Anton Rupert has served as non-executive director on the Board of Compagnie Financière Richemont SA since 2017.
Richemont’s newly appointed Co-Deputy Chair, Anton Rupert. Picture: Richemont’s website
The Board of Compagnie Financière Richemont SA has appointed 39-year-old Anton Rupert as non-executive co-deputy chairman, serving alongside Bram Schot, non-executive co-deputy chairman.
Compagnie Financière Richemont SA, commonly known as Richemont, is a Switzerland-based luxury goods holding company founded in 1988 by South African billionaire Johann Rupert. The company produces and sells luxury jewellery brands, including Cartier and Van Cleef & Arpels.
Johann said appointing his son, Anton, is “an important step in the Board’s long-term succession planning”. Richemont shares are listed and traded on the SIX Swiss Exchange, with a secondary listing on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE).
Anton’s responsibilities at Richemont
In a note to shareholders released on Wednesday, the board said it made the decision at Tuesday’s 8 September 2026 meeting, and Anton will start immediately. Anton Rupert has served as non-executive director on the Board of Compagnie Financière Richemont SA since 2017.
Schot was appointed non-executive deputy chairman in 2024 and will now serve as co-chair. “The two non-executive co-deputy chairmen will have complementary remits,” said Richemont.
Anton will oversee matters related to the Maisons’ Strategic Product and Communications Committee (SPCC), ensuring continuity in an area central to the Group’s creative and commercial direction. Maisons is the term Richemont uses to refer to all individual luxury brands across its portfolio.
Schot will assume responsibility for board- and committee-related governance matters, including coordinating the board’s committees and the group’s corporate governance framework.
Richemont succession plan
“This division of responsibilities reflects the Board’s commitment to robust governance and to ensuring that both the group’s strategic priorities and its governance obligations receive dedicated attention at non-executive co-deputy chairman level,” said Richemont.
Johann added that the company’s strength has always relied on the continuity that comes from close family involvement, among other things.
Compagnie Financière Richemont, founded in 1988 by Johann, was created by spinning off the Rembrandt Group’s international assets, which his father, Anton Rupert, founded in the 1940s. The Rembrandt Group is an industrial and tobacco conglomerate.
Rembrandt Group was restructured in 2000 into Remgro Limited and VenFin, later re-consolidated under Remgro as a diversified investment holding.
Commitment to deliver the best
The jewellery division, Maisons, is widely regarded as Richemont’s best-performing business area and the primary driver of the group’s growth. Within that division, Cartier is widely recognised as the single most dominant and top-performing brand.
“Richemont’s strength has always rested on the continuity that comes from close family involvement, on rigorous governance, and on an unwavering commitment to creativity and craftsmanship,” said Johann.
“Having Anton and Bram serve together as non-executive co-deputy chairmen ensures that each of these foundations is given the attention it deserves: Anton will continue to safeguard the creative and product priorities that define our Maisons, while Bram will ensure that our governance remains of the highest standard.
“Together they reflect what has always guided this group – a long-term view, a respect for the people and savoir-faire behind our Maisons, and the discipline to steward them responsibly for the generations to come.”
