In a surprising move, Aldo Magada departs Zenith only two and a half months away from Baselworld 2017 and only after two years and five months on the job. On July 1, 2014, Mr. Magada was appointed CEO and President of Zenith replacing Jean-Frédéric Dufour who left Zenith to become the new CEO of Rolex S.A. Back then, Mr. Jean-Claude Biver, President of the Watches Division of LVMH, said that he was firmly convinced that Aldo’s significant experience in the watchmaking industry, combined with his proven track record in product development and strategy as well as his in-depth knowledge of manufactures would be instrumental to develop Zenith.
Today, Mr. Biver says: "I am writing to inform you of the departure of Aldo Magada from his position as CEO & President of Zenith. This decision was taken by mutual agreement and I would like to express my sincere thanks to Mr. Magada for his contribution as well as wishing him every success for the next stage of his professional career. I am personally taking over interim management. I want to be more involved and to create greater synergies between the group’s three brands. I’ll be working with the teams to give this brand the luster it deserves."
Aldo Magada is a Swiss citizen born in 1958. He grew up in Switzerland and graduated from the University of Lausanne in 1981 and from the University of La Jolla in San Diego, California in 1982. Aldo Magada started his career in sales at Vifor, a para-pharmaceutical company. In 1984, Aldo joined the watches industry at Swatch and then held positions with increasing responsibilities for Piaget and Omega where he was Product Director and Marketing Director alongside Jean-Claude Biver between 1994 and 1998. In 2000, he became President of Gucci Time Pieces. Between 2002 and 2009, he led Technomarine, Reuge and Badollet, before founding a consulting firm, earning recognition and trust of numerous key players in the watches industry. Since 2010, he has been International Sales & Business Development Director at Breitling. During his nearly 30 years of experience mainly in the watchmaking industry, Aldo Magada has demonstrated his instrumental role in brand development and repositioning.
Now that Mr. Jean-Claude Biver has taken over Zenith as interim head, we'll just have to wait and see if Mr. Biver will appoint someone as CEO and President or if he will be the one running the show. The only thing we can hope for, is that Zenith shifts their focus from limited editions and celebrity endorsements back to the product and heritage of the brand. Only time will tell where Zenith's sweet spot is after a very rough year in the Swiss watchmaking industry.
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