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Rolex’s Stewart Wicht to Retire at the End of 2018
Wicht has been with luxury watch brand since 1975 and has been heading the American market since 2011.
Stewart Wicht, who has served as president and CEO of Rolex Watch U.S.A. Inc. since 2011, will retire in December but remain on the company’s board of directors. His successor has not been named.
New York—Rolex confirmed Tuesday what some in the watch and jewelry industry already knew—this year will be the last for Stewart Wicht at the helm of Rolex’s U.S. operations.
Wicht, whose official title is president and CEO of Rolex Watch U.S.A. Inc., is slated to retire in December though he will remain on the company’s board of directors.
His successor has not been named, and a spokeswoman for the watch brand said the company had no official statement or further comment on Wicht’s retirement at this time.
Born in London, Wicht spent his formative years shuttling among Pakistan, India and England, eventually earning his bachelor’s degree in business studies from Ealing Technical College (now the University of West London).
He started working for Rolex SA in Geneva, Switzerland, in 1975, overseeing markets in Asia and the South Pacific. He also established and managed the company’s intellectual property department.
Wicht became president and CEO of Rolex Watch U.S.A. in 2011, replacing Allen Brill, who died in November 2010 at the age of 64 after a brief battle with lung cancer.
He manages a team of more than 500 people and represents the brand—arguably the most prestigious and powerful in the U.S. watch and jewelry market—at events around the country.
Wicht has served on the board of the American Gem Society and, for the past three years, has been the chairperson for the Jewelers Security Alliance. Next year, he will receive the 2019 Gem Award for Lifetime Achievement from Jewelers of America.
Outside of the industry, his personal interests led him to join the boards of the American Swiss Foundation, a nonprofit that works to strengthen the relationship between the two nations, and the International Tennis Hall of Fame. (Rolex, incidentally, took over as official timekeeper of the U.S. Open this year.)
Wicht resides in New York City with his wife, Susan, and his daughter, Fiona.
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