Life lessons from the guitar-playing, jet-setting CEO of furniture brand Roche Bobois
Recalling his backpacking days as a educatee, Gilles Bonan, the CEO of French luxury piece of furniture brand Roche Bobois, speaks of his fondness for South America and Asia.
"I take very adept vibes near Singapore and I'grand a large fan of Argentina every bit well. I love meeting people and experiencing different cultures," Bonan told CNA Luxury.
It'due south his second visit to Singapore, this fourth dimension for the opening of the brand's almost-500 sqm exhibit forth Bukit Timah Route.
The Asian growth story is 1 Bonan has come to know well, with the continent driving much of Roche Bobois'due south aggressive expansion in recent years. Of the brand'south 265 showrooms around the world, 13 (and counting) are in China, four in South Korea, two each in Nihon and Vietnam plus those in the Philippines, Hong Kong and now, Singapore.
Indeed, Roche Bobois' collection of colourful and often whimsical furniture designs – the production of adventurous collaborations with talented designers and esteemed way houses the likes of Christian Lacroix, Jean Paul Gaultier, Kenzo Takada, Ora Ito and Missoni Home – has been growing on the Asian palate of belatedly.
"We have been in China for almost fifteen years and we have seen the market place evolve from a preference for our more classical collections to more than contemporary designs," observed Bonan.
He believes that more than homeowners are embracing Roche Bobois' French art de vivre fashion equally a "reflection of their own personality".
"We try to convey emotion through our designs and that is the je ne sais quoi of Roche Bobois," he said. "Now, people are into a mix of mode and materials and that is the spirit behind the new Globetrotter drove with Dutch designer Marcel Wanders."
The travel-themed collection traverses the globe for artistic inspiration, pulling together cultural influences from 3 of the most popular stopover destinations in the earth: London, Paris and Istanbul. At that place are sofas and lamps inspired by hot air balloons and dining tables with legs dressed in fishnet stockings reminiscent of cancan dancers in Paris, to name a few of the imaginative pieces in the fun and eclectic collection.
They entreatment to global citizens like Bonan, whose ain worldview was not only enriched from his early travels simply as well cultivated during his previous function as Deputy Director of Roche Bobois in charge of international development and finance.
"I was involved in developing the brand internationally so one of my responsibilities was to convince oversees franchisees to invest in our brand. In order to put frontward a disarming argument, yous have to mind and empathize people so that yous can influence them in a positive way. And to accomplish this, you need a lot of humility."
"The key to life – and business leadership – is therefore humility," said Bonan.
His appreciation for cultural nuances continued maturing as he learnt to communicate with the different land markets, prioritising listening and understanding those he worked with then every bit to amend engage with them. This ultimately shaped Bonan'due south "participative" management style when he causeless the part of CEO xi years ago.
Sharing of vision and articulate controlling are other key leadership rules Bonan believes every CEO should live by. Once these are in place, it'south all about the execution. "You take to mensurate the efficiency of your decisions against the result," he said.
While exotic lands had been the ones to motion him most in his youth, the Paris-based CEO counts the cities of New York, Milan, Barcelona, London and Paris amidst his favourite these days.
But when city life gets as well much, Bonan "escapes" to his country dwelling house in Normandy, nigh two hours outside Paris. "Information technology's very peaceful by the bounding main," he says. And the perfect place for him to selection up his guitar to unplug.
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Source: https://cnalifestyle.channelnewsasia.com/people/roche-bobois-ceo-gilles-bonan-singapore-showroom-bukit-timah-239306
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