Aurélien Guichard

Perfumer

Five years ago, Aurélien Guichard decided to return to Tourette, near Grasse, to carry on the tradition of the seven generations of perfumers who came before him. There, he planted Centifolia roses, uncovering the secrets of the growing business through contact with the men and women who practice this craft: grafters, pruners and harvesters. A long road lay ahead for Aurélien, born in Grasse; raised in Paris by a father who is a perfumer-creator and a mother who is a sculptor, and trained at the Givaudan school of perfumery, from  which he graduated in 1999. “The day I came back was the day I discovered perfumery, and it has become my entire life.”

Fourteen years later, he was hired by Firmenich and then, in May 2018, he joined Takasago. This perfumer-creator divides his time between the city and the countryside with equal pleasure and has an immense desire to share and pass on his expertise.

Karine Dubreuil Sereni

Perfumer

Born in Grasse, Karine Dubreuil-Sereni loves her city and its architecture, the local cuisine, and the wonderful scent-filled gardens of her grandmothers. Karine attended the Roure school of perfumery in Grasse, training there for three years with an appetite  and joy that have never left her. In 1986, she found herself in Paris,  also a milestone, since it was the year when she achieved her dream: learning to sing. A lyric soprano, Karine takes weekly singing lessons, “I couldn’t do without them, they let me breathe.” Next came the golden years at Sanofi, crazy, full of laughter and interesting  projects, followed by Florasynth and in 1994, Drom, “a great experience as we had to build the Parisian subsidiary from scratch”. She then worked for ten years at Mane, where her artistic touch won over Asian consumers: “The delicacy of flowers, a memory of  my childhood in the gardens of Grasse”.

In 2012, Karine set up her company, Vox Profumi, and created a number of fragrances for L’Occitane, among others. In 2015, she  joined the ranks of the Takasago Fine Fragrance studio, which also produces her personal creations. Her first teacher, Jean-Louis Sieuzac, taught her to “simplify formulas and leave out bases”. She still does so today. A confessed formula-freak, she works by olfactory family, in a very structured way. “My formulas have an olfactory legibility they can be read like a melody on a sheet of music.”

Catherine Selig

Perfumer

From an early age, Catherine Selig knew she was going to become a perfumer. She draws her inspiration from her great-grandfather, the Maitre Gantier Parfumeur Meinrad Hilfiger, who headed his Perfume house in Switzerland, creating distinctive, high-quality fragrances in the 19th century for many royal families and influential elites

After discovering and studying her great-grandfather’s formulas book and distillation cabinet, Catherine perfected her own unique art of perfumery through intensive education at France’s best perfumery schools (ISIPCA in Versailles with an internship in Grasse) and subsequent training at Firmenich where she worked for nearly 13 years.

Today, Catherine focuses on creating unique fine fragrances for Takasago that blend her client’s individual tastes with her own creativity, producing one-of-a-kind, luminous scents that inspire the senses and the imaginations of those who wear them.

Steven Claisse

Perfumer

A native of NYC, Steven grew up in the Bronx as a curious student - interested in drawing, art, baking, cooking and building. Initially, he pursued a degree in architecture, but then got a job at the Aramis counter at a department store in the evenings, and less than a year later, got a job as a lab tech at Alpine Aromatics. There he worked in his early 20s for a chief perfumer and started to develop an interest in perfumery.

His interest in perfumery intensified when he received a prestigious apprentice award at ASP and made a trip to France to meet Edmond Roudnitska. A turning point in Steven’s career, this meeting with Roudnitska set him firmly in the direction of perfumery and he dove into the subject with a blind, all-consuming passion to learn more.

Prior to joining Takasago, he has worked at Robertet, Felton, Manhaimer and Belmay. He joined Takasago in 2013, where he continues to share his love for perfumery.

Sylvie Fischer

Perfumer

Sylvie Fischer’s career path is unique: her mother was a perfumer-creator and Sylvie still works for the company that trained her 35 years ago, both of which are very uncommon. Perhaps it was coming into the world on July 14th (France’s Bastille Day) that shaped her destiny. Who knows? Her future had been mapped out, and while a career as a youth court judge might have seemed appealing for a time, her holiday jobs were at Robertet and IFF. Having enrolled at the ISIP after her baccalaureate, she had to come up with a plan B when the perfume school  stopped taking students for three years to become the ISIPCA, which would train students with a baccalaureate certificate, two years of university studies and a degree in a scientific field. The perfumer Pierre Bourdon took her under his wing and  trained her for a year at Takasago. Her second mentor would be none other than  Michel Almairac, who arrived at the company on the same day as Sylvie.

“The two  of them convinced me that I wouId save three years, and they were right. They taught me theory and practice.” The best school there is, without any doubt. That was back in 1982, and Sylvie Fischer is still at Takasago. Fine fragrances are her specialty, but she has also learned to compose fragrances for cosmetics for luxury brands. It is a demanding job, a constant challenge that requires passion  and considerable investment in time, energy and the ability to remain calm, to manage the frustrations that are inherent to this profession that she loves.

Leonardo Lucheze

Perfumer

Exploring, traveling, transcribing the emotions of a moment, this is what drives this native of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Leonardo Lucheze found his way as a child during the Festa Junina - a traditional Brazilian festival - where he won a lavender perfume that he fell in love with. This same ingredient that would fascinate him so much when he arrived in France in 2015 for his perfumery school, after pharmacy studies in Brazil and a quality control & research background. 

An adventure, culture and contrasts lover. Opposites attract him: he loves Brazil, where the most beautiful beaches rub shoulders with the mountains, the sea breeze with the heavy air of the Amazon, the calm of the Mata Atlantica with the bustle of Carnival. The contrasts he witnessed in Namibia inspire him, its textured dunes and almost burnt trees,  the 50 degrees during the day and -3 at night. He is a drum and guitar player in a rock band that listens to Debussy to create. 

As for perfume, he likes to work on his raw materials by playing on these contrasts such as the cardamom freshness versus the nutmeg color. Inspired by Jean-Claude Ellena, Leonardo favors short formulas to highlight the ingredient. In 2020, in line with his pharmacy studies, he specialized in aromatherapy at the Pacific Institute in California. He joined the Paris Takasago team in 2022. 

Michelle DeFina

Perfumer

Senior Perfumer Michelle DeFina fell in love with the fragrance industry right after graduating college.  Like many perfumers who began their career in the US, Michelle began in the fragrance industry as a lab technician.  During this time she became fascinated with the process of creating fragrances.   Michelle has extensive cross-category experience and many success stories in home care, personal care, air care and fine fragrance.  As a resident of New Jersey, she is inspired by her fond memories of beachy summer vacations at the shore and her favorite scent is the freshness of the ocean.

Marine Ipert

Perfumer

Marine Ipert was brought up in the south of France, cradled between the mountain and the sea, where her growing years were punctuated by the successive flowering seasons of lavender, mimosa, jasmine, orange blossom and rose. Raised by a mother who adored perfume and a father who lovingly tended to their lush family garden, her sense of smell was awakened right from early childhood. At the age of 13, she met a perfumer from Grasse and found her calling. With sheer grit, determination, and passion, she made her way up to the ISIPCA fragrance school, which she joined in 2010. She then spent two years training at IFF as an apprentice before joining Symrise perfumery school, where she moved up to an in-house junior perfumer position in 2015, followed by a perfumer position in 2019. Over these years, she has used her talent to serve a wide range of clients and gained an in-depth understanding of the European, Asian, and North American markets. 

After this exemplary start to her career, she joined the Takasago Fine Fragrance studio in 2023. Marine has nurtured a passion for drawing since a young age and conceptualizes scents in texture, shape, and colour. She carries this love for precision, for polished and clear lines that are still rich in meaning, into her olfactory creations. The values of respect, transparency, trust, learning and exchange have shaped her journey and her daily life as a creator. She brings this drive for excellence to craft engaging and evocative fragrances for an impactful, creative, and innovative perfumery.
 

Claire Liegent

Perfumer

Claire’s journey to perfume is one of passion, determination, and heritage. Born in the Champagne region, Claire spent her childhood in her father’s restaurant, who was a reputed chef and wine expert. Growing up in this unique environment meant that she was used to discerning the scents and smells of the great champagnes and the cooking ingredients from a very young age. For her, wine could stir up intense emotions and so she naturally gravitated towards studying oenology. “I already knew that I wanted to create, and I was excited by the art of composing blends.”

One day, she happened to read a newspaper article about perfumers. This led her to a trade fair where she had the opportunity to meet Jean-Paul Guerlain. Blown away by the discovery of a rich and fast-moving world that combines all her passions, Claire has found her calling! She joined the ISIPCA fragrance school in 2007 and, right after graduation, she started her career at IFF as a scent design associate for a few months in Hilversum, Netherlands. Very soon after, she trained under perfumer Pierre Wargnye in Paris for two years. She then passed an internal selection exam to become a perfumer, going on to apprentice in Paris, New York, Brazil and at LMR in Grasse. Each of these places allowed Claire to deepen her knowledge and harness the full potential of her talent, under the guidance of excellent mentors such as Dominique Ropion for four years. In 2023, she joined the Takasago Fine Fragrance Studio.

For Claire, the art of perfume composition is “a fine balance between intuition and a touch of audacity, combined with a complete mastery over the technical and aesthetic aspects of formulation.” Like the best chefs, this free spirit brings her love for natural ingredients to her work, which she carefully selects and combines with meticulous precision. Alongside nature, the parallels between wine-making, haute cuisine and perfume composition continue to inspire her creations – all of which are horizons that Claire continues to explore.

Cutler Whitman

Sales

With over 25 years’ experience within the fragrance vertical, including senior positions at Beauty Fashion and Cosmetic World, Fragrance Resources, Mane, IFF and now Takasago International, Cutler, who heads the New York Gallery, focuses on unexpected approaches to customers, operational culture and fragrance development excellence.

“It’s a hybrid fragrance model that’s been designed to pivot and perform unlike any other company in the industry” , he explains.  This approach affords  the Gallery team unparalleled creativity to build new alliances both internally and most importantly with existing and new customers.  It is the Takasago Advantage.

Stéphane Zwaans

Procurement

As far as he can remember, Stéphane has always been fascinated by the science of procurement. “I’m driven by the need to understand supply chains inside-out and get closer to source. Going upstream brings competitive advantages and business opportunities while optimizing costs. I can’t stand throwing money out of the window!”, he quips.

Stéphane started his procurement career 30 years ago in the food industry with Mondelez, where he developed expertise in chocolate/cocoa markets.  In the Ivory Coast, he was one of the first to set up and manage a cocoa sourcing operation upcountry buying directly from local farmers. This was in 2000 for Cargill. Since then, chocolate and sourcing have been a passion. And the perfect introduction for the next logical step in his career…

In 2002, when he went to work for Givaudan, where he was successively Head of Global Fragrance Procurement, Head of Global Procurement and Head of Natural Ingredients Origination, he fell in love with the flavors and fragrance industry. “I’ve never stopped loving the business since”, he says.

Today, Stéphane heads Strategic Procurement Initiatives for Takasago, a position he has held since 2018 and that has taken him from the lavender fields of Provence, where he spearheaded a ground-breaking, 10-year agreement with a leading farmers’ cooperative, to the patchouli harvests of Indonesia.

“There, I had a very good surprise”, he remembers. “I discovered that Takasago had already set up an infrastructure for the procurement and processing of patchouli oil 40 years ago. The most surprising thing is that for three years I was very regularly in Indonesia for sourcing raw materials, without ever being aware of Takasago’s pioneering presence! It’s true that discretion is part of the Japanese character…”

During his tenure, Stéphane has successfully led high performing global procurement organizations and transformational procurement projects such as post M&A integrations, and strategic supplier alliances.

He has a passion for development and sourcing of unique natural ingredients in countries of origin. He was an early adopter of supply chain backward integration. Not only to master costs, supply, quality, but more importantly to weather the ever increasing climatic, social, and economic storms and address consumer’s expectations for improved traceability and sustainability.

Originally from the French Alps, Stephane and his family traveled the world. He designed, implemented, managed natural ingredients sourcing and manufacturing operations in Western Africa, Madagascar, and South-East Asia. He relentlessly strives to position Takasago Procurement as the partner of choice of farmers, creation, sales, and marketing teams. Amongst other strategic project he runs for Corporate Procurement, Stéphane is currently in charge of deploying “TaSuKI”, Takasago’s natural ingredient sustainable sourcing and manufacturing capabilities in countries of origin.

“Understanding and managing natural ingredients sourcing means having an open, constructive, well-balanced, and fair dialogue with producers. This is a prerequisite to establish long term mutual benefits. The times of short-term tactical gains is over.

Sylvain Eyraud

Marketing

“I am a brand lover. A beauty lover. A fragrance lover. And a storyteller.” That is how Sylvain Eyraud defines himself with very Mediterranean warmth and enthusiasm. Communicating the world of perfumery, of houses, know-hows, and the stories of the men and women who carry them, is his passion.

Hired by Takasago in Paris in 2017, Sylvain has a 360° vision of the world of perfumery. He has driven change both within brands and within a composition house.

A challenge he met with success at Puig as France Marketing and Communication Director from 2013 to 2017. In this position, he brought together, for the first time, operational marketing, media and digital, press relations and retail. He developed the premium operational strategy with Prada, Valentino and Comme des Garçons, as well as integrating Jean-Paul Gaultier within the portfolio and successfully launching Invictus by Paco Rabanne.

From 2008 to 2013, at L’Oréal, as a Global Fragrance Axis Director for Giorgio Armani Parfums, he developed the Italian house’s strongest feminine offering, the blockbuster Sí Eau de Parfum fronted by Cate Blanchett. He completely redefined the niche offer and global strategy of Armani/Privé, pushed further the worldwide masculine pillars of the brand, Acqua di Gio and Armani Code, and revived the house’s heritage through the mythical Eau pour Homme embodied by Mr. Armani himself.

“Today at Takasago, I see my mission as transforming from the inside a challenger with a leading position in Asia, identifying its strong suits, its key differentiators, to make them bloom and make them known”, he says.

Part of the challenge consists in bridging the gap between the world of brands and the world of perfumery. Between designers or creators and perfumers. In getting them to speak the same language.

To Takasago, Sylvain believes he has brought a connection between the raw, natural world and its sustainable ingredients and the world of perfumers. But also a vision for the future of fragrance and beauty, nourished by the house’s partnership with major trend agencies and external consultants. For him, one cannot go without the other. His motto? “Hands in the earth, eyes to the stars.”