{"id":160,"date":"2011-01-17T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2011-01-16T23:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.my-watchsite.com\/blog\/jean-frederic-dufour-named-man-of-the-year-2011-n963\/"},"modified":"2011-01-17T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2011-01-16T23:00:00","slug":"jean-frederic-dufour-named-man-of-the-year-2011-n963","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.my-watchsite.com\/blog\/jean-frederic-dufour-named-man-of-the-year-2011-n963\/","title":{"rendered":"Jean-Fr\u00e9d\u00e9ric Dufour named \u201cman of the Year 2011\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

Geneva, Monday, January 17th. Awarded by the specialized press, led by Gabriel Tortella and Groupe Edipresse, the \u201cMan of the Year 2011\u201d prize crowns the work of Jean-Fr\u00e9d\u00e9ric Dufour at Zenith\u2019s helm. Gabriel Tortella commented on the \u201cclarity\u201d with which the new CEO has restored the brand\u2019s luster and pride of place in the watchmaking world.<\/p>\n

A watch in his cradle<\/strong>
The man of the year was born with a watch in his cradle. His family includes a long line, indeed a collection, of Geneva engineers and industrialists. His grandfather was the inventor of the valveless engines used to power the famous Pic-Pic. Even before he took over at Zenith, Jean-Fr\u00e9d\u00e9ric Dufour dreamed of the company. Let\u2019s not forget that the watchmakers at Le Locle have the legendary El Primero as their heritage, the watch with the most precise movement in the world, the only standard caliber to tick at a rate of ten vibrations per second, while others effect only eight vibrations in the same second. Jean-Fr\u00e9d\u00e9ric Dufour made the minute precision of this exceptional system visible on the dial, creating the Zenith Striking 10th.<\/p>\n

Straight to the top<\/strong>
Jean-Fr\u00e9d\u00e9ric Dufour\u2019s career path has been a straight line to the top. He began his profession at Chopard, where he learned the importance of visiting all the international markets in person, in order to get a sense of the trends. He was then hired by Ulysse Nardin, where he discovered a passion for technical aspects. In 2000, he met Jean-Claude Biver and helped him develop the L\u00e9on Hatot brand: \u201cWorking with Jean-Claude Biver was the most rewarding and most important experience of my career,\u201d J.-F. Dufour said upon receiving the award. He then returned to Chopard, overseeing product development, before taking over as head of Zenith in June 2009. The CEO of Hublot, Jean-Claude Biver, summarizes Jean-Fr\u00e9d\u00e9ric Dufour\u2019s work at Zenith: \u201cHe was able to reconnect the brand to its roots.\u201d<\/p>\n

Reconnecting Zenith to its roots<\/strong>
The Le Locle firm has considerable technical and creative potential; in 146 years of existence, it has registered 297 patents and racked up numerous watchmaking awards: 2,333 prizes in all, making it the most highly awarded brand for instrument panel clocks, wristwatches and pocket-watches. Possessor of a skipper\u2019s license, Jean-Fr\u00e9d\u00e9ric Dufour knows what course he needs to chart and as the captain, he knows how to motivate his crew.
The route will be a high-tech one: \u201cZenith is one of the very few companies that produces all the components for a watch, plus it is the only one to have mastered high frequencies and be able to divide mechanical time into tenths of a second. As the guardians of this rich tradition, we will perpetuate it and constantly reinvent it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Back and Forth on the markets<\/strong>
Like the El Primero calibers and their incessant and regular back-and-forth movements, Jean-Fr\u00e9d\u00e9ric Dufour travels to and fro between his international markets. He regularly visits every one of the brand\u2019s retailers, all around the world. In Singapore in December, Jean-Fr\u00e9d\u00e9ric Dufour received two awards from the magazine Revolution: \u201cBest Men\u2019s watch\u201d and \u201cRising Star Award\u201d recognizing the El Primero Striking 10th watch and Zenith.<\/p>\n