Leaders as Humble as They are Successful

Philippe Bourguignon has travelled constantly since his early twenties. Only recently has he been forced to stay in one place for any length of time and even this is propelling him forward. Always one to learn and seek new adventures and challenges, Philippe has always risen to the occasion and as a result has served as the CEO of Euro Disney, Chairman and CEO of Club Med, and as the co-CEO of the World Economic Forum. He currently spends a majority of his time advising other business leaders through his role in the Washington D.C. based venture capital firm, Revolution.

Quoted in Episode:

Never be afraid of life, never be afraid of adventure, trust chance, luck, destiny. Go, go and conquer other spaces, other hopes. The rest will be given to you.

-- Henry de Monfreid, French adventurer and author (1879-1974)

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Bio from Revolution Website

Philippe Bourguignon is vice chairman of Revolution Places, a company that is creating a new model for travel and tourism that promotes and encourages a healthy lifestyle, Philippe establishes consumer brands that reflect those values. In addition, he serves as executive co-chairman of Exclusive Resorts, a carefully vetted collection of more than 300 privately managed multimillion-dollar residences in iconic destinations paired with highly personalized and intuitive service. Revolution Places’ approach is to create unique, authentic experiences that can become treasured memories that last a lifetime — and build large businesses in the process.

Prior to joining Revolution Places, Philippe was co-chief executive officer of the Davos-based World Economic Forum in 2003 and 2004. Previously, as chairman and chief executive of Club Med, he was widely credited with a comprehensive turnaround of the company in 2000. The change included refocusing the brand, revamping operations and restoring competitiveness, implementing an innovative pricing policy, and completely overhauling the management culture.

Beginning in 1988, Philippe worked with Disney in several capacities, including as chairman and chief executive officer of Euro Disney, and executive vice president of Disney Europe. As the head of Euro Disney, he led a far-reaching corporate restructuring which restored the company on solid financial footing and achieved operating results far ahead of market expectations.

Previously Philippe spent 14 years with the Accor group, one of the largest hotel groups in the world. Initially serving as vice president of Development for Asia/Middle East and executive vice president of North America, he was eventually promoted to president of Accor for the Asia/Pacific region.

Today, Philippe sits on the board of two Revolution companies: Exclusive Resorts, a luxury travel club, and Mint House, a hospitality company setting a new standard in business travel.

In addition, he is also an active member on the board of Neiman Marcus, the global board of Operation Hope and chairman of HOPE Global Forums, a non-profit organization with a vision to eradicate poverty.

He is also the chairman of Primonial a Paris based wealth management firm and an active investor in OneRagtime, a European disruptive venture platform. He previously served as a member of the board of directors for Zipcar and spent 11-years on the board at eBay.

Philippe is also a co-founder of the Monthly Barometer. The Barometer is a subscription service that enables executives and leaders from around the world to anticipate and leverage emerging trends, using “contextual intelligence” methods to distill into one page the macro issues relevant to time-starved decision-makers. It has been in existence for more than five years and has a remarkably accurate track record.

In 2005, Philippe published his first book, Hop!, a revealing discussion on the paradoxes of the world and the French economy.

On a personal note — Philippe Bourguignon is married, and the father of two children. He is a man of many passions – a dedicated racer of yachts who, with Bruno Peyron, set a record in 1996 for crossing the English Channel.