Norbert Platt joined Montblanc from Rollei in 1987 and ran the company as managing director. Under his leadership Montblanc made a wholehearted move into the luxury market and grew from a pure maker of writing instruments into a supplier of lifestyle goods: watches, leather goods, jewellery and perfumes were added to the range. The brand image that has defined Montblanc since the 1990s is essentially his work.
In September 2004 it was announced that Platt was moving to the top of the parent group to take up the post of chief executive officer. Montblanc belongs to the Swiss luxury goods group Richemont, which also brings together Cartier, IWC and Jaeger-LeCoultre. The Rupert family holds a capital stake of around ten per cent in it but controls more than half of the voting rights through a share class of its own; Johann Rupert, who had previously run the group as chief executive officer himself, announced the change. No successor was named at first for the management of Montblanc.