Always In Fashion: From Clerk to CEO -- Lessons for Success in Business and in Life by Mark Weber

Author:Mark Weber [Weber, Mark]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: McGraw-Hill Education
Published: 2015-01-09T08:00:00+00:00

I had lost some of that confidence when I was terminated. That’s part of what goes wrong when you’re let go or fired from a job: you forget who you are and how competent, skilled, talented, and experienced you are. You need to remember that again.

In response, Mr. Belloni said, “What if I offered you Thomas Pink?” I said, “I’d be very interested.” He then said, “Listen, Mark, I think you’re a very good guy. I’m very interested in you. We’re now talking about a bigger role in the group. Would you be willing to come to Paris next week and meet with me, the head of our human resources, and Mr. Bernard Arnault?”

I almost fell off my chair. I couldn’t believe my good fortune in what he had just asked me. Bernard Arnault is the CEO, chairman, and founder of LVMH, which is arguably the finest luxury group in the world. Its luxury brand portfolio includes Berluti, Bulgari, Dior, Dom Perignon, Donna Karan, Fendi, Givenchy, Loro Piana, Marc Jacobs, Sephora, Tag Heuer, and Thomas Pink—more than 60 brands in total. He’s also reputed to be the richest man in France and one of the richest men in the world. Somehow I kept a straight face when I calmly said, “Sure, I would make myself available to go to Paris.” He said, “Thank you. I appreciate your time. We’ll get back to you.” And our conversation was over.

The next day I got a call from Edie Steinberg, who put me in touch with LVMH’s travel group to make my arrangements to fly to Paris. The next week I flew to Paris, arriving the night before our meeting. I hadn’t been to Paris in a while. LVMH had arranged for me to stay in the Hotel de la Tremoille, just around the corner and a few blocks from the LVMH corporate headquarters on Avenue Montaigne. As soon as I arrived, jet-lagged and rumpled, I walked from the hotel to the office complex: I wanted to make sure I knew how to get there and how long it would take. Then I wanted to visit the LVMH stores in the area. Before I went to Paris, I had visited several Donna Karan stores, a Louis Vuitton store, several Dior stores, and anything else I could find that would give me a better idea of the group.

I didn’t sleep very well that night: I was jet-lagged, and I was naturally very excited. The next morning, I got up early, showered, shaved, put on my best navy blue suit and white shirt (which is my uniform), and walked to the LVMH offices to meet Bernard Arnault.

It was one of the greatest meetings of my life. I believe the secret to my success in that interview was that by that point in my job search I was absolutely fearless. I was thrilled to be there. I was confident because I had gotten this far. I knew my stuff—again, regardless of the subject, I was able to discuss it, because I was well trained and articulate.

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