Fabienne Lupo, President of the Fondation de la Haute Horlogerie

Fabienne Lupo is a key figure in the world of Haute Horlogerie. A woman of character and conviction, she has steered the Fondation de la Haute Horlogerie since 2010. This powerful institution works to pass on watchmaking expertise, building on four pillars established at its founding in 2005 by Audemars Piguet, the Richemont group and Girard-Perregaux. Informing, training, certifying and organising are the four missions of an organisation that today brings together 42 partner brands, plus 23 so-called associated brands. The Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie is the Fondation de la Haute Horlogerie’s major annual event. It is also a platform from which its President shares her messages, and an opportunity for a handful of watch industry professionals to meet her.

Passion Horlogère was granted that privilege, for a friendly, passionate conversation sprinkled with humour and full of insight. Meet the woman who now becomes the first to join our Watchmaking Who’s Who. What an honour!

Fabienne Lupo, thank you for welcoming us to the Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie. You are the President of the Fondation de la Haute Horlogerie, and it is a real pleasure to interview you, since you are about to become the first woman to join the Passion Horlogère Who’s Who.

Thank you, thank you for the honour.

What is your initial assessment of this 28th edition of the SIHH?

The outcome is very positive. We haven’t closed our doors yet (interview conducted on the last day of the fair, editor’s note), but we already know that attendance will be up by around 20%, with some 20,000 trade visitors from all over the world. And we are waiting until this evening to find out how many members of the public came, since Friday is set aside, among other things, for welcoming the public who want to see this fair, which for a long time was closed to them.

Could you briefly introduce the Fondation de la Haute Horlogerie, which is of course well known to professionals, but not necessarily to enthusiasts and collectors?

The Foundation is an institution that defends the values and expertise of Haute Horlogerie. Our role is to promote knowledge and culture around it. Our ambition, without any pretension, is to be a kind of Ministry of Haute Horlogerie. To that end we have digital tools, an online encyclopaedia, magazines and online news; we organise exhibitions and publish books… Our latest publication, in fact, is “The Beauty of Time”, published by Flammarion, which tells the story of the watch face and of reading the time through the artistic movements of history. We really are like a guild that promotes its crafts in order to make Haute Horlogerie more desirable to every audience around the world.

Madame Lupo, you are no doubt a lover of Haute Horlogerie and of fine watchmaking. Which watch are you wearing on your wrist?

Well, today I’m wearing a Piaget Altiplano, an ultra-thin watch. It’s a men’s model that suits my slightly masculine side (laughs).

What would you consider the greatest achievement in watchmaking?

The greatest watchmaking achievement, you mean mine? (Laughs). The greatest watchmaking achievement is the Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie, which celebrated its 28th year this year, and for my part, this is my twentieth fair.

Do you like watch complications? And if so, which is your favourite?

Yes…, yes, like all women, as the saying goes, I like complications (smiles). Watch complications too. But what moves me even more in Haute Horlogerie are the artisans. All those people who work to make these exceptional, highly technical movements even more beautiful. I mean the people who work in engraving, gem-setting, decorating movements and dials, enamelling… These are extraordinary crafts, incredible skills, and they are things that touch me deeply and truly dazzle me.

Madame President, your work is your passion. What are your other passions in life?

Unfortunately, to have passions you need a lot of time. And I don’t have much of it… But if I had a little more time, I would devote more of it to a passion I had for a long time, still have, and have set aside somewhat: the theatre. I love the theatre, I love acting and I love going to the theatre.

Who is your favourite actor?

Oh, that’s difficult,… I’d say it’s characters rather than actors. And to stay very classical, I’m very fond of Molière’s plays.

The Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie is, of course, about Haute Horlogerie. But it is also about luxury. How would you define luxury?

It’s a bit of what I was telling you. It’s time, and space too… It’s being able to be with the people you love. Being able to take time with the people you feel good with. And luxury isn’t necessarily about owning objects. Luxury is knowing how to treat yourself every day, all the time. And it’s true that time and space are the essential values, at least of my idea of luxury.

Is there a historical or contemporary figure who inspires you, or who inspired you at some point in your life?

That’s a difficult question, because if you name historical figures, it pigeonholes you straight away, and if you name living people, the ones you didn’t mention will say: “so I’m not the one who inspires you?” (laughs). So it’s a bit complicated…

Don’t you have a mentor?

No…, well yes, I do have mentors. The first were my parents, and then I had professional mentors, most recently Franco COLOGNI. He is a major figure in Haute Horlogerie. An extremely cultured, extremely refined, extremely brilliant man, with whom I have worked for 20 years and hope to keep working with for a long time. But as for historical figures and so on… I’m not much of a fan. I don’t have a fan’s soul.

How large is the team you lead at the Fondation de la Haute Horlogerie?

We are currently 37 people, and we really have two very distinct activities. The first is organising the Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie. The second is promoting cultural activities around watchmaking. We do this through exhibitions and “retail” events that we can hold in different markets. For example, we will be holding a “Watches and Wonders” in Miami from 16 to 19 February, in the Miami Design District, where we will present exhibitions, introductory watchmaking workshops and talks. We really are committed to spreading the word about watchmaking around the world. These activities are an important part of the Foundation, as are our training activities. Because it really is important to train sales and brand representation staff, especially today, when clients are extremely well informed and extremely knowledgeable. The Fondation de la Haute Horlogerie also has a mission to pass on its knowledge and carry its expertise through introductory courses, training and certification programmes.

What qualities do you value in the people who work with you?

For me, the main qualities are loyalty and faithfulness. Once you are loyal and faithful, you can do anything.

Madame Lupo, one last, essential question. At SIHH time, what time is it?

It’s 3:21 pm on my Piaget Altiplano.

Fabienne Lupo’s biography

Appointed President and CEO of the Fondation de la Haute Horlogerie in 2010, Fabienne Lupo has been carrying the message of Haute Horlogerie excellence around the world since 1999. Under her leadership, the Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie, which at that time was beginning to open up to other brands, gradually became an exclusive trade event of international renown, now welcoming more than 18,000 visitors across 55,000 m2: Fabienne has guided the growth of the SIHH as new Maisons applied to join and as the watch groups consolidated. Since 2017, the SIHH has opened its doors to the public for one day.

A graduate of the Ecole Supérieure de Commerce de Toulouse and then of Université Paris-Dauphine, where she completed her studies with a postgraduate degree (DESS) in Marketing and Mathematical Modelling, this Frenchwoman from the South began her career in the luxury and cosmetics industry, with L’Oréal and Givenchy Parfums. She then joined Secodip (Sofres Group), where she advised on and conducted market research in communication and advertising investment for a portfolio of international clients. Her organisational and management skills were confirmed when she was appointed Commissioner General of the Foire Internationale de Marseille (SAFIM), France’s second largest fair in terms of attendance and reputation (400,000 visitors, 1,500 exhibitors), as well as of many other Marseille trade shows (Salon Nautique, Salon de la Moto, Foire de Printemps, etc.).

In 1999, she moved to Geneva and joined the Comité International de la Haute Horlogerie as Secretary General. She worked towards the success of the SIHH and the rise of Haute Horlogerie: in 2005, she became Managing Director of the Fondation de la Haute Horlogerie (FHH), a private foundation created by three major industry players: the Richemont group, Audemars Piguet and Girard-Perregaux. Besides organising the SIHH, the foundation’s role is to promote the culture, expertise and values of Haute Horlogerie throughout the world.

A woman with a true vocation, Fabienne has worked to expand the Foundation’s information and training missions internationally. Driven by her energy and her ability to bring people together, the FHH has become a benchmark institution, today counting 42 partner Maisons, delegations in more than fifteen markets and a constantly growing network of ambassadors.

Under her leadership, the Foundation has confirmed its role as the legitimate, indispensable authority in defending and promoting fine watchmaking. Hosting forums that reflect on the industry and its evolution, publishing books and carrying out targeted studies are all concrete actions that confirm the ambition of the Fondation de la Haute Horlogerie.

Attentive to how the economy and the industry are evolving, the FHH organised the Watches & Wonders fair in Hong Kong for three years from 2013, staking out Haute Horlogerie’s territory in Asia. Other projects are being developed elsewhere in the world, notably in Miami.

Today, the Foundation continues its role as a reference within Haute Horlogerie, notably with the publication of the Haute Horlogerie White Paper, which defines the contours of this particular world and the brands that make it up.

Alongside her work for the FHH, Fabienne Lupo also sits on the boards of Time Vallée and the Michelangelo Foundation for Creativity and Craftmanships.

Further reading

Fabienne Lupo presents the 2018 edition of the SIHH, Journal de la Haute Horlogerie,

Fabienne Lupo, “A powerful woman in a watch’s world”, by Ariane Tavakol, Discover Out Loud.