President of Kering Americas since 2011, Laurent Claquin has driven the North and Latin American expansion of Kering, a global group of 10 renowned luxury houses including Gucci, Saint Laurent, Bottega Veneta, Balenciaga, Alexander McQueen, Brioni, Pomellato and Boucheron.

Mr. Claquin began his work with Kering in 2004, where he served as an advisor to Chairman and CEO Francois-Henri Pinault at Artemis Groupe. One year later, he joined Kering’s Executive Committee and assumed several leadership roles including Senior VP of Communications and Chief of Staff. In 2007, as the head of Corporate Social Responsibility, Claquin created Kering’s first sustainability program and launched the Kering Foundation to end violence against women in 2009.

Having started his career as a consultant at Price Waterhouse Cooper in 1994, Mr. Claquin’s business acumen and deep passion for the arts landed him senior advisory roles at Jeu de Paume and the Centre Pompidou. Prior to joining Kering, he was named the Chief of Staff for France’s Ministry of Culture and Communications in 2002.

A French national, Claquin is Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres, a Board member of the French American Chamber of Commerce, and a graduate of ESC Rennes School of Business, Exeter University and Universite Paris VIII.

Mr. Claquin currently resides in New York City and is expanding the conversation on diversity and inclusion in the luxury industry.