President and CEO of Hennessy, president of the Colbert Committee and NEOMA alumnus, Laurent Boillot honours us by sponsoring the new Master in Management class. On 11 September, he came to the Rouen campus and was on a live broadcast played in Reims to talk with the sponsored class and directly answer their questions.

His five pieces of advice

• Never let anyone get in the way of your professional life or your desires.
• Move forward based on whom you meet.
• Think of the last thing you did for the first time.
• Work, work, work! Nothing can slow down work.
• Always have a dream ready.

His commitment as a sponsor

“I take on, add and give. My commitment as class sponsor is to share and help you. To find moments and give as much as I can”.

His motto

“Seriously enjoy myself”

His convictions

“Reinvest what you earn and not only for yourself”.

Questioned about the challenges of sustainability that every company must now take into account, Laurent Boillot responded, “there is a lot of tension between the luxury industry and the environmental aspect. But I think of a hummingbird*” (each action counts, even the small ones. It’s perseverance and the total of all the actions that can change things). In a few words, he described the different projects that he started since he joined Hennessy to do his part in the social and environmental transition. For example:

• Participating in the major movement to regenerate forests with the Forest Destination programme that aims to regenerate 50,000 hectares of forests throughout the world by 2030
• Supporting the winegrowing transition through 2050 by physically changing Cognac vineyards while taking into account human and social factors: “With 4,000 winegrowing families whose work depends on it, we cannot ban pesticides from one day to the next”

“I’m interested in bringing together the largest number of people on projects that will make a difference”.

Preserve, enrich and share

A committed lover of culture and beauty, Laurent Boillot is also president of the Colbert Committee, which unites 93 producers to “advance the values of creation and French know-how”.

“These 93 producers have 18,000 years of combined experience, showing French brands to truly be one step ahead”.

>>Also read Laurent Boillot’s post on LinkedIn