PARIS — Christophe Caillaud, managing director at Jean Paul Gaultier SA since 2000, has been named president of the French fashion house.
Caillaud succeeds Eric Labaume, who stepped down from the position last July. Caillaud, 39, had already assumed day-to-day operations in the interim.
Before joining Gaultier, Caillaud was a consultant with the boutique mergers and acquisitions firm Aforge Finance and helped broker the sale of 35 percent of Gaultier to Hermès in 1999.
Caillaud is a graduate of the French business school ESSEC and has an MBA and a masters law degree. He began his career in 1992 as deputy financial manager at the chemical firm LP Inc. in the United States before returning to his native France.
The executive assumes the helm at Gaultier as the company marks its 30th anniversary and enjoys strong commercial momentum, especially in the U.S., where sales are up more than 40 percent.
Before his exit, Labaume had put into place a restructuring plan that helped the company — reeling from heavy investments in retail stores, a new headquarters and its money-losing couture — to reach breakeven last year and put it on track to profitability this year.
In 2005, consolidated sales at Gaultier rose 7 percent to 28.7 million euros, or $36.2 million at current exchange, according to the annual report of Hermès International.