Married to Hollywood star Salma Hayek and the son of a French business mogul, Francois-Henri Pinault has become one of the most important figures in the luxury goods industry and a regular on the front row of catwalk shows.

He began his career at his father Francois Pinault’s company Pinault Distribution, which later became PPR and then Kering, in 1987 and is now its chairman and chief executive.

Under his leadership the group sold off its retail assets including La Redoute and Printemps and merged with the Gucci Group, which oversees luxury brands including Gucci, Yves Saint Laurent and Alexander McQueen, to become one of the biggest players in high-end fashion.

Francois-Henri Pinault and Salma Hayek
Francois-Henri Pinault and Salma Hayek attending the British Fashion Awards in 2015 (Ian West/PA)

He changed the name of the group from PPR to Kering in 2013 in reference to his Breton roots.

Mr Pinault, 56, has been president of his family’s investment firm, Groupe Artemis, since 2003, and it is this group that will donate funds to help restore Notre Dame Cathedral after it was devastated by fire.

In a statement obtained by French newspaper Le Figaro, he said: “My father (Francois Pinault) and myself have decided to release a sum of 100 million euro from our Artemis funds (the family holding company) to participate in the effort that will be necessary for the complete reconstruction of Notre Dame.”

Mr Pinault married Hayek in Paris in 2009 and the couple have an 11-year-old daughter named Valentina.

He was previously married to Dorothee Lepere and dated supermodel Linda Evangelista.