Biography
Laurent Claquin is head of Kering Americas and chief executive of Tomas Maier .
Opening the French luxury conglomerate’s New York office in 2011, Claquin is responsible for the North, Central and South American expansion of Kering’s 21 brands, which include Gucci, Saint Laurent, Alexander McQueen and Balenciaga.
After completing his studies in business economics in France and the UK, in 1994 Claquin began his career as a consultant for Coopers & Lybrand. After three years, he pursued his interest in the arts, working for Galerie Nationale du Jeu de Paume and Centre Pompidou. In 2002, he became deputy chief of staff at France’s Ministry of Culture and Communication. During this time, he met the Pinault family.
Joining the Kering Group in 2004, Claquin acted as advisor to Francois-Henri Pinault’s family investment arm Artemis, before becoming the group’s senior vice president of communications.
He is responsible for initiating Kering’s Corporate Social Responsibility programme, and was also involved in the development of the Kering Foundation, which combats violence against women.
“We are a whole community and we have, collectively, a responsibility, because of the nature of what we do, the business we’re in, which is fashion and clothes,” Claquin said in an interview for Document Journal in 2014. “So we have a holistic approach, and we look at the impact of everything we do, not just with our stakeholders but in the community as well.”