Benjamin Arabov Ready To Take Jacob & Co. To A New Digital Future As CEO

Luxury watch and jewelry brand, Jacob & Co., has named Benjamin Arabov as its new CEO, effective immediately. The appointment comes at a time when the company experienced its best year in terms of revenue despite the global coronavirus pandemic. Arabov, 28, is the son of Jacob Arabo, the company’s founder who grew the business from a kiosk in the New York Diamond District to a multi-million dollar international brand with more than 100 employees and with points- of-sale throughout the world.

The two will work together at Jacob & Co.’s New York headquarters and boutique where they will focus on their individual strengths.

“We each have our unique skills sets that don’t cross over,” Arabov said. “So we are not banging heads because as we all know, family businesses are not easy so it’s important that we collaborate but also stay in our own areas and focus on our strengths to take this business to the next level. Also, I’ve been learning from my father’s entrepreneurial mentality my whole life and now I get to continue doing that every day, working side by side with him in the business.”

Arabo will work specifically on the creative side designing products, managing the sales team, overseeing product production and focusing on “big picture” projects.

Meanwhile, Arabov will continue to focus on Jacob & Co.’s digital transformation, something he’s been concentrating on since 2017 when he began consulting with Jacob & Co. Since he took over the social media activities of the company in 2017, the luxury brand’s social media audience grew from 200,000 to 2.5 million followers. He says the Instagram account is the fastest growing among its peers, along with TikTok. This concentration in social media has directly led to annual year-on-year growth in sales of 20% to 30% for the past four years. A digital game-changer for Jacob & Co. was when a client purchased two watches valued over a $1 million each, sight-unseen, based on an Instagram photo.

Arabov honed his skills as a digital innovator with a number of his entrepreneurial start-ups, including Grow Enrollments, a consulting company he founded in 2016 that focuses on generating digital leads for educational institutions through Google AdWords. He started the business with $1,500 of his own money. The company achieved $6 million in revenue in 2020. This success led him to be named to the Forbes 30under30 list for 2021.

“I’ve been an entrepreneur for a long time. I started my first business when I was eight years old selling Pokémon cards to kids in high school. I was always into sales, but at age 15 I started a business selling products on eBay and fell in love with figuring out how to make sales digitally. So in terms of standing out, I’ve been at it for a long time and I’m grateful for the recognition by Forbes. It was an emotional moment for me and I really appreciate them selecting me from more than 20,000 submissions.”

In addition to digital initiatives, Arabov says that his responsibilities will be to continue the growth of the brand globally. This will include managing staff over five continents, developing and implementing business strategies and maintaining relationships with partners such as the high performance car manufacturer, Bugatti.

Arabo’s has confidence in his son’s ability to move the company to the next level.

“My vision for Jacob & Co. is multi-generational longevity. Our world is changing fast, especially after the pandemic. The entire haute horology industry is navigating what the future will look like,” Arabo said. “By combining Benjamin’s digital aptitude with Jacob & Co.’s DNA, I believe he will take our company to new heights. Benjamin will re-engineer Jacob & Co.’s core competencies as a global brand, as we are set to pioneer our industry into a new era. I am proud of the accomplishments we have had since I founded the company, and I am excited to launch its next chapter with Benjamin as our new CEO.”

About Jacob & Co.

“Inspired by the Impossible”

Founded by Jacob Arabo in 1986, Jacob & Co. creates revolutionary timepieces and exquisite jewelry that have captivated celebrities and notables from the watchmaking world and dazzled on fashion’s red carpets and cover shoots. With a unique talent for creating designs that are as innovative as they are spectacular, the company has grown into one of the most recognized luxury brands in timepieces and jewelry.

At the heart of the company is the passion, drive and creative force of Mr. Arabo. With a respect for traditional craftsmanship and artistry and an ability to envision and realize exquisite jewelry and unique timepieces, he makes the truly extraordinary a reality through the alchemy of edge and elegance.