“The King of Jewellers” chooses Milano and SDA Bocconi

Two landmark entities for excellence in their respective fields are getting through to each other. As already announced, Maison Cartier is partnering with the 2020-21 edition of SDA Bocconi’s EMiLUX - Executive Master in Luxury Management. Cartier’s choice confirms the increasing international interest in Italy and Milano not only as one of the major hotbeds of world culture – a partnership is also under way between Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain (Cartier Foundation for Contemporary Art) and Triennale di Milano – but also as a privileged environment for managers in an industry, namely the luxury one, that has been able to evolve and strengthen even during the last turbulent decade.

The cooperation between EMiLUX and Cartier will generate an entire module of the Master, on “Crafting Brands through Arts and Culture,” that is going to take place in Paris in May 2021. The module will encompass classes held by Cartier’s managers in the company’s headquarters and study tours to Cartier stores. Among the topics, participants are going to go in deep into are luxury values and heritage, trends and concepts of hard luxury, luxury brand management, communication and semiotics.

“Italy has always been a world cradle for arts and culture,” says Cyrille Vigneron, CEO and President of Cartier International, “and, together with France, is probably one of the countries having the greatest appeal to luxury in general, whether it is fashion, jewelry or other kinds of products. Major world brands are born in Italy: in Milan, Rome and Piedmont. Partnering with a major educational institution like SDA Bocconi, in a city which is one of the capitals of fashion and an important cultural center, has a great meaning to us. Cartier is a historical brand but also a very contemporary one, and that is also something France and Italy have in common: our culture has deep roots but is deeply modern too. Another good reason to be in a city like Milano that has become one of the most prominent, active and vibrant centers for arts, for culture but also for technology, in the past 20 years. That’s why being here makes absolute sense.”

“SDA Bocconi was born 50 years ago with the goal of bridging the world of education and the major corporate excellences,” underlines Giuseppe Soda, Dean of SDA Bocconi. “Partnering with Cartier is certainly part of this tradition but goes further, making the most of the School’s twenty-year experience in programs in the field of luxury, fashion, design and highly symbolic and experiential industries. We share with Cartier an aspirational view of luxury products and above all the idea that great brands need competent talent, ready to face the big challenges of global competition.”

SDA Bocconi School of Management