In our previous executive profiles, we have featured executives from LVMH. I would also like to introduce some of the key executives at Louis Vuitton, the most influential brand under the LVMH conglomerate. Today, we cover Blake Harrop, the EVP of Image & Communications at Louis Vuitton.
Louis Vuitton’s brand valuation is estimated at $130 billion and it has remained the most valuable brand for 19 consecutive years. If you look at the top 10 most valuable luxury brands in recent years, you can see that Louis Vuitton is much stronger than the second or third place.
Kantar BrandZ Top 10 Most Valuable Global Luxury Brands 2023
| Rank | Brand | Brand Value 2023 ($Mil.) | Brand Value 2022 ($Mil.) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Louis Vuitton | 124,822 | 124,273 |
| 2 | Hermès | 76,299 | 80,323 |
| 3 | Chanel | 55,939 | 53,021 |
| 4 | Gucci | 26,306 | 37,887 |
| 5 | Dior | 11,442 | 10,534 |
| 6 | Cartier | 9,725 | 10,110 |
| 7 | Rolex | 7,899 | 9,042 |
| 8 | Tiffany & Co. | 6,124 | 6,805 |
| 9 | Saint-Laurent/YSL | 6,023 | 6,718 |
| 10 | Prada | 4,921 | 5,642 |
: Blake Harrop – Profile
Then, who is behind this incredibly powerful brand image? The current head of Louis Vuitton’s Image & Communications is Blake Harrop.
Interesting Early Career in Northeast Asia
One key theme of Blake Harrop’s career is its global reach. He holds a Bachelor of Arts from SOAS University of London and spent a year at Waseda University in Japan, where he was a member of the Judo Club. In fact, he is a four-time British Judo Council National Champion.
In 2001, he began working as a strategy consultant at IBM Japan in Tokyo, gaining valuable experience in the early era of mobile phone services. He worked with major players in the Japanese mobile phone industry, such as NTT DoCoMo, Vodafone, and J-Phone. One of the most prominent projects he was involved in was the global expansion of iMode, NTT DoCoMo’s groundbreaking commercial mobile internet service. At IBM, he also contributed to the post-merger integration following SoftBank’s acquisition of Vodafone Japan.
After three years as a strategy consultant in Tokyo, he moved to Seoul, South Korea, to join Samsung as an in-house strategy consultant in the Chairman’s Office. In 2007, he was promoted to Global Head of Digital Marketing. At Samsung’s mobile headquarters, he played a key role in some of the company’s earliest social and mobile marketing campaigns.
Career in Agencies
After Samsung, Harrop moved to New York to join Digitas, one of the world’s largest marketing and technology services agencies. Leveraging his experience at Samsung, he acted as a bridge between the company and Digitas, strengthening their partnership over two years.
He then returned to Asia, this time to China, where he joined Wieden + Kennedy, a global marketing agency. After a brief tenure as VP at the Shanghai office, he moved back to Tokyo and spent more than four years as Managing Director. During this time, he experienced the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami.
In 2015, he relocated to the Netherlands after being appointed Managing Director of Wieden + Kennedy Amsterdam. By 2022, he had risen to the position of President.
Joining Louis Vuitton
In 2024, Harrop was appointed Executive Vice President of Image & Communications at Louis Vuitton. His exceptional leadership skills, experience leading agency offices in Shanghai, Tokyo, and Amsterdam, and deep knowledge of social and mobile marketing from its early days all contributed to his appointment to this prestigious role.
If you want to check out more LV’s executive bios, see:
Bernard Arnault – Profile