Valtus Alliance has brought together more than 50 partners for its first international masterclass — a milestone event focused on one of the most unexpected, yet revealing topics at the intersection of business and global affairs: the Geopolitics of Luxury.
Co-hosted by Bertrand Grimm, Partner at Valtus, and Aymeric Bas, Managing Partner International, the session set the tone for a new era of strategic collaboration within the Alliance — one shaped by curiosity, cultural intelligence, and a shared commitment to responsible leadership.
The conversation was anchored by guest speaker Bruno Lavagna, Founding Director of Be Exclusive and author of the acclaimed book Geopolitics of Luxury. With a background spanning luxury strategy, international markets, and geopolitical analysis, Lavagna brought a sharp, original lens to a sector often reduced to image and aspiration.
Rather than offering a standard economic outlook or brand trend report, Lavagna explored how luxury today reveals much more than taste — it reveals power. Symbolically and strategically, luxury signals how nations position themselves culturally, how consumers express identity, and how companies confront global risk, from environmental volatility to geopolitical tension.
Unpacking Luxury as a Strategic Indicator
Luxury, in this context, emerged as more than a market. It became a mirror — a reflection of society’s shifting values, the fragmentation of globalisation, and the importance of soft power in brand storytelling. The session explored several key dynamics:
- The growing influence of sustainability as a measurable business driver — not just a communication pillar. Whether through circular design, traceable sourcing, or energy-efficient craftsmanship, brands are learning to reconcile exclusivity with responsibility.
- The boom in the second-hand luxury market, particularly watches and jewellery, which now account for 75% of global resale value. This trend both democratizes access and redefines what “prestige” means in a world that values longevity and meaning over novelty.
- The strategic rise of localised luxury — as global brands rediscover the cultural nuances, heritage codes, and regional aspirations that shape consumer expectations far more deeply than global consensus.
- The redefinition of leadership within both luxury and interim management. True leadership today integrates ethics, human capital, systemic thinking, and the capacity to guide transformation with both empathy and decisiveness.
From Insights to Imperatives
The second half of the session evolved into an open exchange across geographies and sectors. What emerged was a shared understanding: the geopolitical context is not peripheral to leadership — it is central. Four themes stood out:
- Sustainability cannot be postponed. Interim and executive leaders must lead from metrics, processes, and operations — making ethics visible and actionable at all levels of decision-making.
- Cultural fluency must replace one-size-fits-all strategies. Successful transformation today requires a deep reading of local markets, from Seoul to São Paulo, Riyadh to Milan — where luxury means very different things but always carries weight.
- Transparency creates trust. From subcontracting models to raw material traceability, both brands and the managers who support them are now expected to actively manage risk and legitimacy.
- Inclusion is strategic. Whether through gender equity, generational renewal, or local talent empowerment, success increasingly depends on the strength and diversity of teams — not just their resumés.
Valtus Alliance: Dialogue as a Platform for Leadership
For the Valtus Alliance, this session was more than just a thematic exploration. It marked a moment of collective awareness: that leading across borders — and sectors — now requires a more informed, more human, and more politically sensitive approach.
In his closing remarks, Bertrand Grimm emphasized this shift: openness to the unexpected, like the geopolitics of luxury, is what often unlocks the most meaningful forms of international collaboration.
This masterclass lays the foundation for deeper global engagement — including future think tanks, roundtables, and cross-regional learning platforms dedicated to strategic foresight and impactful interim leadership.
A Future Defined by Insight and Intention
Luxury may seem like a specialized arena, but through the lens of geopolitics, it becomes a powerful metaphor for modern leadership: rooted in identity, shaped by context, and accountable to both heritage and innovation.
With this first masterclass, the Valtus Alliance confirms its ambition — not only to support business transformation at its most demanding level, but to influence how top leaders read the world, build trust across cultures, and lead with integrity.
