Two men have been appointed as presidents of the Ebel luxury watch brand by the Movado Group. They replace Thomas van der Kallen, president of Ebel worldwide since January 2005, who resigned “for personal reasons.”

The dual appointment are “a strong utilization of the management team,” an Ebel spokesperson told JCK.

The appointments, effective Monday, were announced Tuesday. Ebel is headquartered in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland.

Loek Oprinsen (top photo) was named president and commercial director of Ebel, and Marc Michel-Amadry (pictured below) was named president and creative director. Michel-Amadry will also continue to oversee Ebel’s marketing, product development and public relations.

Both men, which the Movado announcement called “a new leadership team within its Ebel brand,” report directly to Efraim Grinberg, the Movado Group’s chief executive officer.

Oprinsen joined the Movado Group in 2005 as managing director of Ebel Germany. Previously, he was with the Richemont watch and jewelry group for 10 years.

Michel-Amadry joined Ebel in 2003 as its international marketing director and was promoted to vice president of marketing in 2006. Before Ebel, he was with the LVMH luxury goods group.

Both men, said Grinberg, “have incredible knowledge and experience with global luxury brands [and] held key roles [with Ebel] which have served to define the success of the Ebel brand.” He expressed confidence the two presidents, “along with the strong team we have in place under their leadership, will continue to elevate the Ebel brand and continue its success in the luxury watch market.”

The Movado Group, headquartered in Paramus, N.J. designs, manufactures, and distributes Movado, Ebel, Concord, ESQ, Coach, Hugo Boss, Lacoste, Juicy Couture and Tommy Hilfiger watches worldwide and operates Movado boutiques and company stores in the United States.

JCK