The secrets of what Arnault knows: How Bernard Arnault built the impossible, and his timeless, transferable lessons of leadership  | Fortune

The history of the craftsmanship economy is littered with the ruins of fashion houses which lost their creative soul through founder absence, over-licensing, or managerial drift — as seen at once-iconic examples such as Halston, Pierre Cardin, Liz Claiborne, and Kate Spade — and internal turbulence (Gucci), as well as unsuccessful conglomeration efforts which proved incapable of preserving creative genius at scale. Recommended Video In contrast to such unraveled tapestries, Bernard Arnault has not merely defied that history; he has fortified quality brands and built something entirely new and unprecedented. Arnault did not merely preserve a single great house after a founder’s passing — a feat rare enough in creative industries. He has assembled, disciplined, and sustained an entire federation of once fragile maisons, each with its own lineage, mythology, tempo, and creative risk profile, transforming a constellation of independent brands into a pioneering global powerhouse, with LVMH the first European company to surpass a $500 billion valuation. Along the way, Arnault has become one of the rare titans whose vision has reshaped not just business, but culture and society more broadly. So how did Bernard Arnault achieve the impossible? This is a question we had a rare opportunity to explore publicly. At our recent Yale CEO Summit, we conferred the 2025 Yale Legend in Leadership Award upon Arnault , presented by Condé Nast global chief content officer and artistic director Dame Anna Wintour; Blackstone chairman and CEO Stephen Schwarzman; and entrepreneur and philanthropist Ivanka Trump, the entirety of which was broadcast live on CNBC TV and on CNBC.com . Afterward, Arnault subsequently engaged in some rare Q&A, moderated by CNBC anchor Sara Eisen , during which he cast some light on the secrets to his success, and at least three timeless and transferable lessons of leadership. That we had the opportunity to pick Arnault’s brain at all was exceedingly rare and unique. As his friend Steve Schwarzman reminded us during the award ceremony, he is “a most unusual person.” In a world of grandiose consumer goods promoters, it is rare to see a greatest brand builder also be a man of rare humble character. Anna Wintour captured this paradox even more eloquently: “As many of you will have noticed, Bernard is not an easy man to get to know. I have been meeting with him for some four decades, and yet I still find him as fascinatingly enigmatic as Gerhard Richter’s Forest paintings — which, of course, are in Bernard’s collection. All I seem to have is traces and gestures, flickering from a person who has worked across the canvas at great speed.” Arnault’s lessons start with relentless focus. As he declared in his acceptance remarks, “My time as founder and CEO of LVMH since the late ‘80s has taught me that as the world evolves around us, we must evolve with it and embrace change while never losing sight of the core values and guiding principles upon which our businesses and institutions are built. Today, I suspect we...

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