Chanel: CEO Maureen Chiquet to step down

French high fashion house Chanel announced Wednesday that the company's CEO, Maureen Chiquet, is stepping down, "due to differing opinions regarding strategy."

"Maureen Chiquet will leave the company at the end of January [...] and Alain Wertheimer, Chanel's chairman, will assume the leadership of the company", according to a statement released by Chanel.

According to French news agency AFP, Chanel declined to give details regarding the nature of these strategic differences.

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The statement then adds that "Chanel wishes to thank Maureen Chiquet for having accompanied the fashion house through a new period of growth, in close partnership with the management teams, and wishes her well in her future endeavors."

Maureen Chiquet, 52, started her career as a product manager at French cosmetics group L'Oréal in Paris, before being appointed in 2007 at the helm of the house founded by Coco Chanel at the start of the 20th century.