Benoît-Etienne Domenget is appointed as Group CEO, effective November 3, 2025. He takes over from Hervé Gastinel, who is leaving the Group to pursue new professional projects.
With 25 years of experience in hospitality, luxury, travel, and tourism, Benoît-Etienne Domenget will have the mission to further drive the Group’s continued international development and further strengthen its hallmark of hospitality excellence, while honoring PONANT’s unique maritime savoir-faire and the industry’s highest environmental standards.
François-Henri Pinault stated: “I am delighted to welcome Benoît-Etienne Domenget. His extensive and diversified experience and expertise in strategic fields for our company will give him all the assets to make PONANT EXPLORATIONS GROUP an ever-stronger and more innovative player in the luxury and responsible cruise sector. He will be able to rely on a highly talented team.”
He added: “We warmly thank Hervé Gastinel for his unwavering commitment to the Group. Under his leadership, the fleet has grown from 12 to 20 ships, and PONANT EXPLORATIONS GROUP has successfully diversified its activities, in particular by entering river cruises and new formats such as the Spirit of Ponant.”
ABOUT BENOIT-ETIENNE DOMENGET
A graduate of HEC Paris, Benoît-Etienne Domenget began his career with Accor Group, holding various operational roles before being appointed Senior Vice-President Development for Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. He later led Accor’s Swiss subsidiary and managed the low-cost hotel business across the DACH region, overseeing more than a hundred properties.
He then joined Michel Reybier Hospitality, a group owning prestigious hotels, vineyards, and wellness activities, before being appointed in 2017 as CEO of Sommet Education (Glion, Les Roches, École Ducasse, Indian School of Hospitality, and Invictus Education). Under his leadership and notably through a strong international expansion, Sommet Education has been established as the world’s leading network in hospitality and luxury management education.
ABOUT PONANT EXPLORATIONS GROUP
For 35 years, PONANT EXPLORATIONS GROUP has been offering luxury exploration cruises with a constant commitment to more responsible tourism. Through its brands, PONANT EXPLORATIONS, Paul Gauguin Cruises, Aqua Expeditions, and PONANT YACHTING, the Group operates 20 human-scale ships (from 6 to 165 staterooms and suites) across a wide range of exceptional itineraries. PONANT EXPLORATIONS GROUP has been owned since 2015 by Artémis, the Pinault family’s investment company.
More information: www.ponant.com
ABOUT ARTÉMIS
Founded in 1992 by François Pinault, Artémis is the Pinault family’s investment company. It invests in high-growth potential companies and supports them over the long term at every stage of their development. Majority shareholder of global luxury group Kering, Artémis also owns Christie’s, prestigious vineyards under Artémis Domaines, Creative Artists Agency (CAA), leading in entertainment and sports, the weekly magazine Le Point, the Stade Rennais football club, and other assets in art, tourism, sports, and technology.
(Ponant Explorations Group announces the appointment of Benoît-Etienne Domenget as Group CEO)
Tags: Ponant Explorations Group
Appeared first on: Latecruisenews.com
