Second Coming
Pierre Jacques, the former CEO of independent watchmaking firm De Bethune, returns to clean up its mess
IT WASN'T THE SECOND COMING of Steve Jobs, but there were broad similarities.
Pierre Jacques grew De Bethune fast and furious when he was running the independent Swiss watchmaking firm. Then came the fall. De Bethune was hit by a triple blow in 2015-16 - the Russia-Ukraine war, the euro crisis and a big hike in the prices of De Bethune's watches. Mr Jacques left the firm after the first blow, in late 2015. Now he's back to lead De Bethune out of the mess.
The late Apple chief's attachment to Apple was understandable. He was a co-founder of the computer company. While Mr Jacques was De Bethune's chief executive, he had no hand in starting it. Yet he says his heart has always been with De Bethune, whose timepieces reflect watchmaking art in the 21st century. Mr Jacques might have been with the firm for only five years - from 2011 to 2015 - but it felt like a lifetime to him.
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