He joined the family-owned company in 1996 as a member of its marketing team and has led its Consumer Goods division since 2002.
A statement from the company read, “In addition to his previous duties as chairman of the executive board, Robert Buchbauer is taking over the role of CEO and will realign the company along a common vision, growth strategy and organisation.”
The decision to name Buchbauer CEO was made as part of a wider management restructuring program; a report by US fashion industry publication Women’s Wear Daily quoted a source within the Swarovski Group as saying, “There was no CEO and it was always a difficult process to get decisions made and approved.
“The changes don’t come as a surprise and they clearly took the opportunity of COVID-19 to cut costs and reorganise.”
Approximately 300 Swarovski family members hold stakes in the business, with the source adding that there had been “a lot of tension”.
As part of the restructuring program, Nadja Swarovski will reportedly no longer hold the role of Head of Corporate Communications, nor lead in-house fine jewellery brand Atelier Swarovski, which she launched in 2007.
The Women’s Wear Daily source described Atelier Swarovski – which is known for its collections designed with celebrities, such as Pénélope Cruz – as a “money-losing business”, adding, “Nadja wasn’t strategic and was always changing her mind but she has been such an important public part of the business.”
However, Nadja Swarovski will continue as a member of the executive board – alongside Buchbauer and another relative, Mathias Margreiter – and remains chairperson of the Swarovski Foundation, which she established in 2013.
The fourth member of the Swarovski executive board, Markus Langes-Swarovski, has resigned in order to become a member of the company’s advisory board and chairman of its board of directors. He has also left his role as head of Swarovski’s wholesale division.
The Swarovski company is marking its 125th anniversary in 2020 and recently entered the lab-created colour diamond category and announced plans to expand into natural diamonds.
More reading:
Colour diamonds: The fairest of them all
Swarovski introduces fancy colour lab-grown diamonds
Swarovski enters the natural diamond market