This morning, rumors started flying that Jean-Frédéric Dufour, CEO of Zenith, will be taking the reins as global CEO of Rolex. Well, we confirmed the rumors with Rolex's Geneva office and they're entirely true! Dufour arrived at Zenith in 2009 after working at Blancpain, Chopard, Ulysse Nardin, and a few other brands, and he is largely responsible for the direction in which Zenith has moved over the last half-decade. He will be the sixth CEO of Rolex (the fourth since 2008) and we are excited to see his impact on The Crown.

This is the second huge move among top watch industry executives in as many months, with Jean-Claude Biver having been named head of watchmaking at LVMH effective March 1. Though terms and an official date are forthcoming, Dufour will replace current Rolex CEO Gian Riccardo Marini, who has served since 2011 after acting as director of Rolex Italy. Dufour is friends with and a former colleague of Tudor CEO Philippe Peverelli.

We spoke with Dufour in early 2012 about his first few years with Zenith and you can see the full video interview here.

While Rolex has confirmed with us that this news is, in fact, 100% true, they will not be releasing additional details until later this week. Stay tuned for more on this story as it develops.