Jean_Louis Dumas - Hermes

Jean-Louis Dumas, former CEO of Hermès, passed away on May 1. He was of the fifth generation of the family and joined the group in 1964, to take over as Chairman in 1978. An entrepreneur and also imaginative, he inspired the extraordinary development of this handcraft firm, preserving its independence and the integrity of its image at the same time. Nothing escaped his keen and intelligent gaze, even less so when he captured, through the lens of his camera, or with a drawing in one of his numerous sketchbooks, anything that attracted his watchful eye.

He succeeded in expanding the company’s existing business by adding watch-making and acquiring famous tableware brands. And furthered the international presence of the brand all over the world. A leader of men, he communicated a sense of the festive to his teams, and every year picked a theme around which the creativity of the whole group was given free rein, with the greatest fantasy possible. Closely linked to materials and matter, he had a very personal way of sharing the passion and convictions of the metiers of the firm with simplicity and a flawless elegance.

Between 1978 and 2009, Hermès grew from 42M € to 1.9bn €. This brilliant man with his wonderful sense of humour led his troops with joy and talent until 2006, when he fell ill and chose to retire, entrusting the reins of the firm to Patrick Thomas.

And the sixth generation is in place, including his son Pierre-Alexis Dumas, Artistic Director, his nephew, Guillaume de Seynes, GD Trade, and his niece, Pascale Mussard, in charge of a new activity, “petit h”.