Rolex appoints Brunschwig as chairman

The move represents a changing of the guard at the world’s biggest luxury watch brand

Rolex SA tends to avoid media attention, preferring to let its marketing speak for the brand. AFP

Top Swiss watch brand Rolex SA has named Nicolas Brunschwig as chairman, appointing the scion of a Geneva family that runs high-end fashion department stores in a little-publicised personnel change.

Mr Brunschwig was appointed to the chairman role of Rolex SA and Rolex Holding SA in August, succeeding Bertrand Gros, the company said Thursday, confirming a corporate registry filing. The move was earlier reported by Swiss newspaper Handelszeitung.

The appointment represents a changing of the guard at the world’s biggest luxury watch brand as Brunschwig is a decade younger than his predecessor.

Rolex, controlled by a private foundation created by founder Hans Wilsdorf, tends to avoid media attention, preferring to let its marketing speak for the brand. The company hadn’t publicly announced the move earlier.

Mr Brunschwig has been on Rolex’s board since 2016 and left the board of the Hans Wilsdorf Foundation when he was appointed Rolex chairman.