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Luxury Leaders
Our regular series interviewing top figures changing the game in luxury, culture and sustainability, including owners, CEOs, philanthropists, foundations and fund principals.
COMO Group CEO Olivier Jolivet on travel trends for 2021
Olivier Jolivet has sat at the helm of COMO Group since 2017. He oversees the COMO Hotels and Resorts portfolio across 15 locations, and masterminded the launch of Castello Del Nero, the group’s first property in continental Europe. Here, Jolivet tells Chloe...
Philanthropy: Anne-Pierre d’Albis-Ganem on championing artists
Art historian Anne-Pierre d’Albis-Ganem is the founder of the Parcours-Saint-Germain-des-Prés, a yearly contemporary art festival in Paris, and the B&C art and culture member’s club. She is also the co-founder of Spirit Now London which organises exclusive...
Philanthropy: Keith Breslauer on combining business & charity
Keith Breslauer is the founder and Managing Director of private equity company Patron Capital, and a trustee and donor to numerous charities including the Royal Marines Charity and the Prince’s Teaching Institute. As part of our ongoing philanthropy series, he speaks...
Philanthropy: Entrepreneur Wendy Yu on creativity & charity
Fashion entrepreneur Wendy Yu is the founder and CEO of Yu Holdings, an international ambassador for the French Fédération de la Haute Couture et de la Mode, and a supporter of The Metropolitan Museum of Arts, BAFTA and numerous other charitable foundations. As part...
Philanthropy: Katrina Aleksa Ryemill on helping women in the arts
Non-profit organisation Association of Women In The Arts was founded with the ambition of providing a networking and mentorship platform for women working in the arts in the UK. Since the pandemic, their membership has expanded globally with a new online programme. As...
Chopard’s Caroline Scheufele on versatile jewellery design
Chopard’s Artistic Director Caroline Scheufele speaks to Torri Mundell about the Swiss company’s new Magical Setting range, aimed at creating a whisper-light collection of jewellery to be worn anywhere, anytime When Chopard’s artistic director and co-president,...
Montegrappa’s CEO Giuseppe Aquila on personalised luxury
Responding to the ever increasing demand for custom-designed products, Italian luxury brand Montegrappa has recently launched an online configurator which allows customers to fully personalise their hand-crafted fountain pens. Here, the brand’s CEO Giuseppe...
Activist José Soares dos Santos on environmental responsibility
Through his Oceano Azul Foundation and game-changing Oceanário de Lisboa, Portuguese business leader and activist José Soares dos Santos is one of the foremost forces in Europe driving ocean conservation. LUX meets him to find out how he inspires politicians and his...
Philanthropy: Model Nadya Abela on her children’s charity
Philanthropist Nadya Abela established the Nadezda Foundation in her hometown of Tver in Russia in 2015 to provide disadvantaged children with much needed medical care and educational support. In 2019, a sister foundation was registered in the UK. In the first of our...
Bridgewater Capital founder Ray Dalio on ocean philanthropy
Once the sea casts its spell, it holds you in its net of wonder forever. So said the legendary Jacques Cousteau, and so it is with Ray Dalio, founder of Bridgewater Associates, one of the world’s largest hedge funds. Together with his son Mark, Dalio created OceanX to...
Marine biologist Douglas McCauley on environmental philanthropy
Douglas McCauley directs the Benioff Ocean Initiative, the philanthropic organisation created by billionaire Salesforce founder Marc Benioff and his wife Lynne. McCauley, a marine biologist, says that philanthropists can do much more to save the oceans than simply...
Deutsche Bank’s Claudio de Sanctis on investing in the ocean
Claudio de Sanctis, the new Global Head of Wealth Management at Deutsche Bank, has been passionate about the oceans since he was young. He now sees the blue economy – the sustainable use of ocean resources for economic growth – as a major and necessary target for...
Kering’s Marie-Claire Daveu on benefits of the blue economy
The Kering group, owner of Gucci and Bottega Veneta, led the luxury industry by pioneering a sustainability strategy years ago. Marie-Claire Daveu, who spearheaded this move, explains how environmental accounting and the blue economy are good for business, consumers...
Prince Robert de Luxembourg on wine, gastronomy & storytelling
For the cosmopolitan Prince Robert de Luxembourg, owning one of the world’s most celebrated wine estates, Château Haut-Brion, was not enough. The former Hollywood screenwriter is creating a world of fine wine and cuisine fantasy for visitors to enjoy in Bordeaux and...
Designer Ali Behnam-Bakhtiar on bringing dream worlds to life
Iranian-born designer Ali Behnam-Bakhtiar does it all – interiors, architectural design, weddings. Whether large-scale events or private homes, a converted airplane or a château, he runs the gamut from extravagant to minimal with equal flair and imagination, bringing...
CEO of Azumi restaurants Sven Koch on the future of hospitality
When chef Rainer Becker opened the first Zuma restaurant in Knightsbridge in 2002, it set a new benchmark for informal high end dining. Sven Koch joined the restaurant group Azumi Ltd Worldwide in 2011 and now, their portfolio includes ROKA, ETARU, Oblix at The Shard...
SKIN co-founder Lauren Lozano Ziol on creating inspiring homes
Founded by interior designer Lauren Lozano Ziol and graphic designer Michelle Jolas, SKIN is a luxury interior design studio that offers its clients the opportunity to accompany designers to furniture markets, design shows and antique shops. Ahead of the...
Entrepreneur Dr. Li Li on the importance of global relationships
Li Li is a woman on a mission. Taking over her husband’s Beijing-based medical company MEBO after his unexpected early passing a few years ago, she has built it into one of the most significant and serious players in the rapidly developing field of regenerative...
Fashion superstar Giorgio Armani on his global empire
The designs of fashion superstar Giorgio Armani have become synonymous with the relaxed yet restrained and sophisticated style that has, over the nearly half century he has been in the business, transformed Italian tailoring. Harriet Quick talks to the legend about...
Princess Yachts CEO Antony Sheriff on a new generation of yachting
Antony Sheriff has transformed the fortunes of Bernard Arnault’s yachtmaker Princess, creating boats that are stylish, in demand and environmentally innovative, for a new generation of consumer. LUX gets his story “It’s the sports car of the range. The hull reduces...
Van Cleef & Arpels CEO Nicolas Bos on the poetry of jewellery
The heritage of Parisian jeweller Van Cleef & Arpels is being honoured by an exhibition at the Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle in Paris, in which their gems from across the years are being shown alongside the raw stones that such jewels are made from. On the...
Fashion designer Erdem Moralıoğlu’s guide to east London
Erdem Moralıoğlu’s flagship store is in Mayfair, but the heart of this designer to the stars is in hip east London, where he lives and has his studio. He gives LUX a pre-lockdown tour of his home patch My favourite view… The view from the restaurant at the...
Economist Portia Antonia Alexis on the future of the global elite
Portia Antonia Alexis is a consumer business analyst, economist and mathematician, and a member of the economics department at The London School of Economics. Following the publication of a recent research paper entitled ‘The Global Elite,’ the McKinsey alumnus speaks...
Chef Alain Ducasse on the importance of telling your own story
With 21 Michelin stars to his name, Alain Ducasse is one of the world’s most decorated chefs. Over the course of his career, he has opened over 25 restaurants across the globe, launched a cooking school and an artisan chocolate company. Following the reopening...
Founder of Nila House Lady Carole Bamford’s guide to Jaipur
Lady Carole Bamford, the founder of Daylesford Organic, beauty brand Bamford and numerous charitable foundations including Nila House gives us a guide to her spiritual home, Jaipur Where I hunt for treasures… I always look forward to visiting the government khadi...
Plaza Premium Group’s Founder Song Hoi-see on airport luxury
Headquartered in Hong Kong, Plaza Premium Group is one of the world’s leading premium airport services companies. The group provides luxury airport lounges, transit hotels, meet & greet services and dining in over 42 international airports with plans for...
Smeg’s CEO Vittorio Bertazzoni on the Italian design ethos
Originally established as an enamelling plant in 1948 by the Bertazzoni family, Smeg is now globally renowned for making stylish kitchen appliances. Here, the brand’s third generation family member and CEO Vittorio Bertazzoni speaks to LUX’s...
Pedro Rodriguez of Sierra Blanca Estates on Málaga’s luxury future
Picasso Towers is Málaga’s latest luxury residential development, featuring 213 apartments on the seafront. Conceived by Sierra Blanca Estates in collaboration with Metrovacesa – and with endorsement from Antonio Banderas – the project aims to...
Jetcraft’s owner & chairman Jahid Fazal-Karim on global trading
Jahid Fazal-Karim joined Jetcraft in 2008, and has since transformed the company from a primarily US-based organisation to a global trading platform. LUX Editor-in-Chief speaks to the Dubai-based businessman about the private jet market, why buying pre-owned makes...
OMM’s Creative Director Idil Tabanca on creating an art institution
This September will see the opening of Odunpazari Modern Museum (OMM), a major new art museum in Eskişehir, Turkey. Designed by architects Kengo Kuma and Associates, the museum is the brainchild of art collector Erol Tabanca, whose collection will provide the...
Savoir Beds’ MD Alistair Hughes on the value of craftsmanship
In 1905 The Savoy Hotel decided to create a bespoke bed for its guests, and so began the legacy of what’s now known as Savoir Beds. Every Savoir bed is crafted from chemical-free natural materials, carefully selected to provide the optimum sleeping environment....
Sir Rocco Forte on building his empire of luxury hotels
Since he created it in 1996, Sir Rocco Forte has grown his eponymous luxury hotel group to include multiple properties in key destinations across Europe, with a major expansion this year within his family’s native Italy. And there are plans for the boutique...
Lightstone’s President Mitchell Hochberg on lifestyle hospitality
President of Lightstone Mitchell Hochberg has put his stamp on New York with multiple real-estate developments, including luxury residences 130 William Street and 40 East End Avenue. In partnership with Marriott International, Lightstone are also developing lifestyle...
Knight Frank’s Chairman Alistair Elliott on research and tech
Alistair Elliott is Group Chairman and Senior Partner of Knight Frank, the London-based global commercial and residential real estate group. He started in the company as a graduate trainee, with no family background in property, in 1983. Knight Frank, which is still...
President of LEMA Angelo Meroni on business with a soul
Founded in 1970, LEMA still remains family-owned and true to its ‘Made in Italy’ philosophy. The group collaborates with famed architects and designers to produce elegant, modern furniture and made-to-measure interior fittings for residential and...
BASTIAN gallery director Aeneas Bastian on the global art world
Established in 1989 by Celine and Heiner Bastian, BASTIAN opened its first gallery in 2007 in Berlin. Now, the gallery has placed itself on the global art map with the grand opening of a new space in Mayfair. LUX speaks to the founders’ son and gallery director...
Canary Wharf Group’s MD Camille Waxer on urban transformation
Once an industrial dockyard, Canary Wharf Estate is now home to London’s most famous skyline of angular glass towers, but thanks to the vision of property developer Canary Wharf Group, it’s also a highly desirable residential area with a thriving Arts +...
Founder of Corinthia Hotels Alfred Pisani on going global
Under the leadership of Alfred Pisani, Corinthia Hotels has grown from a single family-owned banquet hall in Malta to a global luxury brand with properties in 9 destinations and forthcoming openings in Dubai and Brussels. LUX speaks to the Maltese businessman about...
Luxury watch designer Richard Mille on creativity and supercars
Richard Mille is the name adorning some of the world’s most expensive – and outrageous – timepieces. But the eponymous founder is a thoughtful, passionate creative who dreamed of creating a racing car company as much as a watch brand. Darius Sanai meets him Richard...
Entrepreneur John Caudwell on luxury property & philanthropy
In 2006 British entrepreneur John Caudwell sold his pioneering telecommunications company, the Caudwell Group, which included high-street mobile phone retail giant Phones4U, and turned his attention to property and philanthropy. His luxury residential development...
Parisian designer Jacques Garcia on creating spaces for seduction
Jacques Garcia is the master of decadent design. His portfolio includes the likes of Hôtel Costes in Paris, La Mamounia in Marrakech and NYC’s NoMad. Now the French designer is bringing a touch of Parisian style to London with luxury boutique hotel,...
Bruno Schöpfer, Managing Director of the Bürgenstock Selection, on the future of luxury hospitality
Bürgenstock is the most ambitious resort development in European history, a spectacular complex of luxury hotels, spas, contemporary restaurants and a high-end medical clinic perched on top of a mountain overlooking Lake Lucerne in Switzerland, on the site of a...
Northacre CEO Niccolò Barattieri di San Pietro on creating dream homes
Luxury real estate developer Northacre was founded in 1977 by German architect Klas Nilsson. Owner of The Lancasters, a luxe development of 77 apartments in Bayswater, the company is currently developing No. 1 Palace Street, a Grade II listed building featuring 72...
Co-founder & CEO of Spring Francesco Costa on creative co-working
Co-working spaces are already well integrated into our urban landscapes. Companies like WeWork provide communal offices for start-ups and self-employed workers whilst the likes of Soho House invite members to use their residences for wining, dining and the occasional...
British Polo Day’s Tom Hudson on polo’s international appeal
British Polo Day’s unique approach to an international, invitation only, global polo platform has cemented the brand as one of the most sought after events on the social calendar. Partnering with the likes of Bentley, VistaJet and Chelsea Barracks, the events see some...
andBeyond CEO Joss Kent on creating luxury in the wilderness
Joss Kent is a born adventurer. Son of LUX columnist and Abercrombie & Kent CEO Geoffrey Kent, Joss left behind the family legacy to run luxury travel company, andBeyond. With safari camps all over Africa, and hotels and lodges in select locations across Asia and...
Founder of photo basel Sven Eisenhut on the art of photography
photo basel is Switzerland’s first and only international art fair dedicated to photography, showcasing works from both contemporary and classic photographers. Galleries from around the world come together for five days in June, during Art Basel, to showcase...
URWERK Co-Founder, Felix Baumgartner on modern watchmaking
URWERK’s unique approach to high horology has established it as one of the most creative and desirable brands in the industry. URWERK’s watches are like nothing else on the market, reinventing the design of a timepiece to put function and artistry above conventional...
Global businessman Johnny Hon on promoting global exchange
Johnny Hon, founder of venture capital and investment company Global Group, is on a mission to lower cultural and trade barriers between east and west to encourage commerce, charity and cultural exchange. The entrepreneur and philanthropist, based in London and Hong...
Simon de Pury on artistic philanthropy
Charity art auctions are taking off around the world, and for the best and worst of reasons, says Simon de Pury, himself the world’s leading philanthropic auctioneer In times past, the main philanthropic efforts in the art world used to be confined to the US, for a...
