Cerruti 1881: President Catherine Vautrin passes on the baton to Richard Cohen

By

Dominique Muret

Published
Dec 5, 2014

After three years as President of Cerruti 1881, Catherine Vautrin is leaving. The French exec decided to step down in order "to pursue personal projects," the brand said in a statement. Her successor is Richard Cohen, CEO of Trinity.

The Chinese group Li & Fung hired Catherine Vautrin in 2011 shortly after the group, through its menswear luxury retailer Trinity, purchased historic Italian label Cerruti 1881 in the aim of “building the brand into a leading player in menswear.”

Since April 2011, the Paris-based company has belonged to Chinese company Trinity, a publicly-listed entity of Hong Kong Li & Fung, which also owns English tailors Gieves & Hawkes and Hardy Amies. Before purchasing the brand, Trinity served as Cerruti 1881’s partner in China. 

Trinity recruited Brit Richard Cohen last year as CEO. He will now take over this same position at Cerruti 1881. The executive previously worked for Saks Fifth Avenue, Zegna USA and on the Burberry sales management team in the United States.

Vautrin possesses extensive experience in the luxury sector. Between 2000 and 2007 she served as CEO of Emilio Pucci and worked from 1992 to 2000 for Louis Vuitton, at first in charge of developing the image of Louis Vuitton stores worldwide before becoming the label's director of ready-to-wear collections for men and women.