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RICARDO GUADALUPE Ricardo Guadalupe is a man fueled with passion and enterpreneural spirit which today has led him to the very pinnacle of the Swiss watch making industry as CEO of the world famous Hublot Watch brand. A man of impeccable taste and detail, Guadalupe began his journey as product manager in the famed Bvlgari brand before meeting a living legend of the Swiss watch industry, Jean Claude Biver who inspired Guadalupe to bring his enormous energy and talent to play the most significant role in the development of the Geneva based Hublot watch brand. Hublot is a member of the LVMH watch division. whilst Guadalupe is CEO of Hublot, JCB remains the dynamic chairman of the board and Head of LVMH watch group. Zakaa Living had the privilege to meet up with Guadalupe and discuss the opening of the hublot boutique in Abuja, Nigeria. its very first in Africa.
Jean-Claude Biver is a friend, a mentor, a visionnaire.
Q. Ricardo Guadalupe is an exotic name. What are the origins?
The Art of Fusion definitively is Hublot’s DNA. Combining tradition with innovation, the past with the future.
I was born and raised in Neuchâtel, Switzerland, but my roots come from Spain. Q. You worked several years with the great Jean-Claude Biver. How would you describe your experience with him? Would you call him a mentor? Does he still have his strong input into the brand? I met Jean-Claude Biver in 1994 at Baselworld. The alchemy directly worked between us and he almost hired me directly. We worked together to rebuild the Blancpain brand. This was an amazing and enriching experience for me. In 2004, the adventure continued, next to JeanClaude at Hublot. We had to develop the brand. You can see what we achieved so far, this is an incredible success story!
Q. For such a young brand, Hublot has moved at Ferrari speed. How has this been able to happen? Thanks to the passion we put in our work. We are continuously growing, but our structure remains flexible therefore we can easily create and develop products in a short time as we have that facility in our 2 manufacture buildings. Q. We hear “The Art of Fusion”. Can you expand on this? What would you say is the DNA of the brand?
Q. Hublot, among a few other great watch brands, are part of the LVMH group. How closely do you work with the group and what global advantages does this give you? Each Maison is independent, but of course we have pragmatic synergies. Like for example with Berluti, where we developed a timepiece fusing both brands’ DNAs. Q. You are about to open your first Hublot boutique in Abuja, Nigeria. How excited are you about this? This is of course a new milestone for the brand as we open our first boutique in Africa. I am of course proud of this new step for Hublot.
ZAKAA LIVING | ISSUE 1 2018
Q. Have you ever visited Nigeria or any other country in Africa? Unfortunately, I had never visited Nigeria previously, but I was in South Africa for the FIFA World Cup 2010, where I also enjoyed a safari tour. This was wonderful and unique! Q. What are your plans to continue to develop the movement in Nigeria? With a population of over 180 million people, just one percent (1%) of that gives you an interesting market. Do you have plans to develop the brand here as you have done in other parts of the world? We believe that there is an important potential in Nigeria. This boutique will be a milestone, and we will continue to build our strong image in Africa. Q. What was your positive reasoning for being one of the first to enter the Nigerian market with a boutique? We go where our clients are. We see potential in Nigeria, and also Hublot’s philosophy is to always be First. Unique. Different. Q. You're known in the industry as dynamic and fast to the table, what do you make of those comments? What do you consider to be your best attributes? Hublot is a leader in innovation and creativity. This is our DNA, and we constantly continue to push the boundaries further and further.
