Comité Colbert elects Hélène Poulit-Duquesne as new chair of luxury federation

The Comité Colbert has unanimously elected Hélène Poulit-Duquesne to be the new chair of the leading French luxury federation. Poulit-Duquesne, the CEO of Maison Boucheron, succeeds Laurent Boillot. She will take up her new responsibilities in June 2026, working alongside Bénédicte Épinay, general delegate of the Comité Colbert.

 
Poulit-Duquesne has been a long-term active member of the Comité Colbert. As CEO of Maison Boucheron, she has served on the association’s board of directors since 2018 and became its vice president in May 2022.
 
“I am proud and happy for the trust placed in me today. My roadmap is to continue supporting the Comité Colbert’s major challenges: promoting our expertise and supporting our industries, collectively promoting our values and our Houses internationally, and placing sustainable development, a future challenge for the planet and our professions, at the heart of our strategies,” said the Boucheron CEO in a release.

The Comité Colbert’s membership includes a wide variety of French luxury labels such as fashion houses like Louis Vuitton, Balenciaga, Dior, Givenchy, Jean Paul Gaultier, and Balmain; fine wines like Château Lafitte Rothschild and Perrier Jouët champagne; perfume brands- Frédéric Malle, Guerlain, and Francis Kurkdjian; jewellers such as Van Cleef & Arpels and Messika; and master chefs and restaurants including Yannick Alléno, Taillevent, and Guy Savoy.
 
“Each Maison of the Comité Colbert, beyond its individual performance and regardless of its market share and size, has a greater role to play: that of defending values that are universal and cement the foundation of our collective: the values of art, culture, and craftsmanship, the hand of man. Because they have meaning, they give meaning. They enrich the lives of millions of people and inspire them to dream,” insisted Poulit-Duquesne.
 
A notably experienced executive, Poulit-Duquesne has held senior positions in three of the largest luxury groups in the world- LVMH, Richemont, and Kering.
 
Hélène Poulit-Duquesne is a graduate of ESSEC Business School in the Paris suburbs, who began her career at LVMH before joining Cartier International, the key brand in the Richemont Group, in 1998. In 2010, she joined its Executive Committee as director of international marketing, before joining the Kering Group at the end of 2015 as CEO of Maison Boucheron.
 
“I am delighted at the prospect of working with Hélène Poulit-Duquesne to serve, together with our collective, the influence of an industry whose excellence and creativity are one of the major jewels in the crown of the French economy. We are committed to supporting its development, honouring its expertise, and amplifying its international influence,” added Épinay.
 
Created in 1954 on the initiative of famed perfumer Jean-Jacques Guerlain, the Comité Colbert is a non-profit association recognised as being of public interest, bringing together 98 French luxury houses and 17 cultural institutions. The Comité Colbert’s goal is to work together to promote the French art of living internationally, as well as to preserve and pass on French expertise and creativity.