GAME OF THRONES: FROM ZENITH TO THE BIG CROWN

Where do you go from the Zenith of your career? The answer for ex-CEO of Zenith, Jean-Fréd éric Dufour is Rolex, the company he once described as the ‘Goliath’ in the Swiss watchmaking industry.

Big news today in the Swiss watchmaking industry, with word that Rolex has poached Zenith CEO Jean-Frederic Dufour as its new CEO. Dufour was appointed to Zenith in June 2009, taking over the reigns following the controversial period under Thierry Nataf.

Dufour led a revival of the Zenith brand over the last five years, scrapping the Defy model range that divided collectors and instead focusing on more classical pieces that leveraged the famous El Primero movement.

Insiders had expected that Dufour’s career at LVMH would flourish further with the appointment of Jean-Claude Biver to head the LVMH watch brands, which include Hublot, Zenith and TAG Heuer. Biver was something of a mentor to Dufour, with the two working together first at the Swatch Group.