Christophe Cuvillier, who takes over in April as CEO of listed shopping centre owner Unibail-Rodamco, has over two decades of experience in the retail and luxury brand sectors.
Christophe Cuvillier, who takes over in April as CEO of listed shopping centre owner Unibail-Rodamco, has over two decades of experience in the retail and luxury brand sectors.
Cuvillier is currently chief operating officer at Unibail-Rodamco, the largest European listed real estate company.
Outgoing CEO Guillaume Poitrinal announced during the company's 2012 results presentation that he will step down and be replaced by Cuvillier on 25 April this year. Jean-Marie Tritant, currently managing director of retail and offices in France, will take over the COO role.
Poitrinal noted that he had recruited Cuvillier in mid-2011 with a view to grooming him for the top job.
The choice appears logical as Cuvillier has a long career in the luxury retail sector and Unibail-Rodamco is increasingly gearing its shopping centres in that direction.
Shopping centres account for some €23 bn, or 78% of Unibail-Rodamco's €29.3 bn real estate portfolio.
Unibail-Rodamco's strategy under outgoing CEO Guillaume Poitrinal has been to drive footfall and spending at its dominant retail centres in major European cities by focusing on innovation and offering flagship stores of major brands.
Cuvillier helped put many of the changes in place and indicated during the results presentation that this strategy would remain unchanged.
Prior to joining Unibail-Rodamco, Cuvillier spent 11 years at PPR Group, a Paris-listed multinational that owns a number of luxury and sports & lifestyle brands. He was CEO of the group's furniture retailer Conforama from 2000 to 2005 and CEO of the FNAC entertainment retail division from 2008 to 2010.
Prior to the PPR Group, he spent 14 years in the luxury products division of cosmetic and beauty chain L'Oréal, both in France and abroad, holding various senior management positions over an eight-year period.
