Jean Amic, former chief executive of Givaudan, has passed away in Grasse, France at the age of 87.
Born in Paris in 1935, Jean Amic has profoundly marked the world of perfumery in the second half of the 20th century.
A direct descendant of the founder of the Roure company created in 1820, he is the son of Louis Amic, who notably was the first one to develop perfumes for “fashion designers”, the Fine
Fragrances industry as we know it today. In 1962, Jean joined Roure after studying mathematics at the MIT in the United States. He headed the management of the Roure-Dupont center in New York from 1964 to 1970, then took over as head of the company.
He was combining a unique commercial sense with a deep knowledge of perfume design supported by a remarkable sense of smell which allowed him to reveal a unique talent in the direction of creative teams.
He is at the origin of great successes such as Rive Gauche and Opium by Yves Saint Laurent, Poison by Christian Dior, Obsession by Calvin Klein and Loulou by Cacharel. In 1991, as Roche decided to merge its two subsidiaries Givaudan and Roure, he was appointed CEO of the new entity Givaudan-Roure until 2000, when Givaudan was spun off, becoming a public company.
He left the Givaudan board of directors in 2002.
“This is a profound loss of an exceptional person,” said CEO Gilles Andrier.
“Jean and I have collaborated for many years. He guided me and initiated me in the fundamentals of this magic industry. I had kept a very close relationship with him until today and he continued to inspire me, always more interested at looking at the future then the past," he added.
