Actress Emma Watson joins board of French Gucci owner Kering

PARIS (Reuters) – British actress Emma Watson, famed for enjoying Hermione in the Harry Potter movie collection, and previous Credit Suisse boss Tidjane Thiam are set to sign up for the board of French luxurious group Kering as it pushes to elevate its profile in locations these kinds of as sustainability.

Kering, guiding prime manner manufacturers like Italy’s Gucci, said that Watson would chair the board’s sustainability committee, which is focused on environmental matters – a increasing issue for a lot of younger luxurious shoppers corporations want to court docket.

Watson, thirty, is also recognised as a champion of women’s rights and is a United Nations Girls Goodwill Ambassador.

Kering said that shareholders experienced also accepted the appointment of Thiam, who give up as Credit Suisse main government in February adhering to a spying scandal and revelations that the Swiss financial institution experienced snooped on previous executives.

Thiam, who formerly ran insurer Prudential, experienced said he knew almost nothing of these activities. He led value cuts and a restructuring at Credit Suisse which ended up credited with serving to it return to financial gain.

He will chair Kering’s Audit Committee, the business said.

Jean Liu, president of China’s greatest ride-hailing business Didi Chuxing, will also sign up for Kering’s board, the group extra.

Kering, which also owns Saint Laurent and Balenciaga, has like peers been strike tricky by the coronavirus pandemic, which forced a lot of retailer closures worldwide.

Enduring limitations on global journey are possible to weigh on the sector for months to occur, primarily in browsing capitals like Paris. Chinese customers account for in excess of a third of worldwide luxurious goods sales, and a lot of commonly shop overseas.

Luxury corporations have been doubling down all the exact on endeavours to acquire in excess of consumers, like by bolstering their eco-friendly qualifications. Louis Vuitton proprietor LVMH said very last July that British designer Stella McCartney would recommend the group’s government committee on environmental matters.