Martin Bachmann, 46, has been named the new chief executive officer of Swiss luxury watch manufacturer Maurice Lacroix S.A., effective. Nov. 1. 

For the past seven years, Bachmann, an executive board member of the luxury Swiss watch brand, has been actively involved in development of the brand as global director of its Marketing/Country Operations division.

Bachman succeeds Philippe C. Merk, 51, who was named CEO of Swiss luxury watchmaker Audemars Piguet Holding SA in August, effective Jan. 1, 2009, replacing its long-time CEO, Georges-Henri Meylan.

Bachmann noted Maurice Lacroix’s successful “leap” in recent years into the small group of luxury Swiss brands who make their own mechanical movements. “Together with my management team, it’s my goal to continue this successful strategy,” he said. “We will build on our innovative strength and creativity, with which we also intend to inspire our customers in the coming years.”

Bachman’s successor as global director of sales for Maurice Lacroix is Marc Gläser, 40, who returns to the brand after four years. The marketing segment will now report to product director Sandro Reginelli, a member of the executive board.

Since launching its first watch in 1975, Maurice Lacroix, headquartred at Saignelégier, Switzerland, has evolved into a luxury brand known for complex movements. Important milestones include its 2003 Masterpiece Double Rétrograde, with a complex mechanism with two retrograde displays developed in-house; the 2006 launch of its first in-house movement (ML106), and in 2008, the debut of its Mémoire 1, the first mechanical watch with a memory.

Maurice Lacroix, one of the few independent watch manufacturers, has around 300 employees worldwide, most at its international headquarters in Zurich and its production sites in Saignelégier and Montfaucon, Switzerland.

JCK