The Strength of Time

Bennahmias joined Audemars Piguet in 1994. After three short years, he was promoted to lead the brand’s operations in Singapore. And, in 1996, he took on the added responsibility of the French, German, Italian, Swiss, Australian, Malaysian, and Brunei markets. Finally, in 1999, Bennahmias was promoted to his current position in the Americas, where he is responsible for overseeing all financial, operational, sales, and marketing functions for Audemars Piguet throughout North and South America, including Mexico and the Caribbean. Bennahmias has had his hands full. But it is his strong faith in the extreme value of the company’s immaculate timepieces that drives increased brand recognition and sales. In fact, under his direction, the Americas became Audemars Piguet’s leader in sales and took the No. 1 position worldwide.

But it wasn’t always smooth sailing for this French native. When Bennahmias arrived in the U.S. in 1999, he was faced with major distribution challenges. Retailers were not happy, the inventory was poor, and he was a foreigner in a new country. He was challenged with rebuilding the reputation of Audemars Piguet in his new market, and he had to act quickly and strategically. His biggest move was cleaning up the inventory, as private distributors had abused the parcels. Determined to bring the brand back to its fullest potential, Bennahmias diligently began correcting the mistakes made before him. “Again, slowly but surely, we took it back.” The new flagship store on 57th Street in New York opened in 2009, and a second flagship operates in Miami’s tony Bal Harbour Shops.

During his decade-plus-long tenure as president and CEO, Bennahmias has taken the storied Swiss watchmaker to new levels of fame and notoriety. By forming key relationships with celebrities, musicians, and sporting teams, Bennahmias catapulted Audemars Piguet into the category of the most desirable luxury products. In one of his key first moves, Bennahmias approached Arnold Schwarzenegger, who was a known collector of Audemars Piguet timepieces, to be a brand ambassador. What resulted was the Royal Oak Offshore End of Days Chronograph co-designed with Schwarzenegger in 1999. The relationship between Schwarzenegger and Audemars Piguet created such allure and awareness for the brand that it attracted other notable figures and collectors to the exquisite timepieces.

Since then, Bennahmias has launched several additional successful campaigns and lines using star power. “Jay-Z was a big move,” Bennahmias recalls. “Jay and I have been friends for many, many years, and he already had 14 or 15 of our watches. We came up with the idea to make a limited edition watch with him,” says Bennahmias. This was in 2004, when Jay-Z was planning his retirement as well as the release of his 10th album. Bennahmias realized the extreme marketing potential intrinsic in solidifying a working relationship with the music legend at this juncture. Jay-Z signed on, and what resulted was the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Jay-Z 10th anniversary line, made up of 100 watches, each engraved with a different one of Jay-Z’s top 100 songs, ranging in price from $24,000 to $100,000 each. To further authenticate this exclusive partnership, the timepiece came with a hand-printed parchment style sheet with the song’s lyrics, signed by the hip-hop mogul, and an iPod inscribed with a lyric from the song “Hovi Baby” off of Jay-Z’s album Blueprint 2: The Gift & The Curse. That lyric read: “I’m so far ahead of my time I’m about to start another life. Look behind you I’m about to pass you twice.”