"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."
"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."
"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."
The craftsmanship economy has seen many fashion houses lose creative soul through founder absence, over-licensing, managerial drift, internal turbulence, or failed conglomeration efforts. Bernard Arnault assembled, disciplined, and sustained a federation of fragile maisons, preserving each house's lineage, mythology, tempo, and creative risk profile while scaling LVMH into the first European company to surpass a $500 billion valuation. Arnault's approach fortified quality brands and created an unprecedented global luxury powerhouse that reshaped business, culture, and society. At the Yale CEO Summit, Arnault received the 2025 Yale Legend in Leadership Award and later engaged in rare Q&A revealing leadership lessons.
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