As the General Manager of myBlend, Henri leverages his extensive experience to shape a brand that stands out through its commitment to quality and personalized approach.
In this interview, explore his career journey and discover how he tackles market challenges, transforming them into real opportunities, all while cultivating an innovative vision for the future of beauty.
Could you tell us about your professional journey and the key moments that shaped your path to becoming General Manager of myBlend?
Before becoming General Manager at myBlend, I had three distinct professional lives at Danone, Mattel, and Clarins.
At Danone, I climbed the ranks for over 14 years, starting on the ground and eventually leading a sales team of 120 people.
Next, as Commercial Director at Mattel France, I managed the distribution of iconic brands between mass retail and toy specialists, bridging mass consumption with product desirability.
Finally, I joined Clarins as Commercial Director, bringing my expertise in mass distribution to meet the needs of the evolving perfume market and its new consumer profiles.
After that, Clarins appointed me to run its Italian subsidiary in 2013, a role I held for two years. In 2015, I was promoted to General Manager of Clarins France, where I stayed for 7 years.
This role had two major phases: first, focusing on the integration of Clarins France with CFG France (Azzaro & Mugler), and later, after selling Azzaro and Mugler to L'Oréal, accelerating the development of Clarins. I helped transition Clarins France into a more direct-to-consumer (DTC) and omnichannel model, expanding our presence in premium pharmacies alongside our historical presence in selective perfumeries.
After these years in France, I was eager to return to the international scene and take on a new entrepreneurial challenge. When Jonathan Zrihen, our CEO, and Olivier Courtin proposed that I lead myBlend, which had been relaunched for two years, I jumped at the opportunity to make it a success both in France and internationally.
What challenges did you face when transitioning to Clarins, and how did you overcome them?
I had to quickly adapt to a new brand and market environment, while navigating a rapidly evolving and consolidating perfume industry in France.
I managed this by listening intently to my teams and our clients, understanding what had historically driven Clarins' success, and identifying areas for improvement. I also avoided directly applying solutions from my previous experiences to a very different market, instead embracing Clarins' corporate culture.
Additionally, I had to learn to understand the image aspect of selective skincare and beauty brands, which closely resemble the luxury sector. Coming from the mass consumer goods world, where we focus on everyday practical needs, I learned to integrate desirability and brand image into the projects I worked on, even though these are difficult to quantify. A former boss of mine at Clarins, who also came from mass consumption, once told me: "We talk about image when we can no longer count on hard facts."
How has your experience across various industries shaped your strategic approach today?
Switching between markets has paradoxically helped me quickly identify the key drivers and success factors within each sector, along with the expertise required and the habitual anomalies to be addressed.
The variety of my experiences has enhanced my ability to diagnose markets holistically, analyzing their challenges, opportunities, and key levers.
I've also learned how to assess the strengths and weaknesses within my teams, recognizing the work that needs to be done and the adjustments necessary to succeed.
Additionally, I now understand the importance of rallying my teams by providing clear direction, explaining the strategy, and ensuring its smooth operational implementation.
With your extensive leadership experience, how do you manage cultural diversity and varying consumer expectations in international markets?
Embracing cultural diversity requires active listening and a genuine desire to understand people, their environment, and their culture.
My personal experience has been predominantly European, even though we are quickly expanding myBlend internationally.
Living and working in Italy was both professionally and personally enlightening. While it may seem similar to our culture, living in another country is a 360° learning experience, far beyond just understanding the language (which I learned once I took the role).
I spent time with my team, meeting journalists, retailers, government officials, media agencies, and lawyers to immerse myself in the local environment.
Local teams are the greatest knowledge reservoir—they know their market and their consumers better than anyone. They’ve been invaluable mentors to me.
As General Manager of myBlend, what core values do you want to instill in your team and consumers?
Humility for my team and myself. Launching a new brand within a major group is a rare and pioneering experience for all of us, no matter our individual backgrounds.
Listening to our consumers and distributors is key, as we’re engaging with a very different customer base compared to Clarins.
We also aim for excellence, even though we’re a young brand with an evolving organization and processes.
Our motto is: Act, Learn, & Adapt.
What advice would you give to those aspiring to leadership roles in the beauty industry?
Take the time to build your career and develop a strong skill set.
Personally, I’ve held general management roles in distribution subsidiaries with a focus on business growth. This type of role is more accessible after a solid commercial and marketing background.
A General Manager role is inherently generalist. The managerial training I received at Danone taught me that "the coach is not the best player," or that the conductor is not necessarily the best musician. The role is about inspiring, guiding, and engaging teams. To do so, you need to surround yourself with experts in areas you're new to and need to learn fast, so you can make informed decisions.
Keep in mind that a General Manager is first and foremost a manager who becomes a leader—someone who shapes and communicates a vision, leads teams around a solid project, formulates strategies to reach goals, and motivates teams to achieve collective performance.
Work in a field you love and strive to be the best at it!
Also, understand that experience comes from doing, not just from books and podcasts. Some members of the younger generation may jump to conclusions too quickly, missing the difference between understanding and knowing how to do something.
Prepare for hard work. I don’t know any successful General Manager who hasn’t put in immense effort to get where they are.
Finally, on a personal note, if you were...
- A fragrance: Cèdre des Eaux Primordiales, a new brand created by Arnaud Poulain, whom I greatly admire.
- A book: La Première Gorgée de bière et autres plaisirs minuscules by Philippe Delerm.
- A vacation destination: The sea or the mountains (being from Grenoble originally).
- An inspiring figure: Winston Churchill (my mother is English).
