Jean-Marc Pontroué is a luxury watch executive who spent some 25 years at Richemont before moving to Breitling. His Richemont career included years at Montblanc, where he worked in retail, wholesale and marketing, before he became chief executive of the Geneva watchmaker Roger Dubuis in 2011.
In 2018 he succeeded Angelo Bonati as chief executive of Panerai, which Bonati had led since Richemont's predecessor bought it in 1997. He led Panerai for about seven years and announced his departure on LinkedIn on 17 March 2025, shortly before Watches and Wonders Geneva; some observers felt that the brand needed to refocus on its iconic models, and Panerai did not comment.
In April 2026, on the sidelines of Watches and Wonders, Breitling announced his appointment from 1 May 2026 as part of a restructuring of its "House of Brands", the group launched by Georges Kern in late 2025 that also includes Universal Genève and Gallet. Kern said Pontroué brought extensive experience in retail, wholesale and marketing from Montblanc, Roger Dubuis and Panerai.
Reports differ on his new title: Luxury Tribune and Swiss Watch Passport describe him as chief executive of Breitling, with Kern focusing on the House of Brands group, while Insight Luxury describes him as chief executive of House of Brands. Casadi has not verified his nationality, date of birth or the dates of his Montblanc roles. Correction: Casadi's earlier record had his Panerai tenure ending in 2026; he left in 2025.