Jean-Frédéric Dufour

Spear’s Review

Jean-Frédéric Dufour was appointed CEO of Rolex in 2014 after a highly successful five-year tenure as CEO of Zenith Watches, part of LMVH, helping the brand to quickly recover from tough conditions brought on by the 2008 financial crash (he has been credited with helping the business to remain profitable during this time). 

At the helm of the revered watchmaker, which now produces more than one million timepieces annually while taking in more than $10 billion in revenue, Dufour’s dynamic manoeuvres have supercharged Rolex’s efforts across retail, digital strategy and manufacturing. The firm has also attracted praise for its sustainable production methods.

At the beginning of his career, Dufour worked in Hong Kong for a Swiss bank before soon joining the watch industry. He first worked in sales before later branching out into marketing and product development – and over the course of his career has gained wide expertise in the full life cycle of the production of Swiss watches.