MILAN – In May 2023, Ms Ilaria Resta created a stir in the watchmaking world when news broke that she would be the new chief executive of Swiss luxury watchmaker Audemars Piguet (AP).

Understandably so. Although she had spent more than two decades building brands at multinational consumer goods corporation Procter & Gamble before becoming president of global perfumery at fragrance giant Firmenich, she was a newbie to horology.

What is more, the Italian was stepping into the shoes of Mr Francois-Henry Bennahmias, the flamboyant French former head honcho who had worked at AP for 30 years and increased the company’s revenue from 630 million Swiss francs in 2012 to 2.35 billion Swiss francs (S$3.52 billion) in 2023.

However, entering a new world and becoming the first female CEO of one of the top five watch brands by sales does not faze her.

“It is a blessing in disguise,” says Ms Resta at the annual AP Social Club event in Milan to launch a slew of new watches, including a limited-edition Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar designed by American singer-songwriter John Mayer.

Being the only woman leader in the industry who does not have a watch background comes with “the responsibility and opportunity of learning”, she says.

“Leaders who learn and don’t pretend they know are just better at adjusting to the external reality. This has been proven in many industries.”

Cracking a disarming smile, the multilingual Napolitana says there is a sweet, almost magical, point when one is learning.

“You’re asking questions and, by asking questions, your team grows with you because you challenge the status quo in a different way. And people, when answering questions, open up their viewpoint.”

In fact, the lack of experience is not necessarily a bad thing.

“The greater threat is when you know you have the experience and you rely on previous successes or failures, which are never predictors of the future,” she adds.

“I look at it as an intense learning curve and I will be on a learning curve forever, which is what I like,” says Ms Resta, who has a Bachelor of Marketing and Economics and a Master of Financial Mathematics from the University of Naples Federico.

While the comparisons to her predecessor – credited with making the Royal Oak one of the most coveted watches in the world – are inevitable, she will have you know she is very much her own woman.

“He has his own personality, I have mine,” says Ms Resta, who spent four months onboarding before officially assuming her role as CEO in January. “We managed not to clash and to co-exist nicely. And we are very complementary even though we are different.”

Her immediate task at hand is to focus on three strategic pillars: continue pushing and pioneering innovation and craftsmanship; developing closer ties with the brand’s clients; and getting ready to celebrate AP’s 150th anniversary in 2025. 

Growth is not something she worries about at this juncture, as it is not the purpose and objective.

“Growth will come and it could come at any time, and we are so healthy, we can have much more,” says Ms Resta of AP which, together with Rolex, Patek Philippe and Richard Mille, is one of the Big Four independent Swiss watchmakers in 2023.

“The purpose is really strengthening the foundation, relevance and reputation of the brand, and to keep making these strong before any winter comes in the future.”

Relevance includes cultivating “precious” relationships with a new generation of clients – Gen Z.

“This doesn’t mean that we ask them what type of complication they want, what type of watch they want, because they don’t know what they don’t know. It’s not by asking them questions that we will know, but by observing their lifestyle, the way they shop and wear their watches, and their attitude towards the brand.”

She adds: “What is insightful is this generation is not choosing a product, but the values that represent them, so we really need to have an alignment of values in an authentic way.”

It explains why the brand has built a series of AP Houses – a novel retail concept born in Milan in 2017 – in global cities to get closer to its clients. There are now 19 AP Houses in the world.

Ms Resta is in Milan to open a new AP House, converted from an iconic Garage Traversi parking house in Via Bagutta – a chic area in the Italian city – which operated from 1939 to 2003.

Designed by famous Italian architect Piero Lissoni of design studio Lissoni & Partners, it is, in equal parts, a stylish retail space and an elegant home. 

Clients can not only buy a watch, but also get to know the brand’s history and socialise in the space, which has five floors and two terraces that afford stunning views of the city. 

“The AP House is a space of exchange and discovery. There are spaces where we show timepieces of the past, as well as new collections, but there are also spaces to simply sit and enjoy art and music, because it’s a space of creative design,” she says, adding that AP Houses help to open the doors to the watch industry.

The conversation turns to women’s watches since Mr Bennahmias said, before he left, that one of AP’s immediate plans was to focus on women.

Ms Resta, however, says: “I think we need to stop creating a brand architecture which is genderised because we may be cornering people into somewhere they don’t belong.”

There are women who wear oversized mechanical watches with complications, just as there are men who prefer gem-set timepieces.

“I will refrain in future to say: ‘This is a men’s watch and this is a women’s watch.’ But at the same time, we will talk with more women to understand what complications fit their lifestyle,” says the head honcho, who adds that she loves the AP Royal Oak Jumbo Extra-Thin in BMG (bulk metallic glass) and titanium.

She is equally decisive about collaborations, including AP’s tie-up with the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the American media franchise centred on a series of superhero films produced by Marvel Studios.

“It doesn’t mean that because we’ve done Marvel in the past, we will carry on with this journey. We will validate the collaborations as they come, if they push us in terms of elevating our watchmaking expertise, if the values are aligned with ours. We will carry on with other collaborations that are relevant for younger people, or women.

“We will never do a collaboration just for the sake of collaborating with somebody,” she adds.

The mother of two children, aged 15 and 10, says her motto in life comprises three Ls: love, learn and legacy.

“Throughout my career, I’ve always asked myself: ‘When do I deliver the best results and when am I happiest?’ The answer is when I do a job where I can constantly learn and develop myself. It means you have not become complacent.

“When you love what you do, you transmit love to the people you work with. And when you leave the job, you have left behind a legacy – it could be a business legacy or an organisational legacy – and a gift which stays forever.”