Former Chairman and CEO of Louis Vuitton, Yves Carcelle, passed away on Sunday in Paris at 66, after a long battle with cancer.
A longtime LVMH executive, whose career at the French luxury leather goods house spanned over two decades, Carcelle was held in high regard by his industry peers. He has been credited for having transformed Louis Vuitton, after joining the fashion house in 1990, into one of LVMH’s most successful brands. Under his inspired leadership, Marc Jacobs was appointed as the brand’s creative director to introduce ready-to-wear to its luggage line, a move that turned the company into the global fashion force it is today.
Carcelle left Louis Vuitton in 2011 but stayed on LVMH’s executive board as the strategic advisor. He was more recently named Executive Vice-President of the Fondation Louis Vuitton, an art museum and cultural center due to open in October on the outskirts of Paris.
In an official statement, LVMH Chairman and CEO Bernard Arnault said, “It is with great sadness and emotion that I learned of the death of Yves Carcelle, a tireless traveler. Yves was the image of the house that he so long embodied: A pioneer, always curious, passionate, on the move. He was one of the most inspiring leaders I have ever met. LVMH today lost one its dearest friends.”
