Excellence in fine craftsmanship to the service of customer experience
Saturday 18 January —
14:00
- 14:45
The Talks — Hall 7
Description
More than ever the hallmark of major luxury houses, the excellence of craftsmanship is taking center stage: behind-the-scenes tours, the discovery of unique know-how, exclusive experiences, and spaces dedicated to an increasingly discerning clientele. Bénédicte Épinay, CEO of the Comité Colbert, Frédéric Dufour, CEO of Ruinart, and Alexandre Boquel, directeur des métiers d’excellence at LVMH, shed light on this quintessentially French expertise.
Participants
Alexandre BoquelDirecteur des métiers d'Excellence - LVMH
Frédéric Dufour President - Maison Ruinart
Bénédicte EpinayPresident & CEO - Comité Colbert
Clara Le FortJournalist
Alexandre Boquel
Directeur des métiers d'Excellence - LVMH
Alexandre Boquel is directeur des métiers d’Excellence at LVMH in Paris, France. In this role he oversees the continuation of artisanship and craft that are considered to be part of French national patrimony and that encourage innovation and the embrace of new technologies in pursuit of new design. As he has explained, “these are professions of the future which remain linked to a longstanding lineage and ancestry.” He has specialized in leather goods and accessories and worked in couture and high fashion for over three decades, including positions in the fashion houses at Louis Vuitton, Nina Ricci, and Christian Dior. His education includes degrees from HEC Paris, an internationally-oriented business school in Jouy-en-Josas, France and CentraleSupélec/Université Paris-Saclay.
Frédéric Dufour
President - Maison Ruinart
Frédéric Dufour graduated in engineering from ENSTA and then obtained a master’s degree in international finance from HEC Paris. He joined Moët Hennessy in 1996, initially in the Asia-Pacific region and then as CEO of Moët Hennessy Diageo Hong Kong in 2001. On returning to France in 2005, he took on the role of Director, Brand Unit Marque Moët & Chandon and then International Director at Veuve Clicquot. In September 2011, Frédéric Dufour took over leadership of Maison Ruinart as President. Since then, he has implemented his unique vision for Ruinart as the cultural and conscious jewel of Champagne. Thus, perpetuating the Maison’s enlightened spirit and sustainable committed values. Frédéric Dufour is convinced that, as the 1st House of Champagne, whose savoir-faire and culture are intimately linked to nature, Ruinart has a responsibility to embody the new luxury and make a significant positive impact. Ruinart actively contribute to fighting climate change and preserving biodiversity through innovation. Through his impetus, among many other initiatives, the Maison unveiled the disruptive, eco-designed second skin case in 2020. This innovation is revolutionizing traditional packaging for champagne, as well as in the entire luxury sector. Ruinart launched a pilot biodiversity project across the historic 40-hectare Taissy vineyard on the Montagne de Reims with a dual objective: become a driving force for biodiversity in the Champagne region and commit to reforestation efforts around the globe. More recently, the Maison launched Ruinart Blanc Singulier, a new innovative Blanc de Blancs cuvée, testimony of a changing climate.
Bénédicte Epinay
President & CEO - Comité Colbert
In March 2020, Bénédicte Epinay took the reins of Comité Colbert, an association founded in 1954 by Jean-Jacques Guerlain, bringing together 95 French luxury Maisons, 18 cultural institutions, and 6 European members. She immediately endowed the association with a new raison d’être: “To passionately promote, patiently transmit, and sustainably develop French savoir-faire and creation in order to inject a new sense of wonder”, which structures all of its missions and actions. Previously, Bénédicte Épinay spent 30 years working in the media sector, in particular the Les Échos-Le Parisien Group where she held the position of Deputy Editorial Director, in charge of weekend supplements. She created the group’s first monthly luxury and lifestyle magazine Série Limitée in 1999 and was involved in the launch of the Les Echos Week-end weekly publication in 2015.
Clara Le Fort
Journalist
A writer for French and international publications (Les Echos WE, Le Point, ELLE, ELLE DECO, Bllnr), Clara Le Fort deals with subjects related to luxury, innovation and sustainable development. She also works with brands on strategic matters, as a design director. In addition, she has authored five books, published by Gestalten, and has written the Louis Vuitton City Guide for Sydney, Istanbul, Copenhagen and Arles.