The founder of Hublot, Carlo Crocco, comes from an Italian heritage of watch makers; he created his first watch in 1967. By 1980 he decided to branch out on his own and he started his company, MDM Geneva, with the goal to create a watch with appeal to people the world over. He wanted it to be a sporty watch, yet fashionable and elegant. This was also the year he released the gold Hublot watch with the first natural rubber strap ever seen on a watch and it set the bar for other companies. The sporty watch was modeled after the porthole of a ship secured with titanium screws and finished off with a rubber strap. The case was made of brushed and polished stainless steel with a black dial. Carlo liked the look of simplicity and he liked to be a trend setter and he was. He was a risk taker and he put all of his creativity into one design and this set the stage for the future of the company and the reputation the brand developed. Carlos Crocco sought out the right person to lead his firm as he began to focus more on his foundation to help underprivileged children of the world. Jean-Claude Biver became the CEO of Hublot in 2004.