INTER PARFUMS - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Chief Operations Officer
- COO
Mr. Heilbronn has been a Director since 1988, is an independent director and a member of the Audit Committee, Nominating Committee and the Executive Compensation and Stock Option Committee, is a graduate of Harvard Business School with a Master of Business Administration degree and is currently the managing partner of the consulting firm of M.M. Friedrich, Heilbronn & Fiszer. He was formerly employed by The Boston Consulting Group, Inc. from 1988 through 1992 as a manager. Mr. Heilbronn graduated from Institut d' Etudes Politiques de Paris in June 1983. From 1984 to 1986, he worked as a financial analyst for Lazard Freres & Co. In addition, during 2009 Mr. Heilbronn became an Associate Professor in Business Strategy at Sciences Po, Paris, France.
Mr. Harrison, an independent director, was appointed to our board in April 2021. He has more than 50 years of experience in corporate finance and strategic transactions, specializing in the consumer products space. He began his career in 1965 practicing corporate and securities law in New York and Philadelphia. In 1971 he founded Financo, which he grew to become one of the leading independent middle market transaction firms in the country. In 1985, Financo was acquired by Lehman Brothers, where the firm's primary efforts were focused on increasing its expertise in retail, apparel and other merchandising transactions of all types. At Lehman, Mr. Harrison was Chairman of the Merchandising Group and on the firm's Investment Banking Operating Committee while continuing as Chairman of Financo, which was renamed the Middle Market Group of Lehman. In 1989, he re-acquired Financo from Lehman, re-establishing Financo as one of the leading investment banking firms handling transactions and providing strategic advice in connection with merchandising companies.
Mr. Harrison retired as Chairman of Financo in December of 2017, after which he formed the Harrison Group, a firm that provides consulting and financial advisory services to merchandising and products companies. He continues to consult and provide financial advisory service to a number of clients.
He recently finished his autobiography Deal Junkie which was published by Post Hill Press in January 2022.
Mr. Harrison's other activities include his membership on the Advisory Council of the World Retail Congress, Shoptalk and the Financial Times Business of Luxury Summit. Additionally, he has created a course on mergers and acquisitions at The Wharton School and has published various articles and academic studies on the state of retailing and mergers and acquisitions, including a chapter in the book entitled "The Mergers and Acquisitions Handbook." Mr. Harrison lectures throughout the country, including chairing seminars for Retail Week as well as for the International Council of Shopping Centers, the National Retail Federation, Young President's Center, The Wharton Aresty Institute of Executive Education and The President's Association of the American Management Association. He also appears frequently on Bloomberg TV and CNBC as an expert on retail and apparel.
Mr. Harrison received a Bachelor of Science in Economics from The Wharton School of The University of Pennsylvania in 1962 and his Juris Doctor from The University of Pennsylvania Law School in 1965. He is also Chairman Emeritus of the Fashion Division of UJA, Treasurer and a Board member of the Southampton Hospital, Director of the Peggy Guggenheim Collection, and former Board member of the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
Job Titles:
- Global Communications Director
Job Titles:
- CEO
- Chairman of the Board
- Director
Jean Madar, a Director, has been the Chairman of the Board since our Company's inception, and is a co-founder of our Company with Mr. Philippe Benacin. From inception until December 1993 he was the President of our Company; in January 1994 he became Director General of Interparfums SA, our Company's subsidiary; and in January 1997 he became Chief Executive Officer of our Company. Mr. Madar was previously the managing director of Interparfums SA, from September 1983 until June 1985. At such subsidiary, he had the responsibility of overseeing the marketing operations of its foreign distribution, including market research analysis and actual marketing campaigns. Mr. Madar graduated from The French University for Economic and Commercial Sciences (ESSEC) in 1983.
Job Titles:
- Chief Human Resources Officer
Michel Atwood became our Chief Financial Officer on September 6, 2022. From September 2018 through March 2022 while at Estée Lauder, Mr. Atwood had strategic oversight for the fragrance category across that company and operational accountability for several of its fragrance brands. He also had senior level merger and acquisition ("M&A") duties, including acquisition integration and brand divestitures/discontinuations. Over his nearly four years at Estée Lauder, he also drove cross-brand synergies across research and development and supply chain for the fragrance category. He is presently still an employee of Estée Lauder and will begin working for Inter Parfums on September 6, 2022. From February 2017 to August 2018, he was an independent consultant as an M&A advisor on multiple fragrance license acquisitions and also acted as a private investor.
From 1995 to 2017, Mr. Atwood has held several executive positions at Procter & Gamble ("P&G") in France, Switzerland, Italy and Germany. His final title at P&G was Divisional CFO of Global Prestige Fragrances, leading a 90 member team, and ultimately spearheading the divestiture of that division to Coty. Earlier he was CFO Global Markets - Prestige Fragrances, a business generating over $2 billion in sales, where he headed a globally dispersed team of 60 people supporting the go-to-market organization (affiliates, Travel Retail and distributors) of the Prestige Division. Before that, he was Global Prestige Director of Strategic Planning, Licensing and Acquisition shaping and executing the overall business direction and licensing and acquisition strategy of P&G's Global Fragrance and Premium skin and cosmetics businesses.
Michel Atwood holds a Master's degree in Software Engineering from the Institut National des Sciences Appliquées of Lyon, and a Master's in International Finance from HEC Paris, the prestigious French business school. He also earned the designation of Certified Management Accountant from the Institute of Management Accountants. He has an international background, working/living in France, Switzerland, the U.S., Canada, Turkey and Italy.
Michel Dyens, an independent director, is the Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Michel Dyens & Co., which he founded over 25 years ago. With headquarters in New York and Paris, Michel Dyens & Co. is a leading independent investment banking firm focused on mergers and acquisitions. Michel Dyens & Co. has vast experience in luxury goods, beauty, spirits and other premium branded consumer goods in which it has concluded numerous landmark deals. Michel Dyens & Co. has advised in such deals as the sale of the Grey Goose ultra-premium vodka brand to Bacardi, the acquisition of the luxury Swiss watchmaker Hublot by LVMH, the sale of the Harry Winston to Aber Diamond Corporation and Boucheron to Kering. Michel Dyens & Co. represented the owners of Liaigre, the luxury furniture brand, in the sale to Symphony International and Navis Capital, and Casa Dragones, the ultra-premium tequila, in the sale to BDT Partners (Byron Trott).
Patrick Choël was appointed to the board of directors in June 2006 as an independent director, and is a member of the Audit Committee, Nominating Committee and the Executive Compensation and Stock Option Committee. Mr. Choël is a director of our majority-owned subsidiary, Interparfums SA, and Modellabs, both publicly held companies, and Christian Dior and Guerlain, both privately held companies. He is also the manager of Université 82, a business consultant and advisor. For approximately 10 years, through March 2004, Mr. Choël worked as the President and CEO of two divisions of LVMH, first Parfums Christian Dior, a leading world-wide prestige beauty/fragrances business, and later, the LVMH Perfumes and Cosmetics Division, which included such well-known brands as Parfums Christian Dior, Guerlain, and Parfums Givenchy, among others. Prior to such time, for approximately 30 years, he worked at various executive positions at Unilever, including President and CEO of Elida Fabergé France and President and CEO of Chesebrough Pond's USA.
Job Titles:
- Director
- President Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
Philippe Benacin, a Director, is President of our Company and the Chief Executive Officer of Interparfums SA, has been the Vice Chairman of the Board since September 1991, and is a co-founder of our Company with Mr. Madar. He was elected the Executive Vice President in September 1991, Senior Vice President in April 1993, and President of the Company in January 1994. In addition, he has been the Chief Executive Officer of Interparfums SA for more than the past five years. Mr. Benacin graduated from The French University for Economic and Commercial Sciences (ESSEC) in 1983.
Philippe Santi, a Director since December 1999, is the Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Interparfums SA. Mr. Santi, who is a Certified Accountant and Statutory Auditor in France, has been the Chief Financial Officer of Interparfums SA since February 1995. Prior to February 1995, Mr. Santi was the Chief Financial Officer for Stryker France and an Audit Manager for Ernst and Young.
Job Titles:
- Director
- Founder of Sirius Equity Consultants
Robert Bensoussan, has been a Director since March 1997, and is also an independent director. Mr. Bensoussan is the founder of Sirius Equity Consultants, a retail and branded luxury goods Investment Company. To date, Mr. Bensoussan remains as an investor in C.A.R.O.L, the AI driven fitness equipment, Hapy Sweet Bee Ltd, natural health food products, Eaglemoss Ltd, UK part-works publisher and Patchwork, a Parisian co-working company.
He was previously Chairman of Camaïeu, the French retail conglomerate, a board member of Celio International, the French retail conglomerate and Vivarte representing the GLG hedge fund. In the latter part of 2019, Mr. Bensoussan resigned after 6 years as the only non-North American board member of lululemon athletica Inc. Following the successful sale in 2021, Mr. Bensoussan stepped down from the board of Feelunique.com one of Europe's largest online beauty retailer's after serving 9 years.
He is also a member of the Advisory Board of Pictet Bank Premium Brands Fund and sits on the board of Pronovias, the worldwide leader of wedding dresses owned by BC Partners, Yonderland, Europe's largest premium outdoor retailer, SNS, a prominent aspirational streetwear and entertainment hub and Internet Fusion Group, a leading e-commerce site for niche lifestyle products.
Previously Mr. Bensoussan was as director of, and had an indirect ownership interest J. Choo Limited until July 2011, and was CEO from 2001 to 2007, and was a member of the Board of Jimmy Choo Ltd, a privately held luxury shoe wholesaler and retailer, from 2001 to 2011.