PARIS – Luxury magnate Bernard Arnault was awarded the Grand Cross of the Legion of Honor, France’s highest civilian decoration, in the annual New Year’s Day honors list.
The founder of the LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton conglomerate, which owns brands including Louis Vuitton, Dior, Tiffany & Co., Guerlain and Dom Pérignon, previously had been made a Grand Officer of the Legion of Honor in 2011.
Chantal Gaemperle, executive vice president of human resources and synergies at LVMH, was declared a Knight of the Legion of Honor in the list published on Sunday, as was journalist and author Sophie Fontanel.
Others associated with the luxury world who were promoted to Knight included Marc Schwartz, chief executive officer of the Monnaie de Paris, France’s sovereign mint; Pascale Duchénoy, CEO of embroiderer Maison Duchénoy, and mastor tailor Marc de Luca. Meanwhile, pastry chef Pierre Hermé was made an Officer.
