Daniel Lalonde

Daniel Lalonde
Born 1963 (age 54–55)[1]
Cornwall, Ontario, Canada
Residence Paris, France
Nationality Canadian
Alma mater University of Waterloo, INSEAD Business School
Occupation Business executive
Years active 1990s-present
Employer SMCP (CEO)
Board member of SMCP SA, INSEAD

Daniel Lalonde (born 1963)[1] is a Canadian businessperson[2] known for heading brands such as Louis Vuitton, Ralph Lauren, Nespresso[3] and Moët & Chandon. After starting his management career with companies such as Häagen-Dazs and Nespresso,[4] he spent ten years at LVMH as president and CEO of LVMH Watches & Jewelry North America, Louis Vuitton in North America, and Moët & Chandon globally.[5][3][6] After two years as international president of Ralph Lauren, since 2014 he has served as CEO of the French fashion company SMCP.[3]

Early life and education

Daniel Lalonde was born in 1963[1] in Cornwall, Ontario.[4] Lalonde's mother worked as a nurse, while his father was a teacher.[1] Fluent in both English and French,[7] Lalonde spent his youth in Cornwall[4][3] and attended École secondaire catholique La Citadelle[3] with aspirations to become a professional hockey player.[4] He studied mathematics at the University of Waterloo in Waterloo, Ontario,[3][4] earning a Bachelor of Mathematics and graduating with honors.[5] After working in Toronto for a consulting firm,[3] he moved[2] to France to study business administration at the INSEAD Business School.[3] He graduated with a Master of Business Administration[4] in 1991.[5]

Career

Early consulting

Lalonde remained in Paris after graduating from INSEAD, initially working at a management consultancy[3][4] and Rothschilds.[4] Early on he "made a name for himself"[2] as managing director of Häagen-Dazs Europe's retail-store division. During this time he "developed a network of 130 stores in 12 countries in a short time, tripling the business." In the mid-1990s he was hired[4] to help launch Nestle's Nespresso brand in North America,[3] serving as Nespresso North America's president and CEO.[5][8] He also spent five years[4] as Nespresso's global chief operating officer (COO)[3][5] out of Switzerland. According to The New York Sun, Lalonde is credited with "[raising] annual sales from $25 million in five countries to $360 million in 30 countries," with Nespresso reaching "the no. 1 position in global sales for four straight years" during his tenure.[4]

LVMH

In 2002 he was hired by LVMH (Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy)[3][4][8] as president and CEO of LVMH Watches & Jewelry[2] in North America.[3][5][4] The position gave him oversight of brands such as Christian Dior, Chaumet, Zenith, OMAS, and De Beers LV.[4] His first major task at LVMH was shoring up the lagging sales of the TAG Heuer watch brand.[2] Lalonde focused tapping into "superaffluent" markets[4] such as the golf community in North America,[2] and reworked the customer service[4] and retail strategies.[2][4] He also recruited celebrities such as Tiger Woods, Uma Thurman,[3][4] Maria Sharapova, and Brad Pitt to take part in watch campaigns photographed by Patrick Demarchelier, with Woods' recruitment as a brand ambassador reportedly leading to a 30% sales spike. Under Lalonde, TAG Heuer's sales represented over "50% of the growth in the luxury watch market" in the United States in 2004, and by 2005 TAG Heuer had become the No. 2 luxury watch.[4]

Lalonde served as president and CEO of Louis Vuitton North America[9][2][10][3] from 2006[9] to 2010.[9][2] After five years heading Louis Vuitton in North America, Lalonde returned to France to become the global CEO for the LVMH brands Moët and Dom Pérignon.[3] In 2010[11] he became CEO and president of Moët & Chandon globally,[5][8] keeping the role for two years.[11][9] In July 2010 he was named president and CEO of both Moët & Chandon and Dom Pérignon worldwide.[2]

Ralph Lauren and SMCP

After ten years at LVMH,[3][5] Lalonde became president of Ralph Lauren International[10][5] in January 2012,[8][9] in what was a newly created position.[12] He announced his departure from Ralph Lauren in December 2013.[9]

In May 2014,[10][13][14] he became the president[5] and chief executive officer of SMCP (Sandro - Maje - Claudie Pierlot), a French luxury fashion company[15][6] in the process of expanding internationally.[16] Lalonde also became an investor in SMCP.[3] During his first year as SMCP head, Lalonde travelled extensively in Asia, the Middle East, the United States, and Europe,[17] with the company posting a 19.2% rise in sales for the first half of 2016.[15] Under Lalonde, SMCP went public on the Paris Stock Exchange in October 2017 with a valuation of USD $2.5 billion.[3] He remains CEO and a board member of SMCP[8] and also serves on the board of INSEAD, his alma mater.[5] He has lectured at institutions such as Harvard Business School and Columbia University.[7]

Personal life

Currently based[15] in Paris with his wife Yvonne[1] and their three children,[7] since the late 1990s Lalonde has traveled between New York, Paris,[3] and Toronto.[1] He has interests in vintage wine and oenology with private cellars in Paris, France.[7]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Taste for luxury is a job requirement - There is no secret formula for how Daniel Lalonde rose to become president and CEO of Louis Vuitton North America", Bernadette Morra, The Toronto Star, October 9, 2008
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 "Daniel Lalonde, Louis Vuitton, and the World of Luxury Brands", Jim Tobler, Montecristo Magazine, September 19, 2010
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 "Fashion-brand CEO born and raised in Cornwall", Alan S. Hale, Cornwall Standard-Freeholder, October 26, 2017
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 "Daniel Lalonde Works His Marketing Magic for LVMH", Pranay Gupte, The New York Sun, May 16, 2005
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 "Daniel Lalonde, MBA'91J", INSEAD
  6. 1 2 "Sandro and Maje Parent Taps Daniel Lalonde as CEO", Miles Socha, Women's Wear Daily, April 8, 2014
  7. 1 2 3 4 "Daniel Lalonde - Champagne wasn’t always a bubbly", Anindita Ghose, Livemint Magazine, December 2, 2011
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 "Daniel Lalonde", Bloomberg News
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Daniel Lalonde Steps Down As President Of Ralph Lauren International", Fashion Week Daily, December 9, 2013
  10. 1 2 3 "Lalonde Named CEO of SMCP, Trinity Appoints Cohen, Barrato Exits Brioni, Wilts Back to Boss", Robin Mellery-Pratt, Business of Fashion, April 11, 2014
  11. 1 2 "New Man at Moet and Chandon Helm", Alan Lodge, The Drinks Business, January 9, 2012
  12. ↑ "Ralph Lauren Names Daniel Lalonde As New President", Marc Karimzadeh, The Beverly Hills Courier
  13. ↑ "Ralph Lauren international boss Daniel Lalonde departs for Sandro and Maje", Nick Johnstone, Drapers, 8 April 2014
  14. ↑ "Daniel Lalonde Tapped for CEO of SMCP", FashionUnited, 08 April 2014
  15. 1 2 3 "SMCP's Daniel Lalonde: Expect More Private Equity Transactions in 2017", Business of Fashion, January 4, 2017
  16. ↑ "A new boss at the head of Sandro and Maje - Daniel Lalonde, a Canadian from Ralph Lauren and LVMH, takes the chair.", Les Échos, April 29, 2014
  17. ↑ "Daniel Lalonde (SMCP): Everywhere, I have noticed the desirability of our brands", Anaïs Lerévérend, Fashion Network, April 2, 2015
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