François-Henri Pinault

François-Henri Pinault
François-Henri Pinault (2011)
Born	(1962-05-28) 28 May 1962 Rennes, France
Residence	Paris, France
Nationality	French
Alma mater	HEC
Occupation	Chairman of Kering Co-Chair of PPR Foundation President of Groupe Artémis
Years active	1985–present
Home town	Paris, France
Net worth	$15 billion (Pinault family)[1]
Board member of	Kering Kering Foundation Groupe Artémis
Spouse(s)	Dorothée Lepère (?–2004) Salma Hayek (2009–present)
Children	4
Parents	François Pinault

François-Henri Pinault, (born (1962-05-28)28 May 1962 in Rennes, Brittany, France), is a French businessman and the chief executive officer of Kering. He is the son of the company's founder, businessman François Pinault. Often nicknamed ‘FHP’, he is also Director of Financière Pinault, as well as the President of Groupe Artémis' executive board. As of March 2013 François Pinault and family had a net worth of $15 billion according to Forbes magazine.^[1]

Biography

Education

François-Henri Pinault graduated from HEC School of Management in 1985, and did his military service in the French Consulate Economic Expansion station in Los Angeles (United States),^[2] during which he was in charge of studying fashion and new technology sectors in the States.

Career in Kering

He started his career at Kering in 1987.^[3] In 1988, he became the manager of the company’s buying department. In 1989, he became head manager of France Bois Industries, and then of Pinault Distribution in 1990.

In 1993, he was appointed CEO of CFAO (formerly Compagnie Française de l’Afrique Occidentale) a retail subsidiary of the Group in Africa and in the overseas territories, specialized in cars and medicine. In 1997, he became CEO of Fnac.

His hobby in computing led him to take an interest in the Internet’s expansion in the 1990s, and he decided to develop the Group’s Internet activities.

In February 2000, he became vice-president of the Internet branch of the Group, alongside Serge Weinberg, board president. He launched PPR Interactive, a structure dedicated to new technologies.

From January 2001 until March 2005, he was a member of the Kering Security Board. In May 2003, he was appointed vice-president of the board until March 2005.

Heading Kering

In May 2003, François Pinault, his father, gave him the presidency of Artémis, as the controlling shareholder of the Group, founded in 1992. In March 2005, François-Henri Pinault became Chairman of the Board and CEO of Kering.

On 20 June 2007, he also became president of German sports retailer Puma’s Executive Committee, the newest Group acquisition. On 17 February 2011, François-Henri Pinault announced that he would head the luxury branch of Kering.

The purchase of Puma in 2007, the selling of Conforama in 2011, as well as the announcement of the Group’s intention to sell Redcats Group ( La Redoute, Cyrillus, Vertbaudet) and Fnac in the future, all illustrate François-Henri Pinault’s will to reinforce PPR group in the luxury and ‘Sport & Lifestyle’ sectors.

On 2 June 2011, Kering acquired Californian brand Volcom in the latest step to bolster its ‘Sport & Lifestyle’ division.^[4]

Personal life

François-Henri Pinault was married to Dorothée Lepère from 1996 until 2004; they have two children, son Francois, and daughter Mathilde.^{[citation needed]}

He dated supermodel Linda Evangelista from September 2005 thru January 2006.^[5] Their son Augustin James Evangelista was born on 11 October 2006.^[6]

In April 2006 he began dating actress Salma Hayek. By March 2007 Hayek was pregnant and they became engaged in the same month.^[7] Their daughter Valentina Paloma was born on 21 September 2007.^[8][9] In July 2008 their relationship ended;^[10] however they reconciled later that Fall^[11] and on 14 February 2009 in Paris, in the Sixth Arrondissement town hall they married. Two months later, on 25 April 2009, they repeated their wedding vows with their family and friends in Venice.^[12]

He founded the Electronic Business Group in 2000 and is the owner of the Stade Rennais, a French Ligue 1 Football Club.^{[citation needed]}

In April 2006, he was awarded Chevalier de l’Ordre National de la Légion d’Honneur.^{[citation needed]}

Kering Foundation

In 2008, François-Henri Pinault launched Kering’s Corporate Foundation for Women’s Dignity and Rights, a part of Kering Home.

Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani

In 2010, Kering Foundation invited people to sign a petition in favour of Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani’s freedom, after she was sentenced to death by stoning. Newspapers (Libération, Elle, La Repubblica, La Règle du jeu) united to publish a letter a day around Sakineh’s cause, which was either written by a celebrity or a reader. In this campaign, François-Henri Pinault wrote a letter for Sakineh entitled "Sakineh, we are standing by you".

ELA

François-Henri Pinault is a Supervisory Board member of ELA (a European NGO campaigning for research in leukodystrophy).^{[citation needed]}

Home

François-Henri Pinault took the initiative to support the film Home by Yann Arthus-Bertrand, which was distributed on television and cinema in 2009 for free, and was seen by more than 400 million people around the world.^[13]

References