Jean-Claude Biver
Encyclopedia
Jean-Claude Biver is CEO
, board member
, and minority shareholder
of Hublot
, a Swiss luxury watchmaker
. Biver has been extremely successful at Hublot, and was previously successful in rejuvenating the Blancpain
and Omega brands, both currently owned by Swatch Group. Biver is also known for his own exclusive cheese
.
Biver's leadership in the Swiss watch industry has been credited as "single handedly ... saving [the industry] from the quartz
movement." In 1980, even prestigious Swiss watch brands had "a proportion of 70% more or less quartz movement
s in their collection;" since then, the Swiss watch industry has staged a "remarkable recovery", with 2008 exports valued at CHF
17 billion.
, and at the age of 10 moved with his family to Switzerland
, attending school in Saint Prex. He later studied at Collège des Morges, and earned a degree in business
at HEC Lausanne
(also known as the Faculty of Business and Economics of the University of Lausanne
). Upon graduation, he spent time in the Vallée de Joux
, absorbing the culture of watchmaking, where he met Jacques Piguet, who was running the movement
factory Frederic Piguet. Through Jacques' father, he met Georges Golay, chairman and CEO of Audemars Piguet
(AP), where he was offered a job as sales manager for Europe. In a year of working for AP, he was able to learn the "art of watchmaking," though he left after a year, thinking he could do better elsewhere. He left AP to become product manager at Omega, a major multinational brand, leaving Omega after a year to return to the manufacture d'horlogerie
of the Vallée de Joux.
, a watchmaker that had gone out of business in the 1970s. Blancpain had a long history but had been rendered obsolete by the development of quartz watches. Using this as a strength, Biver and Piguet rebuilt the brand on the concept that "Since 1735 there has never been a quartz Blancpain watch. And there never will be." Blancpain quickly became one of the most respected traditional watch brands, achieving a turnover of CHF
50m. In 1992, the brand was sold to SSIH Group
(now known as Swatch Group) for CHF60m (USD43m), having been initially purchased for CHF22,000. Biver remained CEO of Blancpain until 2003.
(notably in James Bond
films) and celebrity sponsorships (including testimonials from Cindy Crawford
, Michael Schumacher
, and Pierce Brosnan
). Biver left Omega in 2003, having presided over the company's "dazzling" recovery. Over Biver's ten years at Omega, its sales had almost tripled.
as CEO and board member. At Hublot, he has emphasized "the fusion of tradition and future." Hublot was bought by LMVH in 2008, following a fivefold increase in sales from 2004 to 2007. Even in the late-2000s recession, Hublot has been considered to be very successful, with sales down 15% up to November 2009 compared with 30% for the entire Swiss luxury watch business. Biver has retained the brand's exclusivity through methods such as restricting supply in the face of large demand, citing that "people want exclusivity, so you must always keep the customer hungry and frustrated."
s of cheese at his farm in the Swiss Alps
. Biver produces cheese for only a few weeks every summer during which the alpine meadows flower
, rendering "a flowery taste to the milk and subsequently, to the cheese." Because of the cheese's exclusivity, Biver refuses payment, offering cheese only to his friends and family, and to particular restaurants of his choosing. Biver stated that by refusing payment, he can remain in absolute control of the cheese's distribution: "I will be the master of my cheese until the last piece."
Chief executive officer
A chief executive officer , managing director , Executive Director for non-profit organizations, or chief executive is the highest-ranking corporate officer or administrator in charge of total management of an organization...
, board member
Board of directors
A board of directors is a body of elected or appointed members who jointly oversee the activities of a company or organization. Other names include board of governors, board of managers, board of regents, board of trustees, and board of visitors...
, and minority shareholder
Shareholder
A shareholder or stockholder is an individual or institution that legally owns one or more shares of stock in a public or private corporation. Shareholders own the stock, but not the corporation itself ....
of Hublot
Hublot
Hublot is a Swiss enterprise creating luxury watches and founded in 1980 by Carlo Crocco. The company currently operates as a wholly owned subsidiary of France's LVMH.- History :...
, a Swiss luxury watchmaker
Watchmaker
A watchmaker is an artisan who makes and repairs watches. Since virtually all watches are now factory made, most modern watchmakers solely repair watches. However, originally they were master craftsmen who built watches, including all their parts, by hand...
. Biver has been extremely successful at Hublot, and was previously successful in rejuvenating the Blancpain
Blancpain
Blancpain is a luxury Swiss watch manufacturer, founded in 1735 by Jehan-Jaques Blancpain. Blancpain went into bankruptcy and stopped production for a long period but was saved by Jean-Claude Biver, an executive with Omega. Blancpain is owned by the Swatch Group. Since 2002, Marc Hayek, the...
and Omega brands, both currently owned by Swatch Group. Biver is also known for his own exclusive cheese
Cheese
Cheese is a generic term for a diverse group of milk-based food products. Cheese is produced throughout the world in wide-ranging flavors, textures, and forms....
.
Biver's leadership in the Swiss watch industry has been credited as "single handedly ... saving [the industry] from the quartz
Quartz clock
A quartz clock is a clock that uses an electronic oscillator that is regulated by a quartz crystal to keep time. This crystal oscillator creates a signal with very precise frequency, so that quartz clocks are at least an order of magnitude more accurate than good mechanical clocks...
movement." In 1980, even prestigious Swiss watch brands had "a proportion of 70% more or less quartz movement
Movement (clockwork)
In horology, a movement is the internal mechanism of a clock or watch, as opposed to the case, which encloses and protects the movement, and the face which displays the time. The term originated with mechanical timepieces, whose movements are made of many moving parts...
s in their collection;" since then, the Swiss watch industry has staged a "remarkable recovery", with 2008 exports valued at CHF
Swiss franc
The franc is the currency and legal tender of Switzerland and Liechtenstein; it is also legal tender in the Italian exclave Campione d'Italia. Although not formally legal tender in the German exclave Büsingen , it is in wide daily use there...
17 billion.
Early life and career
Biver was born on September 20, 1949, in LuxembourgLuxembourg
Luxembourg , officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg , is a landlocked country in western Europe, bordered by Belgium, France, and Germany. It has two principal regions: the Oesling in the North as part of the Ardennes massif, and the Gutland in the south...
, and at the age of 10 moved with his family to Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
, attending school in Saint Prex. He later studied at Collège des Morges, and earned a degree in business
Business
A business is an organization engaged in the trade of goods, services, or both to consumers. Businesses are predominant in capitalist economies, where most of them are privately owned and administered to earn profit to increase the wealth of their owners. Businesses may also be not-for-profit...
at HEC Lausanne
HEC Lausanne
HEC Lausanne , also called the Faculty of Business and Economics of the University of Lausanne in English, is the affiliated business school of the University of Lausanne...
(also known as the Faculty of Business and Economics of the University of Lausanne
University of Lausanne
The University of Lausanne in Lausanne, Switzerland was founded in 1537 as a school of theology, before being made a university in 1890. Today about 12,000 students and 2200 researchers study and work at the university...
). Upon graduation, he spent time in the Vallée de Joux
Vallée de Joux
The Vallée de Joux is a valley of the Jura Mountains in the Swiss Canton of Vaud. Located 20 miles north of Geneva and Lausanne, its mean elevation is over 3300 feet . There are three lakes in the Vallée de Joux : the lac de Joux , the lac Brenet and the lac Ter...
, absorbing the culture of watchmaking, where he met Jacques Piguet, who was running the movement
Movement (clockwork)
In horology, a movement is the internal mechanism of a clock or watch, as opposed to the case, which encloses and protects the movement, and the face which displays the time. The term originated with mechanical timepieces, whose movements are made of many moving parts...
factory Frederic Piguet. Through Jacques' father, he met Georges Golay, chairman and CEO of Audemars Piguet
Audemars Piguet
Audemars Piguet is a manufacturer of prestige Swiss watches which compete with Patek Philippe, Jaeger-LeCoultre and Vacheron Constantin.-Foundation:...
(AP), where he was offered a job as sales manager for Europe. In a year of working for AP, he was able to learn the "art of watchmaking," though he left after a year, thinking he could do better elsewhere. He left AP to become product manager at Omega, a major multinational brand, leaving Omega after a year to return to the manufacture d'horlogerie
Manufacture d'horlogerie
Manufacture d'horlogerie is a French horological term of art that is also used in English. In horology, the term is usually encountered in its abbreviated form manufacture. This term of art is used when describing either a wrist watch movement/watchworks fabricator or its products...
of the Vallée de Joux.
Blancpain
Upon return to the Valley de Joux in 1981, Biver and Jacques Piguet purchased the rights to BlancpainBlancpain
Blancpain is a luxury Swiss watch manufacturer, founded in 1735 by Jehan-Jaques Blancpain. Blancpain went into bankruptcy and stopped production for a long period but was saved by Jean-Claude Biver, an executive with Omega. Blancpain is owned by the Swatch Group. Since 2002, Marc Hayek, the...
, a watchmaker that had gone out of business in the 1970s. Blancpain had a long history but had been rendered obsolete by the development of quartz watches. Using this as a strength, Biver and Piguet rebuilt the brand on the concept that "Since 1735 there has never been a quartz Blancpain watch. And there never will be." Blancpain quickly became one of the most respected traditional watch brands, achieving a turnover of CHF
Swiss franc
The franc is the currency and legal tender of Switzerland and Liechtenstein; it is also legal tender in the Italian exclave Campione d'Italia. Although not formally legal tender in the German exclave Büsingen , it is in wide daily use there...
50m. In 1992, the brand was sold to SSIH Group
Société de Microélectronique et d'Horlogerie
Société de Microélectronique et d'Horlogerie was the original name of the new holding company issued from the merger enforced by the Swiss Banks in 1983 of both the SSIH and ASUAG, now Swatch Group ....
(now known as Swatch Group) for CHF60m (USD43m), having been initially purchased for CHF22,000. Biver remained CEO of Blancpain until 2003.
Omega
Upon the sale of Blancpain, Biver joined the board of directors of Swatch Group, where he was charged with turning around Swatch's Omega brand (considered to be a "national joke" by the 1980s). Biver's main influence was in the product and marketing fields, employing techniques such as product placementProduct placement
Product placement, or embedded marketing, is a form of advertisement, where branded goods or services are placed in a context usually devoid of ads, such as movies, music videos, the story line of television shows, or news programs. The product placement is often not disclosed at the time that the...
(notably in James Bond
James Bond
James Bond, code name 007, is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. There have been a six other authors who wrote authorised Bond novels or novelizations after Fleming's death in 1964: Kingsley Amis,...
films) and celebrity sponsorships (including testimonials from Cindy Crawford
Cindy Crawford
Cynthia Ann "Cindy" Crawford is an American model. Known for her trademark mole just above her lip, Crawford has adorned hundreds of magazine covers throughout her career. She was named #3 on VH1's 40 Hottest Hotties of the 90s...
, Michael Schumacher
Michael Schumacher
Michael Schumacher is a German Formula One racing driver for the Mercedes GP team. Famous for his eleven-year spell with Ferrari, Schumacher is a seven-time World Champion and is widely regarded as the greatest F1 driver of all time...
, and Pierce Brosnan
Pierce Brosnan
Pierce Brendan Brosnan, OBE is an Irish actor, film producer and environmentalist. After leaving school at 16, Brosnan began training in commercial illustration, but trained at the Drama Centre in London for three years...
). Biver left Omega in 2003, having presided over the company's "dazzling" recovery. Over Biver's ten years at Omega, its sales had almost tripled.
Hublot
Biver briefly exited the watchmaking world in 2004, before joining HublotHublot
Hublot is a Swiss enterprise creating luxury watches and founded in 1980 by Carlo Crocco. The company currently operates as a wholly owned subsidiary of France's LVMH.- History :...
as CEO and board member. At Hublot, he has emphasized "the fusion of tradition and future." Hublot was bought by LMVH in 2008, following a fivefold increase in sales from 2004 to 2007. Even in the late-2000s recession, Hublot has been considered to be very successful, with sales down 15% up to November 2009 compared with 30% for the entire Swiss luxury watch business. Biver has retained the brand's exclusivity through methods such as restricting supply in the face of large demand, citing that "people want exclusivity, so you must always keep the customer hungry and frustrated."
Cheese
Every year, Biver produces approximately five tonneTonne
The tonne, known as the metric ton in the US , often put pleonastically as "metric tonne" to avoid confusion with ton, is a metric system unit of mass equal to 1000 kilograms. The tonne is not an International System of Units unit, but is accepted for use with the SI...
s of cheese at his farm in the Swiss Alps
Swiss Alps
The Swiss Alps are the portion of the Alps mountain range that lies within Switzerland. Because of their central position within the entire Alpine range, they are also known as the Central Alps....
. Biver produces cheese for only a few weeks every summer during which the alpine meadows flower
Flower
A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants . The biological function of a flower is to effect reproduction, usually by providing a mechanism for the union of sperm with eggs...
, rendering "a flowery taste to the milk and subsequently, to the cheese." Because of the cheese's exclusivity, Biver refuses payment, offering cheese only to his friends and family, and to particular restaurants of his choosing. Biver stated that by refusing payment, he can remain in absolute control of the cheese's distribution: "I will be the master of my cheese until the last piece."