Exclusive to Magzoid
Jean-Christophe Babin, born with dual French and Italian nationality in Paris has showcased his thoughtful leadership across all the corporates led by him. Jean has been the Managing Director of Henkel’s Italian subsidiary, Senior Vice-President at the German headquarters in Düsseldorf, and so on. Jean joined LVMH and had begun with TAG Heuer in Switzerland and was later appointed as the President and CEO of TAG Heuer. In 2011, Bulgari was bought by LVMH, and he has been the CEO ever since 2013. He has been an energetic, strategic, and charismatic leader exemplifying his skills by running global organizations, at growth rates outperforming peer competition. Here is an excerpt from Magzoid’s conversation with Jean-Christophe Babin about his journey during the Bulgari Contemporary Art Awards in the UAE.
How did you come up with the concept of Bulgari Contemporary Art Awards in the UAE?
We believe in creating a global conversation between different cultures such as this major exhibition soon taking place in Beijing interchanging ideas between Chinese and Italian markets. Likewise, a similar establishment in the UAE capitalizing on the previous experiences has put together many of these young talents that are creating new masterpieces and going beyond connecting Bulgari. The program is to promote and rejuvenate contemporary art in society. Contemporary art is crucial to the western world and therefore for us, promoting and providing a spotlight for young talents that have the potential to become jewelers with us as well as inspire our current jewelers to develop further and think out of the box is vital. The conversations with these young talents that are forming these novel masterworks exceed expectations and we are glad we have managed to get such popular and world-famous creators.
What’s your take on ‘Beauty Connects People’?
On one hand, you glorify the precious nature, stones, art of the jewelers, and also the lady’s beauty. As a jeweler, you are a beauty enhancer. You contribute to the elegance and sophistication of ladies and also participate in the more important element which is the beauty of emotions. Jewelry is often mentioned as a turning point of life experience. It’s not just about elegance and sophistication, it’s more about joy. Eventually, people begin to worship jewelry. It has become part of every religion and every culture and every region because it has been worshiped, recognized, and adopted by everyone. The art of jewelry is universal and is everywhere.
You have prominently established yourself as successful business personnel. Would you like to share a bit about how and why you plan to move into the luxury goods segment?
We are primarily more than every jeweler; we are born as jewelers and have to be recognized by our art to create the desire for precious gems, fragrances, and watches. Glorifying radiance by sharing and crafting gems of nature and glorifying skins by putting them in such a magnificent way, we believe that today we have a chance to be the top in the world of jewelry. We have 7 in operations and 5 in construction. We are the first Italian brand and have plenty of networks. We know it from surveys and Dubai also comes number one in the terms of interpretation and price.
The ultimate sophistication of jewelry applied to the skin is our challenge and the dream in our eyes. A ring should have an emotional element, it should not only be a piece of finely crafted gold, but it should also trigger an emotional feeling.
Leading a brand like Bulgari needs some exceptional leadership abilities and an exemplification of that is you. As a part of how leaders think in scenarios of crisis, I would like to ask you a question. Would you like to define a challenging situation that you had come across and how did you come through it?
Experience shows crises are always special. For example, illness in the villages killed many people. In such a situation we have no other option than to look out of the box and invent machines. Out of trauma and lack of manpower, some geniuses came out with great ideas. In the same way, the right attitude from a company protects the company and its customers. We work in a smart world and it changes the balance between our lives. We have to adapt and learn to communicate. Because of the Covid scenario, we have to act more sophisticatedly. Leadership in times of crisis is to find whether you are an escaper or a fighter. It’s a moment of revolution; we have to manage our supply chains and business, think differently, take different directions and from there think of the original goal and be quicker. It is a market race and you’ll be discouraged but you have to do something different and think differently.
Whether it’s a Bulgari perfume, a Bulgari watch, or staying at a Bulgari hotel, what defines the Bulgari experience?
To turn nature’s precious into even more emotional sensations or objects or shapes or designs is art. Not only architectural and artistic background, but we also do everything, the creativity or crafting, is all roman spirits. The essence of Rome is applied to every piece of the watch, jewelry, and art. We take inspiration from wherever there’s beauty. But often the first step is from Roman heritage.
What are your upcoming plans for collaborating with artists in the UAE?
The point is to collaborate with luxury companies. We are probably closest to art, therefore I think it’s crucial for us to participate in artistic evolution and art is one of the kinds we do. On one end it’s paying the tributes to the artists. We will promote more than art. There will be some good stuff for jewelers and perfumes. It is all connected.
What is the motto you live by?
My motto is very much Roman; it is Carpe diem. Not to be stressed for the future and to make the most out of it. Life is simple to move on, learn and evolve.
What message do you have for our creative community?
Art is evolving and never old. Turn your art into NFTs or be it digital. We all have talents and we all have dreams just materialize it and just do it.
-interview@magzoid.com