PARIS — Jean Amic, a former chief executive officer of Givaudan, who was among the most dynamic, charismatic figures to occupy the global perfumery stage during the second half of the 20th century, died Wednesday in Grasse, France, at age 87.
“This is a profound loss of an exceptional person,” said Gilles Andrier, CEO of the Swiss fragrance and flavors supplier, in a statement Thursday. “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 than the past.”
In a WWD article dated March 6, 1998, Amic is quoted as saying: “People who long for the past are those who basically are scared of tomorrow.”
Givaudan remembered Amic for his directness, sharp mind, unique sense of humor and as being an unconventional leader.
“He served as a mentor to many of us, and will be forever grateful for his years of leadership, the many lessons he taught us along the way and his immeasurable contributions,” the company said.
Amic, who was born in Paris in 1935, left a rich impression in the world of perfumery.
He was a direct descendant of the Roure company’s founder, who established that fragrance house in 1820. Jean Amic was the son of Louis Amic, who has been credited with developing perfumes for fashion designers, paving the way for the fine fragrance industry of today.
Jean Amic joined Roure in 1962, after studying mathematics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the U.S. Then, from 1964 to 1970, he led management of the Roure-Dupont center, based in New York. After, Amic took the company’s reins.
“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,” said Givaudan.
Amic was at the heart of perfume hits such as Rive Gauche and Opium, by Yves Saint Laurent; Christian Dior’s Poison; Calvin Klein’s Obsession, and Cacharel’s Loulou.
After Roche merged its Givaudan and Roure subsidiaries, in 1991, Amic was appointed CEO of Givaudan. He served in that job until 2000, when Givaudan was spun off and became a public company. Amic departed from Givaudan’s board in 2002.
Chantal Roos, who met Amic in the ’70s, recalled working with him on Opium and Kouros while at Parfums Yves Saint Laurent. She described Amic as an artistic director for perfumers, while being a company director.
Roos said Amic was involved and helped in everything from a perfume’s concept to its story, communication and launch.
“I learned everything with him,” she continued. “He was my teacher.”
At the start of his career, Frédéric Malle, founder of Éditions de Parfums Frédéric Malle, spent two years assisting Amic, with whom he later built a close bond — to the point Amic was best man at his wedding.
Malle recalled Amic was incredibly shy and quite guarded. “But when he liked you or he liked people, and felt comfortable, he opened up and was quite charming,” said Malle.
“He always came across as this strong, a bit rugged kind of person, and deep down was one of those supersensitive people, very understanding of the time he was in,” explained Malle.
He said Amic was very good at identifying talent in and growing perfumers, turning some into stars under his spell, not only because he was a perfumer himself.
“He was probably the best perfume evaluator that I’ve ever met,” said Malle. “I learned a lot from him at that level. He understood perfume and people very well, and he understood the connection.”
Karyn Khoury remembered Amic as an “amazing, iconic” part of the perfume industry. Among Khoury’s favorite memories of him came from the mid-1980s, during her first product development trip to Paris for the Estée Lauder Cos.
Amic arrived to pick her up.
“I remember riding to the Roure offices in his chauffeur-driven car with his dog FaFa, as Jean traveled behind us on his motorcycle,” said Khoury, calling that “very different than any other fragrance house executive I had ever met.”
“For the rest of that day, Jean stayed in every meeting with me and the perfumers — smelling, making insightful comments and honest critiques,” she continued. “He filled the room with passion, energy and creativity, and will be sorely missed.”
“What I’ll miss is the people aspect,” Amic was quoted saying in that WWD article from March 6, 1998, as he neared retirement. “Your heritage is the quality of people you leave there.”
In the article, he called fragrance as being, for the most part, “a reflection of lifestyle.”
At the time, Yves de Chiris, then vice president of fine fragrances at Quest International, called Amic “one of the last fragrance lovers. He adored his business, and he was good at it.”
In that WWD article from March 6, 1998, near to his retirement, the executive was quoted as saying: “What I’ll miss is the people aspect. Your heritage is the quality of people you leave there.”
In the article, he called fragrance as being, for the most part, “a reflection of lifestyle.”
“He was one of the last fragrance lovers,” said Yves de Chiris, then vice president of fine fragrances at Quest International, at the time. “He adored his business, and he was good at it.”
Amic is survived by his wife and two children.
Information regarding funeral arrangements could not immediately be learned.