Husband, New Yorker, Compassionate
As president and chief executive officer of Hermès Americas for more than 20 years, Robert Chavez oversaw all business aspects in the U.S. and Latin America. Under his direction, Hermès became the premier luxury house to lead in the revitalization of lower Manhattan with the opening of a store on Wall Street in 2007. He has continued the expansion of Hermès in the U.S. with new boutiques in Palo Alto, California (2018), Orlando, Florida (2019) and in April 2019, the Meatpacking District in New York City. There are now 36 Hermès Boutiques in the U.S., including a Hermès.com site. Today, he is executive chairman of Hermès Americas.
A native of San Antonio, Texas, Chavez joined Bloomingdale’s in New York City after his graduation from Princeton and spent 10 years there in various assignments. In 1986, Chavez moved to Macy’s New York where he rose to become president of merchandising and oversaw several departments that included beauty, fashion accessories, shoes and ready to wear. Chavez joined Etienne Aigner as chief executive officer in 1992. He was instrumental in Etienne Aigner’s significant increase in growth and profitability as well as re-building and re-positioning the brand.
Chavez is committed to various causes that include March of Dimes, God’s Love We Deliver, Housing Works and the Luxury Education Foundation. In 2017, he was awarded the Battery Park Conservancy Medal for Corporate Leadership. Chavez resides in Manhattan with his husband Vincent Sabio.