Bernard Arnault’s Son Takes a Nike Board Seat: Why Should NFT Holders Care?
Nike has appointed Alexandre Arnault to its board of administrators. The model bought its NFT studio RTFKT in December 2025, 9 months earlier than the transfer.
Alexandre Arnault is deputy CEO of Moët Hennessy, the wines and spirits arm of LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton. His father, Bernard Arnault, runs that group. Alexandre Arnault additionally owns a CryptoPunk.
What Alexandre Arnault Brings to Nike
Nike confirmed the appointment on Wednesday. Executive Chairman Mark Parker pointed to Arnault’s file with well-known manufacturers.
“Alexandre has earned a fame for serving to iconic international manufacturers evolve, innovate and develop in a altering, advanced market.”
CEO Elliott Hill additionally cited his work on digital transformation and model constructing.
Arnault referred to as the board seat an honor on X and pointed to the model’s file in sport and innovation.
Arnault beforehand ran baggage maker RIMOWA and spent 4 years as an government vp at Tiffany & Co. Earlier, he dealt with digital innovation and know-how funding at LVMH and Agache, the Arnault household holding firm. Stints at McKinsey and KKR got here earlier than that. He additionally sits on the LVMH board.
At the jeweler, he pushed hardest into Web3. In 2022, Tiffany turned his CryptoPunk into a diamond pendant. The model then sold 250 NFTiff passes to CryptoPunk holders at 30 ETH every. That haul was price roughly $12.7 million on the time.
The Swoosh Already Walked Away From Web3
Nike purchased RTFKT, a digital sneaker studio whose identify reads as “artifact”, in 2021. However, the corporate introduced an finish to its Web3 actions in December 2024. RTFKT closed a month later.
Holders sued in April 2025, looking for $5 million and calling the shutdown a rug pull. Nike then bought the studio to an undisclosed purchaser eight months later. The firm saved each the value and the customer non-public.
Hill has minimize non-core prices since taking up. His technique favors bodily merchandise and wholesale companions over speculative digital collectibles.
Meanwhile, the broader collectibles market has saved sliding. NFT valuations sit near record lows.
Arnault additionally joins at a bleak second for the inventory. Nike shares closed Wednesday at $35.78, down 1.21%, close to a 12-year low. The firm’s market worth has roughly halved over the previous yr to about $53 billion.
Hill due to this fact bought the crypto unit to fund a return to bodily sport. Arnault now enters Nike’s boardroom as one in all luxurious’s earliest crypto adopters.
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