My passion for the watch realm goes beyond the love for the timepieces themselves. I’m also addicted to the history of the brands behind them. In many instances, the articles of this blog tell about the path of brands from their very beginnings to the present. Even if these backgrounds are truly impressive, I want you to know that in fact, watchmaking brands’ present is no less fascinating. Today we are talking about Breitling. Better said, about the CEO of this spectacular watchmaking brand. It was a revelation for me to listen to him in various podcasts to discover how he manages to stay firmly in the head of this remarkable brand. More than that, I was curious to know what motivates him, what is his essence, and how he manages to constantly and consistently raise the value of his brand. I hope this article will be a revelation for you as well. And if you have loved this brand until now, I assure you that you will love it even more.
George Kern’s past and present
George Kern is the current Breitling CEO. For already five years of management, he substantially changed the Breitling vector. He successfully doubled the process turnover of the company and on top of that, he revived the most remarkable Breitling watches to become the most sought-after timepieces in the world.
It doesn’t mean that Breitling had been in a deplorable condition until Kern came into the company. By no means. Before he took the lead, the company had already been one of the most imposing watchmaking brands. Still, with Kern taking the lead, the company has discovered a new breath. He is the person who works 24 hours a day. But not in the personal office. The closed space of the office destroys creativity and vision. And Kern is an incurable visionary who gets inspiration from everything that surrounds him. He travels a lot, talks to journalists, and interacts even more with watch lovers, especially Breitling lovers. Everything that seems extraordinary around him, he passes on to the team of designers through photos as a source of inspiration.
If you google a little bit, you will see how creatively Kern approaches the presentation of Breitling watches. He dresses according to the theme of the presentation, and that’s why you can see him either in a pilot suit or in a wetsuit. For more credibility, search on Google for information about the 70th anniversary of the Navitimer collection, to see how well his outfit matched the theme of the event.
With that being said, I can only add that Breitling could not have made a better choice. Georges Kern is the right person in the right place.
Kern- as an unlimited source of motivation
The Breitling team has enjoyed this manager since 2015. In fact, Kern had a splendid experience before Breitling, namely in a no less relevant company. It is about IWC where Kern had spent around 15 years. During this period, IWC has registered nothing but success on all fronts of production and brand awareness. Since 2015, Kern has focused all his potential on the new company.
With his arrival, Breitling managed to double its turnover. He instituted successful strategies at the level of e-commerce and brand awareness, one of them being the attraction of Breitling “ambassadors”. Thus, notorious people such as Kellen Slater and Adam Driver are among those who proudly promote the image of Breitling around the world.
Like any professional CEO, Kern takes inspiration from great leaders. Thus, he is fascinated by Elon Musk, whom he considers to be something between an excellent mind and a brilliant madman. He also adores Liverpool FC and its manager Jurgen Klopp. He admires the management technique of the latter and never ceases to be inspired by him.
A no less remarkable person for Kern is Warren Edward Buffett. In fact, this magnate, philanthropist, and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway is no other than Kern’s idol. With all these in mind, it is no wonder that Kern is so motivated and inspired. With such reference persons, it cannot be otherwise.
Life outside the office
As I mentioned earlier, the enclosed space limits the Breitling CEO’s inventiveness. To think out-of-the-box, you have to be out of the office, according to him. The fact that he is always in circulation makes him find creative ideas in everything that surrounds him. The cars in the city, the amalgam of colors, the diversity of the sky intensity – all of them are sources of inspiration for him, considering that the Breitling collections have a great tangent with “racing” and “pilot” terms.
In the same context, Kern manages to wonderfully combine his work with his love for life. For him, life should be lived to the fullest, and his job allows him to broaden his horizons with each trip and each interaction with different people. Yes, he is a workaholic, but at the same time, he knows how to separate work from his personal life, devoting enough time to his personal passions. This speaks of the fact that there is a healthy mind driving Kern. Any book that teaches about success will confirm that Kern does everything right to enjoy success at work and to enjoy a quality life.
What makes him a great CEO?
Journalists and public celebrities have asked him more than once about What it Means to be a Good CEO, in his view. What skills must a manager have to be an efficient CEO? Kern’s answer revolves around the idea of having the courage and accepting challenges.
When it comes to courage, Kern says that it is indispensable, especially in situations when everything seems to be down. A good leader inspires the team to always have courage. According to him, the team spirit must always be in “let’s do it” mode. Fear must be removed and if disappointment occurs, it will be encouraged anyway. According to Kern, It’s much better to have courage, give it a try and get a disappointment (in the worst-case scenario) rather than remain unmotivated and do nothing. Disappointment and mistakes are part of the process and these are good ways to learn something.
As for challenges, they must be embraced but not in a naive way. Either way, a good CEO must have the spirit of calculation in him and put on the balance aspects that nobody puts. When it comes to a new collection idea, the CEO must be the one who balances the pluses and minuses. Also, all decisions within the brand must always align with the brand’s culture and values. If they don’t, the brand risks being ruined. An example of a great balance between products and brand value given by Kern is the Louis Vuitton or Hermes. Decisions within the company are like a puzzle. If a single element is wrong, the whole picture is distorted. That’s why another important principle for a good CEO is merging with brand values. Everything that is done, is done within the values and culture of the brand.
Kern’s initial plan when taking Breitling over… or, was there a plan?!
Theoretically, every CEO must come up with a business plan when taking the lead of a company, brand, or organization. What did Kern answer when asked about his plan upon his arrival in 2015? In fact, he had a 60% plan. He left the 40% free for creativity and improvisation.
In Kern’s concept, Breitling had to keep the 3 essential lines: Sea, Land, and Air. They represented and continue to represent the basic pillars of the company’s success. Also, the CEO knew for sure that the idea of brand ambassadors was going to be a successful one. At the same time, Kern admitted that he also had a touch of luck in all the success he achieved. It is the previous brand catalog that served as a solid foundation for the creation of what Breitling represents today. Without this back catalog, the situation would probably have been more difficult. However, Kern did not count on it. Due to his optimistic and result-oriented spirit, the company would have achieved fruitful success with or without this background. It was only a matter of time.
Kern’s strategy of following a plan to the extent of 60% and leaving 40% for creativity proved to be more than safe. This left room both for a clear vision of what must follow, as well as for the freedom of new ideas.
How much does he know about watch mechanisms and movements?
Kern never considered himself a watchmaker. He is familiar with the basic terms of a watch architecture but has never witnessed the assembly of one. And that’s not the case either. A good CEO is not necessarily a watchmaker. He must rather be a man with “strategic gut feeling”. What exactly does this mean? If a team designer or an assembler comes up with an idea, the CEO must have that “gut feeling” to understand how sellable or not the idea is. After all, besides creativity, Breitling also means business. And for Kern, the fact of being able to SELL this creativity is one of the essential priorities.
The gut feeling doesn’t come out of nowhere. It develops over time. For example, Kern admits that some years ago, he understood his end customer in a different way. Now he knows that the clientele is not just looking for a watch, they are looking for a lifestyle. And if this lifestyle also requires technologies in a watch, he will implement them. The idea is that he, as CEO, must know WHAT technologies the audience is looking for. And how exactly they are integrated and what they entail is the technical department’s responsibility. In Kern’s view, a good CEO is like a buffer between the final customer and the technical department. The latter must implement exactly what the CEO knows the public wants.
What is more relevant for Georges Kern: the technical features of a watch or its narrative trump?
For a successful product, one cannot exist without the other, according to Kern’s explanation. Without a proper narrative, he would risk eclipsing the value of a truly extraordinary product. And vice versa, respectively. A narrative will not have a long-term impact if the product does not correspond to the brand’s values and quality standards. Breitling makes extraordinary products. In this chapter, Kern has nothing to complain about. What remains for him is to find the right description that will touch the strings of his audience’s soul. For a good example of this idea, someone had told Kern that the Breitling is associated with happy days. Kern took this idea and used it in the promotion of the Navitimer collection. After all, people don’t just want a time-telling accessory, but rather one that generates emotions and feelings of well-being.
Georges Kern’s biggest current challenge
Kern’s biggest desire and current challenge is to expand the target audience as wide as possible. In his view, too few people know about the real value of the brand and the greatness of its watches. Kern understands very well that it is not enough to change the strategy in the vector of a company. What is even more necessary is the identification of the channels for a wider audience. However, Kern is ambitious and optimistic because the brand has a lot to offer. The rest is a matter of time.
What’s different in Georges Kern today from what he was years ago?
The Breitling CEO admits that he likes speed. And it’s not about the speed with which he drives a car (even if that is also a strong passion). It is more about the speed with which things move in a company. However, experience has taught him that uncalculated speed often leads to smaller or bigger failures and mistakes. In this context, he is different today than he was before in that he has improved his calculation skills. He did not slow down the pace of his spirit but only added awareness and calibration.
Kern is deeply grateful to his mentors, who, by the way, always suggested he take things slower. He took all the best that the mentors could ever give him, and still kept his active and adventurous pace. As we see today through the Breitling image, these skills were of great help to him and to Breitling as a whole.