The true hero of AP

On 1.1.2024, the long-standing and now legendary CEO of AP François-Henry Bennahmias stepped down. After 29 years, he will leave the company that he helped build from an unknown and poorly managed venture on the brink of collapse to the 4th most-grossing watchmaker in the world (with even better sales than Patek!).

 

As a little commemoration of his achievements, here are 3 cool facts about him.

 

Photo source: Telegraph 

 

1. Francois actually started as a salesman in AP. The first thing he was doing was door-to-door sales of Royal Oaks. 1-2 sales a week were a cause to celebrate. Quite hard to imagine that today.

 

2. He was the first-ever subsidiary of AP in the USA. AP agreed to give him this region since the US market equaled no market. Francois basically had his little playground where he could attempt the impossible. As we all know, he’s pretty successful at the impossible.

 

Photo source: HauteTime

 

3. The first big success the brand had with Francois in America was the collaboration with Arnold Schwarzenegger and Muhammad Ali. How did he get them? Arnie was a long-time friend of one of the AP shareholders, so Francois at least had a foot in the door in that case.

 

To make it a little more interesting for him, Arnie agreed to collaborate only if he could do it with Muhammad Ali. Getting Ali was one of the most challenging things Francois has ever pulled off, but in the end, he managed to do so.

 

Arnold and Ali helped AP with their new launch and on the auction at Christie’s where the event took place, AP managed to sell 35 watches for 1.5M dollars

 

These are just some snippets from the incredibly exciting life of François-Henry Bennahmias. He was one of the most dynamic CEOs of the whole watch industry and we loved him for that.

 

Now, let’s see if the new CEO Ilaria Resta will continue on Francois’s trajectory of victories.