Georges Kern was born on 25 January 1965. He began his career at Kraft Foods Switzerland before moving into watchmaking, and in 2002 became chief executive of IWC Schaffhausen, part of Richemont, which he led for some fifteen years.
In 2017, after CVC Capital Partners bought 80% of Breitling from the Schneider family, he became Breitling's chief executive. Hodinkee describes his tenure as one of the most dramatic turnarounds in modern watchmaking, with annual sales more than doubling to above CHF 800 million according to analyst estimates. Under his leadership Partners Group took majority control in December 2022, and the company bought Universal Genève in 2023 and Gallet in 2025. In May 2026 he became chief executive of the resulting "House of Brands", with Jean-Marc Pontroué taking over at Breitling.
He co-produced the 2019 French comedy My Dog Stupid and has written on strategic success factors in the luxury watch industry.