Family Heritage
The Geneva-based brand belongs to the limited circle of
Swiss watchmakers still in family hands. Today, the company
continues to develop and consolidate its status among
the leading names of the Swiss watch industry.
Raymond Weil / Chairman and Honorary President
Raymond Weil was born in Geneva in 1926. After completing his commercial high school examinations and working in a service company for his first job, he joined in 1949 the Geneva watch company, Camy Watch S.A. This was a great opportunity for this watchmaking aficionado. Very enthusiastic and dedicated, Raymond Weil immersed himself in his work, and quickly took over the management of the company, where he was to devote twenty-six years of his life.
In 1976, in the middle of a watch industry crisis, Raymond Weil decided to found his own company. Carried along by both his enthusiasm and his experience, the founder of RAYMOND WEIL explored Europe and the whole world to gradually put together an international network. RAYMOND WEIL is now a famous brand and one of the flagships of the Swiss watchmaking industry.
Thanks to his knowledge of the watch market, Raymond Weil has held many important positions in several professional organisations: President of the Watch Manufacturers Union of Geneva, Vice-President of the Watch Industry’s Training Centre (CFH) in Lausanne, and member of the Watchmakers’ Federation (FH) and a number of various employers’ associations. Until 1995, Raymond Weil held the presidency of the Exhibitors’ Committee of the World Watchmaking and Jewellery Exhibition at Basel.
Raymond Weil is married. He has two daughters, who are performing artists, and six grandchildren. Apart from his taste for classical music and opera, he is very much interested in contemporary art and likes to fly his aeroplane – he did indeed pass his pilot’s licence at the age of 56 and then transmitted his passion to his grand-son, Pierre Bernheim!
Olivier Bernheim / President & CEO
A few years after the creation of RAYMOND WEIL and at the request of his father-in-law, Mr. Raymond Weil, Olivier Bernheim joined the watch company in 1982.
Born in 1954, Olivier Bernheim graduated from a law school and from the Business School of Strasbourg in France before beginning his career at Kronenbourg and then joining Unilever in Paris as Marketing Development Manager.
It is thanks to his dynamism and visionary entrepreneurial spirit, but also to his ability to maintain excellent and longstanding relationships with partners of RAYMOND WEIL, that Olivier Bernheim, President and CEO of the Brand, restructured, developed and ensured a sustainable growth throughout the world, still managing to preserve its family identity.
The strategy he recently set up has clearly contributed to RAYMOND WEIL's impact on the watchmaking world. Key factors in the firm's success include a significant Brand expansion throughout the world, a constant renewal of the product range - with the introduction of new, increasingly sophisticated mechanical timepieces -, the development of entry-level collections, and a wider-reaching communication strategy.
Beyond his tenacity to keep RAYMOND WEIL independent, Olivier Bernheim’s plans for the upcoming years are to increase the Brand’s recognition in mature markets such as Europe, Asia and North-America. He also wishes to reinforce the Brand's presence in key markets such as China, India and Russia, which represent huge potential, through shop in shops and exclusive boutiques.
On a personal level, his private life follows the same rhythm as his business life. Olivier shares his love for music with his whole family and always tries to find some time to dream by listening to operas. His definition of luxury? Spending some time with his family and enjoying his passion for nature.
Elie Bernheim / Director
Elie Bernheim joined the company in 2006, after graduating from the prestigious Ecole Hôtelière de Lausanne. As the third generation of the family-owned company, Elie and his brother Pierre - both grandsons of Mr Raymond Weil - ensure the continuity of the Brand's heritage based on watchmaking know-how and the constant devotion to the values of the Brand.
Proficient in watchmaking, marketing and business management, Elie is currently in charge of developing and enhancing the global strategy of the Brand, while continuing to respect the Brand's values and universe which have made RAYMOND WEIL so successful over the years.
Beside his expertise in products development, Elie also has a strong knowledge of the markets and handles some of the most significant ones; in particular China, South-East Asia, Australia and Turkey.
In addition to these products and sales-oriented missions, Elie is also in charge of the Marketing department. His sense of traditional values combined with a young and fresh vision prove to be the right qualities to manage the Brand's corporate image, Advertisement and Internet's social networks (Facebook, Twitter, RW Club, etc.) enabling the Brand to get closer to its customers in an interactive way.
Another passion inherited since his young age from the family and above all from his mother, a professional pianist, is music. After several years of piano, Elie has developed a specialisation in cello and was awarded a professional diploma. Sharing his passion for wines and gastronomy with his brother Pierre, they together have bound their keenness and tenacity to create their own restaurant, “Le Café des Banques”.
Pierre Bernheim / Director
Pierre Bernheim is the grandson of Mr Raymond Weil, Founder of the family watch company bearing the same name. Mr Pierre Bernheim is the second son of Olivier Bernheim, himself son-in-law of Mr Weil and President & CEO of RAYMOND WEIL.
After successfully concluding his accounting studies, Pierre graduated in International Business and Administration from La Haute Ecole de Gestion in Geneva.
Fascinated by the international distribution strategy, Pierre spends most of his time working on the expansion of RAYMOND WEIL's presence across the globe and ensuring constant growth in every market. With his incredible dynamism, enthusiasm and reactivity, he succeeded in consolidating the relationships the Brand has with all its business partners. In addition to his commitment already at the core of the creation of products, which he manages together with his father and his brother, Pierre also heads the Sales department. He spends a great part of his time travelling to the most significant markets, with a personal involvement in the business developments in the UK, USA, Canada, Central Asia, Northern and Eastern European countries.
Pierre has had a real passion for flying since he was a child, something he got from his grandfather, Mr Raymond Weil. He now owns several professional flying licenses including high aerobatic and Canadian seaplane. Besides the practice of his hobby, he is also highly involved in the development of the Geneva International Airport and of the Geneva Regional Airport, as administrator.
The passion he shares together with his brother for wines and gastronomy naturally led Pierre and Elie to open their own restaurant: "Le Café des Banques". There, an Italian Chef, renowned for his creative approach, proposes a discovery of his exquisite cuisine which blends refined ingredients, tradition and excellence.
