Arnault heirs join LVMH board, tightening family hold

PARIS (Reuters) -Two of LVMH Chairman and CEO Bernard Arnault's sons and heirs were named to the board of the luxury goods conglomerate on Thursday, reinforcing the family's hold on the sprawling empire which spans fashion, jewellery and hotels.

Shareholders approved the nominations of Alexandre Arnault, 31, and Frederic Arnault, 29, who joined their older siblings, Delphine Arnault, 49 and Antoine Arnault, 46.

All five of the chairman's children hold key management roles in the group, including the youngest, Jean Arnault, 25.

At the shareholder meeting on Thursday, shareholders also approved the appointment of French businessman Henri de Castries to the board.

Bernard Arnault, 75, has recently reshuffled the top ranks of management at LVMH, but showed no signs of stepping back, saying in January that he didn't intend to leave in the near or medium term.

The group raised the age limit for his role to 80 two years ago.

A flurry of changes at the upper ranks of management include the promotion of Stephane Bianchi to work alongside Bernard Arnault, overseeing strategic operations of its brands, replacing long-time lieutenant Toni Belloni, who has become president of LVMH Italy.

Another long-time deputy, Sidney Toledano, last month stepped down from heading LVMH's fashion group, and now serves as an advisor to Bernard Arnault. He was replaced by another veteran LVMH fashion executive Michael Burke, who ran the group's star label Louis Vuitton for more than a decade.

(Reporting by Mimosa Spencer; editing by Jason Neely and David Evans)