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Heir apparent: Delphine Arnault, a wolf in cashmere

This post is one of several on business heirs apparent. Let us know in the comments whether you think Delphine Arnault should take up the reigns of LVMH, and be sure to check out the other heir apparent posts.

Delphine Arnault is a London School of Economics grad as well as being the daughter of Bernard Arnault, chairman of LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, the world's largest luxury conglomerate -- a company with an astonishing 30 billion Euros (about $47 billion) in assets. She was just 28 when in 2003 her father had her installed on the board of LVMH, where she was the youngest board member and the only woman. Having joined the company in 2000, she came to head Dior's shoe and bag division. Colleagues say she can seem shy, but that she's a careful observer and she appears to have inherited her father's determination. That may be why she's been called the "wolf in the cashmere coat."

She can often be found by her father's side, or even in his place, at fashion shows such as last September's Paris Fashion Week, where she and her husband Alessandro Gancia were "swarmed by paparazzi as though they were film stars." Even though she flew under the radar for a few years, she is reportedly becoming increasingly a public face of the company.

"We were raised talking about business," says her younger brother Antoine Arnault, who last year became head of communications for Louis Vuitton and also joined the LVMH board. "It was often the topic of conversation around dinner with my father. ... Delphine has this gift for luxury and retail: she has a sixth sense about it."

Laudomia Pucci, image director of Pucci, says, "When she comes to the showroom, she is very focused on the details of the products." A company insider says of Delphine, "She stays out of the day-to-day operational issues of these companies, but is very involved in the product and designer sides. She's a strategist, and is clearly being groomed for a senior job in the holding company."

Also be sure to check out the other heir apparent posts.

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Last updated: December 03, 2008: 04:35 PM

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