TAG Heuer’s Leadership Problem Is Bigger Than One CEO

Antoine Pin’s departure from TAG Heuer after just over a year at the helm is not, on its own, unusual. Executive exits are common in luxury, particularly in periods of market volatility. What makes this moment notable is not Pin’s decision to leave, but what it reveals about the structural challenges facing one of LVMH’s most visible watch brands and the wider pressure building across the Swiss watch industry.

TAG Heuer is not a struggling brand in terms of recognition. It is one of the most globally known names in watches, closely associated with motorsport, precision timing and performance. Yet behind the visibility lies a persistent problem: instability at the top. Since 2013, the brand has cycled through six chief executives, an unusually high turnover for a heritage luxury house built on continuity and trust.

Pin’s exit adds another layer of uncertainty at a particularly delicate time.

By Ridhi Sofat

January 2026

A Difficult Market for Watches

Antoine Pin

The timing is significant. Swiss watchmakers are navigating a convergence of headwinds:

slowing demand in key markets, a strong Swiss franc, a weak dollar, and the impact of U.S. tariffs. Consumers, squeezed by rising living costs, are becoming more selective, particularly in the entry and mid-luxury segments where TAG Heuer is most exposed.

Within LVMH, watches and jewellery have been among the slower-growing divisions, with sales up just 1% over the past nine months. While brands like Bulgari have managed to carve out strong positions through design-led innovation and jewellery integration, sports watches face a more competitive and crowded landscape.

In this environment, leadership stability matters more than ever.

The Weight of Expectation

When Pin was appointed in September 2024, his mandate appeared clear: bring focus and consistency to TAG Heuer while deepening its strategic partnership with Formula 1. The brand’s role as official timekeeper is a cornerstone of LVMH’s 10-year, billion-dollar deal with F1’s owners, Liberty Media, a partnership designed to position TAG Heuer at the intersection of luxury, sport and global entertainment.

Formula 1 offers scale, youth appeal and cultural relevance. But it also demands narrative continuity. Sport partnerships work best when brand identity is stable and leadership vision is sustained over time. Frequent changes at the top risk turning long-term strategy into a series of resets.

TAG Heuer’s recent “Designed to Win” campaign, fronted by figures ranging from Max

Verstappen to Ryan Gosling, signalled ambition and breadth. Yet such visibility raises expectations internally and externally. When results lag and leadership shifts, confidence can erode quickly.

A Brand Caught Between Identities

TAG Heuer’s challenge is not a lack of heritage or innovation. Models like the Monaco and Carrera remain benchmarks in watch design, and the brand has strong legitimacy in motorsport. The difficulty lies in positioning.

Is TAG Heuer a performance-driven sports watch, a lifestyle luxury brand, or a gateway into high watchmaking? Over the past decade, it has attempted to be all three, often simultaneously. That ambiguity places immense pressure on leadership, particularly within a conglomerate structure where strategic patience is not infinite.

By contrast, brands with clearer propositions, whether ultra-high-end, jewellery-led, or tool-watch focused, have found it easier to weather market cycles.

What This Signals for LVMH

Tag Monaco Model

Tag Carrera Model

Pin’s departure comes just days before LVMH Watch Week, an event designed to project confidence and momentum. That juxtaposition is telling. The group remains deeply invested in its watch portfolio, but it is also clearly reassessing how best to manage it.

Jean-Christophe Babin’s continued oversight of the watch division suggests a desire for tighter control and strategic recalibration. Whether that translates into longer CEO tenures, sharper brand differentiation, or a rethink of how watches sit within LVMH’s broader luxury ecosystem remains to be seen.

Jean-Christophe Babin

What is clear is that executive churn carries costs, not just operationally, but symbolically. In luxury, stability is part of the product.

Beyond One Exit

Antoine Pin leaves with a strong track record elsewhere in the group, including overseeing technical breakthroughs at Bulgari. His departure should not be read as an individual failure. Rather, it underscores how difficult it has become to steer a legacy watch brand through a market that demands both restraint and reinvention.

For TAG Heuer, the question is no longer who comes next, but what kind of leadership structure the brand needs to regain its centre of gravity.

In an industry built on precision, time is a resource that cannot be squandered. And for luxury watch brands navigating slower growth and higher expectations, consistency may now be the most valuable complication of all.