Pandora names Berta de Pablos-Barbier CEO - shares fall 3%, stock down 37% YTD

Pandora (COPENHAGEN: PNDORA) said CEO Alexander Lacik will leave in March 2026 after seven years running the company. The board has tapped Chief Marketing Officer Berta de Pablos-Barbier to take over the top job.

The market didn't exactly cheer the news. Shares slid roughly 3% in early trade and the stock has been under pressure this year, down about 37% year-to-date as the business wrestles with weak sales in Europe, higher raw-material costs and U.S. import tariffs.

De Pablos-Barbier was brought into Pandora in November as a likely successor and was widely viewed inside the company as the front-runner. She comes from a luxury goods background and previously ran Moët & Chandon inside LVMH (EURONEXT: MC), among other roles in consumer-facing brands.

Lacik's tenure began in 2019. Under his leadership Pandora pivoted in 2021 away from mined diamonds toward lab-grown stones, a move aimed at younger buyers and at distancing the brand from conflict-linked sourcing. Revenues bounced back after the pandemic and the stock more than tripled during his time in charge, but the company now faces a tougher operating environment.

What the change means in practical terms is open to interpretation. Promoting a marketing chief signals a push on brand, product and customer engagement - areas that can move sales if execution is sharp. At the same time, external pressures - tariffs, commodity inflation and regional demand softness - are structural headwinds that any new CEO will inherit. The board framed the handover as orderly and continuity-focused; the market's initial reaction suggests some investors wanted clearer answers on how the company will tackle those near-term issues.

The handover is scheduled for March 2026. The name on the door will change then; whether the mix of strategy and execution that follows will change the share-price trajectory is a story that will play out over the coming quarters. Can a marketing-driven leader reverse Pandora's European slide before March arrives?