Costa on creative co-working

Co-founder & CEO of Spring Francesco Costa on creative co-working

Co-working spaces are already well integrated into our urban landscapes. Companies like WeWork provide communal offices for start-ups and self-employed workers whilst the likes of Soho House invite members to use their residences for wining, dining and the occasional...

British Polo Day’s Tom Hudson on polo’s international appeal

British Polo Day’s Tom Hudson on polo’s international appeal

British Polo Day’s unique approach to an international, invitation only, global polo platform has cemented the brand as one of the most sought after events on the social calendar. Partnering with the likes of Bentley, VistaJet and Chelsea Barracks, the events see some...

andBeyond CEO Joss Kent on creating luxury in the wilderness

andBeyond CEO Joss Kent on creating luxury in the wilderness

Joss Kent is a born adventurer. Son of LUX columnist and Abercrombie & Kent CEO Geoffrey Kent, Joss left behind the family legacy to run luxury travel company, andBeyond. With safari camps all over Africa, and hotels and lodges in select locations across Asia and...

Founder of photo basel Sven Eisenhut on the art of photography

Founder of photo basel Sven Eisenhut on the art of photography

photo basel is Switzerland’s first and only international art fair dedicated to photography, showcasing works from both contemporary and classic photographers. Galleries from around the world come together for five days in June, during Art Basel, to showcase...

URWERK Co-Founder, Felix Baumgartner on modern watchmaking

URWERK Co-Founder, Felix Baumgartner on modern watchmaking

URWERK’s unique approach to high horology has established it as one of the most creative and desirable brands in the industry. URWERK’s watches are like nothing else on the market, reinventing the design of a timepiece to put function and artistry above conventional...

Global businessman Johnny Hon on promoting global exchange

Global businessman Johnny Hon on promoting global exchange

Johnny Hon, founder of venture capital and investment company Global Group, is on a mission to lower cultural and trade barriers between east and west to encourage commerce, charity and cultural exchange. The entrepreneur and philanthropist, based in London and Hong...

Simon de Pury on artistic philanthropy

Simon de Pury on artistic philanthropy

Charity art auctions are taking off around the world, and for the best and worst of reasons, says Simon de Pury, himself the world’s leading philanthropic auctioneer In times past, the main philanthropic efforts in the art world used to be confined to the US, for a...

Bain & Company partner Claudia D’Arpizio on the luxury consumer

Bain & Company partner Claudia D’Arpizio on the luxury consumer

Fashion and luxury brands need to transform they way they work, think and create to thrive in a new era of luxury consumers, where creativity is king – but just not in the way it was Touchpoints are becoming more important for the luxury industry. In fact, consumers...

Jean-Claude Biver on why luxury watches are about the experience

Jean-Claude Biver on why luxury watches are about the experience

The luxury industry needs to adapt to the biggest generational change in retail history. How? By going back to the future, says our columnist Jean-Claude Biver Two, three, or five hundred years ago, luxury was a real experience. Luxury, when it originated, involved...

Photographer Maryam Eisler on East London and the power of art

Photographer Maryam Eisler on East London and the power of art

Maryam Eisler is a busy woman; co-chair of the Tate’s MENAAC Acquisitions Committee, member of the Tate International Council, trustee of the Whitechapel Gallery and Advisory Council member of Photo London are to name just a few of her roles in the art world, but...

Ulysse Nardin watch CEO Patrick Pruniaux on why creativity gets the results in the luxury watch market

Ulysse Nardin watch CEO Patrick Pruniaux on why creativity gets the results in the luxury watch market

The venerable Swiss watchmaker Ulysse Nardin, known for its elaborate and striking timepieces, was purchased by luxury group Kering (owner of Gucci, Bottega Veneta and Stella McCartney) in 2014 and recently appointed Patrick Pruniaux as its CEO. Hailing from...

Superchef Thomas Keller on the evolution of fine dining

Superchef Thomas Keller on the evolution of fine dining

Ever since legendary chef Thomas Keller opened his restaurant The French Laundry in California’s Napa Valley more than twenty years ago, he has been inspiring diners – and chefs – with his forward-thinking food. Keller tells Emma Love about his latest plans for fine...

Art auctioneer Simon de Pury on the rise of the online art market

Art auctioneer Simon de Pury on the rise of the online art market

The time is right for the art auction world to embrace the new digital technologies and take auctions online. That is the way to tap the vast reserves of potential new buyers, says our columnist Simon de Pury Conceptually, I find myself fascinated by what is happening...

Luca Solca, head of luxury goods research at Exane BNP Paribas on the rise of big luxury

Luca Solca, head of luxury goods research at Exane BNP Paribas on the rise of big luxury

The nature of luxury is evolving fast. Producers and consumers should wise up to the emerging multi-level landscape and never forget the power of the right kind of celebrity, says our columnist Luca Solca True luxury is about projecting the impression, or even the...

President of LVMH Watch Brands and chairman of Hublot Jean-Claude Biver on the popularisation of luxury culture

President of LVMH Watch Brands and chairman of Hublot Jean-Claude Biver on the popularisation of luxury culture

Jean-Claude Biver was celebrated as the saviour of the luxury mechanical watch industry when it was threatened 40 years ago with virtual annihilation by the rise of battery-powered watches. Now head of watches at the world’s biggest luxury group, he explains how the...

Visionary designer Bill Bensley on creating new luxury worlds

Visionary designer Bill Bensley on creating new luxury worlds

Bill Bensley is the go-to designer for one-of-a-kind luxury hotels. The Bangkok-based architect has masterminded over 200 properties in 30-plus countries, including the world’s first edible golf course at Belle Mont Farm, St. Kitts, the art-deco inspired...

The Cliveden Literary Festival: Britain’s newest and greatest intellectual jamboree in a house made famous by a political scandal

The Cliveden Literary Festival: Britain’s newest and greatest intellectual jamboree in a house made famous by a political scandal

This weekend, Cliveden house hotel just outside London will reverberate to the musings and debates generated by the world’s newest literary party. Speakers and panel moderators read like a who’s who of modern historical, literary and political writing: Simon Schama,...

CEO & President of Acqua di Parma Laura Burdese on the beauty of imperfection

CEO & President of Acqua di Parma Laura Burdese on the beauty of imperfection

As famous for its striking yellow Art Deco packaging as its ‘colonias’, Acqua di Parma has developed over the years into a lifestyle brand that embodies the romance and artistry of Italian culture. Now under the leadership of new CEO & President, Laura...

Marie-Claire Daveu, Francois-Henri Pinault’s sustainability guru, on how much luxury cares

Marie-Claire Daveu, Francois-Henri Pinault’s sustainability guru, on how much luxury cares

Plenty, if you listen to Marie-Claire Daveu. She is in charge of Kering’s 2025 sustainability strategy, the broadest plan of its kind ever created by the fashion and luxury sector. LUX Editor-in-Chief Darius Sanai sat down with her at Kering’s spectacular new offices...

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