Born in June 1961, François Tauriac studied law and began his career as a journalist, having inherited a passion for the industry from his father Michel Tauriac, a journalist, writer, renowned radio producer and biographer of Charles de Gaulle.

François Tauriac has spent his entire career at the Figaro Group. He started out in the politics department of the group’s French daily newspaper, and went on to join France-Soir and France-Soir magazine as a reporter. In 1987, he took up the same post at TV Magazine, occupying the roles of Managing Editor, Editor-in-Chief and Publisher successively. He helped to promote the magazine, managed by Yves de Chaisemartin, to the number one spot in Europe with a weekly print-run of over 7 million copies and a readership of 17 million, making it a key economic contributor to the Figaro Group. He was also a member of the group’s Executive Committee.

In addition to his work on printing projects, François Tauriac has developed a number of innovative online and digital applications, including the first magazine television channel on YouTube: “Very Watch”.

By becoming the Managing Director of Richard Mille, he is joining forces with an old friend and ally, while perpetuating a family tradition of sorts: at the age of 18, he worked as an apprentice to the famous jeweller Jacques Lenfant, his grandfather, who created jewellery and watch cases for the major names on Place Vendôme. As well as his passion for automotive technology and photography, François Tauriac shares Richard Mille’s great enthusiasm for, and love of, watchmaking.

His mission will be to pursue the brand’s development by concentrating on selective distribution, organisation, logistics and communications. He will work in close collaboration with Richard Mille, the brand’s Chairman and CEO, who wishes to devote more of his time to the group’s strategy, as well as to the design and development of new models for the coming years.