Thierry Stern became President of Patek Philippe in 2009, succeeding his father Philippe Stern in a family ownership line that stretches back to the Stern family's acquisition of the brand in 1932. He is the fourth generation of his family to lead the company, and his stewardship has reinforced Patek Philippe's position as the most consistently respected name in watchmaking — a status that rests not on the company being the most innovative or the most technically ambitious in any given year, but on its extraordinary continuity of quality and independence over more than ninety years of family ownership.

Stern has been notably clear-eyed about the relationship between rarity, desire, and responsibility. His public statements on production limits — Patek produces approximately 60,000 watches per year, a figure he has repeatedly declined to increase despite demand that could sustain a significantly larger output — reflect a genuine philosophical position rather than a marketing strategy. His argument is that increasing production to meet demand would require compromises to quality and finishing that would damage what the brand represents. Whether or not one accepts the argument entirely, it has been consistent over the fifteen years of his leadership.

Under Thierry Stern, Patek Philippe has launched the Advanced Research programme, which has introduced new materials and escapement technologies including silicon components and the Pulsomax and Spiromax escapement system. He has also overseen the construction and opening of the Patek Philippe Museum in Geneva, the most significant institutional statement the brand has made about its own historical importance. His decision to end relationships with grey-market facilitating authorised dealers, and to introduce resale restriction requirements, reflects the same priority of brand integrity over short-term volume that has characterised his father's and grandfather's stewardship of the company.