Group after 13 years with the company. Taking over as Piaget president is Thomas Van Der Kallen, who has overseen the operations here of several prestigious watch brands distributed by Richemont North America. Those brands, including Piaget, will now report directly to Callum Barton, chief executive officer of Richemont North America. The change is effective Nov. 1.

During his tenure, Filotei held several top management posts, including vice president of wholesale operations at Cartier North America, president of Piaget North America and president of Officine Panerai, the Italian luxury watch brand he successfully launched in the U.S. market in 1999.

“It was time for a change,” said Filotei. “I’m confident that the Piaget brand is stronger in the U.S. and Canada than when I took over in 1999. We made changes in distribution and successfully launched some important icon products like Piaget Polo, so I leave with a sense of accomplishment.”

Van Der Kallen began his career at Richemont in Europe in 1991, and held various marketing positions for Piaget and Baume & Mercier in the Netherlands. In 1998, he came to the United States as vice president of marketing for Baume & Mercier. He was responsible for repositioning the brand, and became its president in 1999.

Richemont North America is an arm of the Richemont Group, the Swiss luxury goods company. In addition to Piaget, Baume & Mercier and Officine Panerai, the Group’s portfolio of luxury brands include Cartier, Montblanc, Alfred Dunhill, Van Cleef & Arpels, as well as the prestigious watch manufacturers Jaeger-LeCoultre, Piaget, IWC, Vacheron Constantin, and A. Lange & Söhne.

JCK