When you were young, did you ever imagine that you would pass on a business to your four daughters?
Nothing could have been expected. It's not necessarily by planning the future that things turn out the way you want them to. I think that success in our case is a mixture of ambition, luck, vision, intuition, the ability to seize the opportunity given to you, and humility.
What I did know, however, even before I became a father, was that I wanted to have four children.
Why?
In Italy, the walls of the houses were decorated with family photos. The most beautiful ones, in my opinion, were those showing the parents and 4 children; this composition gave a spontaneous harmony to the photograph.
Girls or boys?
I didn't have a preference. However, when our 4ème I really wanted it to be a girl, to preserve the harmony that had been established within your siblings and our family.
When we were 6 or 7 years old, what did you think we would become?
I thought Ada would become General in the army From a very young age, she had the soul, strength and personality of a leader. You, Cyrille, I thought you would be star dancer. You had the grace, the intensity and the ethereal nature. Rachel, I absolutely wanted her to be actress Very small, she could hold the stage. The beginnings of a great charisma. We enrolled her in fashion shows, children's shows, and later in the Cours Florent. And when Roxane started riding at the age of 6, I dreamed that she would become equestrian champion. We shared 12 years of equestrian adventures where she never stopped showing her will, her strength, her winning spirit.
How do you think it is that we are all involved in family businesses today? Did you predict this back in 1997 when the Institute opened?
I had an intuition of this, because when I founded Forever InstituteI didn't give him my name. I thought one of my daughters might be interested in a medical aesthetic centre - although I didn't know which one, and not necessarily as a doctor.
It was when Ada took over the brand Alchemy Forever after his MBA that I became aware of the concept of the family business that would go beyond its founder.
I wanted to pass on the Forever shareholding to you very quickly. In 2013, when I got all the shares back, I felt free to give them to you.
Why did you pass on Forever's shares to us so early?
Rachel had worked for Alchimie Forever in Geneva for several years and Cyrille was assisting me in my medical practice and was moving into marketing and writing. The four sisters got along very well. I thought it would be a nice project for you. And this project could not materialize without Forever being totally owned by you, the four girls.
I was and still am convinced that you get more involved in a company that you own. My intention was to make you responsible, not to force you. There should be no pressure, the desire to join the company should come from a free and personal choice. I had also decided that if one of you took over the leadership with the agreement and support of the other sisters, I would have withdrawn from the Forever management group.
Then, a stay at theINSEAD has allowed you to understand the value and beauty of a family business and to project yourself beyond your own generation through its perpetuation. You have become aware of the strength that can emanate from a project led by four sisters.
Today, looking back 6 years, I see that all 4 of you are involved, each depending on who you are and where you are in your career. Ada is the CEO of one of our brands, Rachel is a group leader, you are the pen and soul of Forever, and Roxane is a doctor - a great surgeon in the making.
What do you think makes us get along so well and work together?
This understanding is possible because you grew up in a family where never was one preferred to the other, nor one said to be better than the other. You grew up in absolute equality; equality in trust, love and respect. This allows you today to manage the four of you without any ambiguity or problems. You are aware that you are each the equal of the other, each with their own specificities.
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