Alain Zimmermann (born 1967) is the Chief Executive Officer of Swiss luxury watch manufacturer

Baume & Mercier Baume & Mercier () is a Swiss luxury watchmaker founded in 1830. It is a subsidiary of the Swiss luxury conglomerate Richemont. History Baume & Mercier was founded as "Frères Baume" in 1830 by brothers Louis-Victor and Célestin Baume, who op ...

(belonging to the Richemont Group). His experience in the luxury industry spans over 20 years, having previously held positions in L’Oréal,

Cartier Cartier may refer to: People * Cartier (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name) * Cartier Martin (born 1984), American basketball player Places * Cartier Island, an island north-west of Australia that is part of Australia' ...

and IWC.

Early life

Alain Zimmermann was born in

Alsace Alsace (, ; ; Low Alemannic German/ gsw-FR, Elsàss ; german: Elsass ; la, Alsatia) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in eastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine next to Germany and Switzerland. In 2020, it had ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

in 1967. He attended school in the French town of

Reims Reims ( , , ; also spelled Rheims in English) is the most populous city in the French department of Marne, and the 12th most populous city in France. The city lies northeast of Paris on the Vesle river, a tributary of the Aisne. Founded by ...

where he obtained a DESEM in Marketing at the

Reims Management School Reims Management School (RMS) was a business school or ''grande école'' in Reims, France, offering several specialized programs. It merged with Rouen Business School in 2013 to create NEOMA Business School. Founded in 1928, RMS was one of the few ...

in 1987. He went on to study at

Reutlingen University __FORCETOC__ Reutlingen University (in German ''Hochschule Reutlingen''; formerly ''FHTW Reutlingen'') is a university of applied sciences, involved in education and research. It is located in Reutlingen in the southern German state of Baden-Wür ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, graduating in 1989 with a degree in Business Administration specializing in Marketing & Logistics.

Career

Zimmermann first began his career at L’Oréal Germany in 1989. Having initially signed with the company for a 16-month V.S.N.C (Voluntary National Service Company), he went on the stay with L’Oréal until 1995. At L’Oréal he encountered the world of luxury products, marketing their leading perfumes including

Paloma Picasso Paloma Picasso (born Anne Paloma Ruiz-Picasso y Gilot on 19 April 1949) is a French and Spanish fashion designer and businesswoman, best known for her jewelry designs for Tiffany & Co, and her signature perfumes. She is the daughter of artist P ...

Armani Giorgio Armani S.p.A. (), commonly known as Armani, is an Italian luxury fashion house founded in Milan by Giorgio Armani which designs, manufactures, distributes and retails haute couture, ready-to-wear, leather goods, shoes, accessories, and ...

and

Ralph Lauren Ralph Lauren, ( ; ; born October 14, 1939) is an American fashion designer, philanthropist, and billionaire businessman, best known for the Ralph Lauren Corporation, a global multibillion-dollar enterprise. He has become well known for his co ...

. In 1995, Alain Zimmermann joined the jewelry and watch brand

in Germany. Four years later he transferred from

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

, where he was appointed to International Development Director of the Cartier perfume range. Zimmermann joined IWC, the luxury watchmakers from

Schaffhausen Schaffhausen (; gsw, Schafuuse; french: Schaffhouse; it, Sciaffusa; rm, Schaffusa; en, Shaffhouse) is a list of towns in Switzerland, town with historic roots, a municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in northern Switzerland, and the ...

, in 2002. In what was his first foray into haute

horology Horology (; related to Latin '; ; , interfix ''-o-'', and suffix ''-logy''), . is the study of the measurement of time. Clocks, watches, clockwork, sundials, hourglasses, clepsydras, timers, time recorders, marine chronometers, and atomic cl ...

, Zimmerman quickly learned about fine watchmaking through top experts. Zimmermann remained at IWC for almost five years and held a series of international sales and marketing roles. In 2006, Zimmermann moved to

Julius Baer Julius Bär Group AG, known alternatively as Julius Baer Group Ltd., is a private banking corporation founded and based in Switzerland. Headquartered in Zürich, it is among the older Swiss banking institutions. In terms of assets under managemen ...

, the private bank based in Zurich. There, he held the position of Marketing & Communications Managing Director for a period of three years, before returning to IWC as the Chief Marketing Officer. In 2009, Alain Zimmermann assumed his current position at the Swiss-based luxury watch manufacturer

Baume et Mercier Baume & Mercier () is a Swiss luxury watchmaker founded in 1830. It is a subsidiary of the Swiss luxury conglomerate Richemont. History Baume & Mercier was founded as "Frères Baume" in 1830 by brothers Louis-Victor and Célestin Baume, who op ...

as CEO. Over the next six years Zimmermann successfully implemented his primary goals of giving the meaning of the company's logo palpability and to firmly adhere to make luxury watches affordable for a much bigger clientele. On November 19, 2020, the Digital Luxury Group announced that Alan Zimmermann would join them as Managing Partner and Board Member. On June 1, 2023 Geoffroy Lefebvre, the then Deputy CEO of

Jaeger-LeCoultre Manufacture Jaeger-LeCoultre SA, or simply Jaeger-LeCoultre (), is a Swiss luxury watch and clock manufacturer founded by Antoine LeCoultre in 1833 and is based in Le Sentier, Switzerland. Since 2000, the company has been a fully owned subsidiary ...

took over from Zimmermann. He became the Richemont Group's new E-distribution Strategic Project Director, a move which had been widely prepared for.

Personal

Zimmermann lives with his wife and two children in Switzerland, where he pursues his passion for skiing and photography among other interests.

References

External links

Interviews

Baume & Mercier - La revitalisation intégrale
(Worldtempus, 14 February 2012)

(Dow Jones Newswires, 17 January 2012)
Baume & Mercier - Recaptures Life’s Moments
(Worldtempus, 26 January 2011)

Video

(Watchmatchmaker.com, 26 January 2012)
Watchmaker sets sights on the future
(CNN interview with

Monita Rajpal Monita Rajpal (born 20 February 1974) is a Canadian journalist. She is a former news presenter for Citytv and CNN International. At CNN, she anchored '' CNN Today'', ''World One'', the art programmes ''Art of Life'' and ''Icon'', ''CNN NewsCente ...

, 17 January 2012)
Baume & Mercier - New Brand Positioning with Alain Zimmermann
(Thewatches.tv, 2012) {{DEFAULTSORT:Zimmermann, Alain Living people 1967 births Swiss businesspeople 20th-century Swiss businesspeople 21st-century Swiss businesspeople 20th-century German businesspeople 21st-century German businesspeople