SPEAKER: CONCETTA LANCIAUX

Concetta Lanciaux is the Advisor to the Chairman & CEO Bernard Arnault, Group Executive Vice President of Synergies and Group Delegate for LVMH Italy. She joined Bernard Arnault in 1985 and has played an active role in the development of LVMH.

She chose a diverse and international career: after obtaining her Masters degree from the Catholic University of Milan she completed a PhD in Human and Social Sciences at the University of North Carolina.

She commenced her academic career at Carnegie Mellon University (Pittsburgh), reaching the position of Associate Professor and obtained an Executive MBA.

After having taught humanities, she participated in innovative projects for that time (automatic translation) at an university (Carnegie Mellon University) which was then in the edge of the modernity (artificial intelligence / interdisciplinary trading, etc).

In 1978 she chose to return to Europe, and commenced her career in France in the private sector. After a brief period at Texas Instruments Europe she joined Intel, then a company at the forefront regarding management practices. She worked in close collaboration with Andy Grove's team and infused a managerial culture into the European activities of Intel Corporation.

In 1985 she met the French entrepreneur Bernard Arnault and joined him to develop LVMH and Groupe Arnault. She has played an important part in the organizational development of the LVMH Group.

She introduced extremely innovative human resources practices and contributed to the modernization of the luxury sector, most notably through the recruitment of senior executives and creative talents, and the foundation of a culture of excellence and of multiple partnerships with the most renowned academic institutions in Europe, the United States and Asia.

Within the group LVMH, she has worked to create ties between the French and Italian luxury industries, notably by contributing to the agreement between professional couture associations. She also contributed to the expansion of LVMH in Italy (2500 employees) and further to the strategy leading to the purchase of Fendi, Rossi Moda, Pucci, etc). She admitted to the group LVMH several Italian leaders.

In July 2001 Concetta Lanciaux was promoted Group Executive Vice President of Synergies with the mission of preparing the Group for the future by initiating and developing transversal projects that will create new value. She is also in charge of communication and CEO's development through the LVMH House in London where regular forums and programs are organized in partnership with the London Business School.

She is the author of two publications (Humanist & Scholastic Poetics - Bucknell University, 1981 and Reward Strategies - ESF Editions, Paris, 1990) and many other articles. She lectures at numerous international academic institutions and participates in conferences worldwide. She is a member of several renowned Boards.

In 2000, Concetta Lanciaux was listed in the Top 50 Human Resources Directors by the HR World Review, and in 2001 she was voted one of the 30 Most Influential Businesswomen in Europe (ranking 6th) by the Wall Street Journal Europe.

She has been living in France since 1978 and has retained her Italian nationality. She is married to a Frenchman, Didier Lanciaux.