Jean-Louis Dumas
French businessman, chairman of the Hermès group from 1978 to 2006 From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jean-Louis Robert Frédéric Dumas (2 February 1938 – 1 May 2010) was a French billionaire businessman who was the chairman of the Hermès group from 1978 to 2006. He was also the company's artistic director.[1] Dumas is credited with turning Hermès into a global luxury brand during his tenure as chairman.[1]
Jean-Louis Dumas | |
|---|---|
| Born | Jean-Louis Robert Frédéric Dumas 2 February 1938 Paris, France |
| Died | 1 May 2010 (aged 72) Paris, France |
| Education | Institut d'Études Politiques de Paris |
| Occupation(s) | Businessman, designer |
| Known for | Hermès chairman and design chief |
| Board member of | Hermès |
| Spouse |
Rena Gregoriadès
(m. 1962; died 2009) |
| Children | 2, including Pierre-Alexis |
| Relatives | Axel Dumas (cousin) |
Early life and education
Jean-Louis Robert Frédéric Dumas was born in Paris, France, on 2 February 1938. He also used the last name Dumas-Hermès. His father was Robert Dumas, and his mother was one of Émile-Maurice Hermès' four daughters. Émile-Maurice Hermès was himself a grandson of the company's founder, Thierry Hermès.[2] Dumas attended the Institut d'Études Politiques de Paris, also dubbed Sciences Po.[2] He also traveled in Iran, Afghanistan, and Nepal in a Citroën 2CV.[3] After travelling in Scandinavia and Czechoslovakia while the drummer of a jazz ensemble, Dumas was sent to Algeria to perform his compulsory military service.[2]
Career
In 1963, Dumas entered Bloomingdale's buyer-trainer program in New York.[2] In 1964, he joined Hermès,[2] which his family had founded in 1837.[1] Dumas later became CEO of the Hermès Group[2] and served as the company's artistic director.[1] His father died in 1978, and Dumas became chairman.[2] Expanding into the United States and Asia,[2] he turned Hermès into a global brand after taking in the chairmanship, adding interests in fashion designer Jean-Paul Gaultier and the Leica camera maker to the company.[1]
In the 1980s Gaultier was working on fashion design in Paris, with Belgian designer Martin Margiela working as his design assistant from 1984 to 1987.[4] He took the company public in 1993, with around 3/4 of the company remaining family-owned.[2] Jean Louis-Dumas retired as the chairman and artistic director of Hermès in January 2006 due to declining health.[1] He was replaced in the position by his son Pierre-Alexis Dumas.[citation needed]
Family and death
His wife Rena Dumas (née Gregoriadès) (1937–2009) was a Greek-born architect who founded Rena Dumas Architecture Intérieure in 1972 in Paris.[5][6] They married in 1962.[2] Pierre-Alexis Dumas is their son,[2] while their daughter Sandrine is a film actress.[2]
Jean-Louis Dumas died in Paris on 1 May 2010, at the age of 72.[1] He took photographs throughout his life, and in 2008, Steidl published Jean-Louis Dumas: Photographer, a collection of his photographs.[2]
References
Further reading
External links
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