Haute Time Throwback Thursday With Audemars Piguet’s Francois-Henry Bennahmias

Three years ago, Haute Living did a shoot with then-President and CEO of Audemars Piguet North America, Inc., Francois-Henry Bennahmias at the company’s US headquarters on 57th Street in New York. Today, we’re revisiting that feature for #Throwback Thursday.

For the shoot, we snapped Bennahmias in front of his framed picture of Muhammad Ali and Arnold Schwarzenegger. Since Schwarzenegger was the first major ambassador Bennahmias worked with, the picture meant a lot to him. Following a meeting organized at the company headquarters in Switzerland, Audemars Piguet introduced a commemorative watch in honor of Schwarzenegger’s film End of Days. Other limited edition watches followed, including the Royal Oak Offshore Arnold Schwarzenegger Chronograph, unveiled in 2003 when Schwarzenegger was elected Governor of California. The longstanding partnership has also raised millions of dollars for the After-School All-Stars foundation which Schwarzenegger created in 1993 to provide after-school programs for underprivileged children.

Today, Bennahmias is based in Switzerland where he is the Global CEO of Audemars Piguet.