International Flavors & Fragrances

Mm-hmm.

So I go see Firmenich, Givaudan, IFF, Robertet, Mane.

You only get the best pineapple, the best coconut.

Show me-

He is the host of the I Know I Belong When podcast, where he amplifies bold voices and curious stories that explore identity, inclusion, and impact.

As a cancer survivor and lifelong advocate, Christopher has led global belong, belonging strategies at Krispy Kreme and IFF, transforming workplace culture through inclusive policies, ERGs, and multimillion-dollar DE&I in- initiatives.

His journey from founding a gay-straight alliance in college to shaping corporate ESG strategies is rooted in resilience and authenticity.

He currently lives in the Charlotte area.

I did both jobs for about 18 months, um, and then said, "I can't keep doing both.

This is too much, and I wanna give up my people analytics, um, role and solely focus on the diversity and inclusion space." And then I just took off and made that my career because I knew that's what I wanted to do.

And so, um, left IFF and went to an organization called Krispy Kreme, uh, a lot of people know who that is, um, and built their belonging strategy for them.

And then in June of 2025, the organization was going through a reorg, and, um, there was a big layoff.

There are all these sort of scent manufacturers behind it, like Givaudan, which is from Switzerland.

There's also IFF in America, which is a massive one.

And then you have the star noses like Céline Barrel, who's one of my favorites.

She creates a lot of perfumes for Aesop.

There are all these sort of scent manufacturers behind it, like Givaudan, which is from Switzerland.

There's also IFF in America, which is a massive one.

And then you have the star noses, like Céline Barrel, who's one of my favorites.

She creates a lot of perfumes for Aesop.

A bunch were with startups, like I was mentioning the animal-free meat and things like that, but a bunch were with like giant, you know...

In the chemical industry, worked with Sumitomo, flavors and fragrances with Givaudan and IFF.

Like we worked with Bayer and like it was like all, all like big ag, big chemical.

And then right before the IPO, we started to just stack pharma companies.

I am delighted to introduce my guest, George Ledes, a veteran of the prestige beauty and fragrance industry who with more than 35 years of experience working alongside some of the world's most iconic beauty and fragrance brands.

Through his family's beauty, fashion, and cosmetic world magazines, George has built relationships across virtually every corner of the industry, from Chanel, Estee Lauder, L'Oreal, LVMH, and Revlon, to leading fragrance houses including Givaudan, IFF, and Roberté, as well as packaging companies, distributors, and retailers.

Today, George brings that deep industry knowledge and global perspective to This Week with George Ledes, his widely read digital newsletter connecting beauty and fragrance leaders around the world.

Welcome to the show, George.

Today we chat about why she felt it was essential to launch Essential Parfums, how she was able to do it from an operational and business perspective, including the bells and whistles that she sacrificed in order to make it viable, the evolution of perfume culture over the last decade, and the fallacy of higher cost, higher quality, and when it might be justified.

We also discuss the newest launch in the collection, Ambre Latte, and Géraldine shares details on a program that she and her mother, a fellow fragrance industry veteran, spearheaded in partnership with IFF, where they work with patients with traumatic brain injuries and mental illness and memory loss through a series of scent-based exercises.

And also, hello, the biggest shout-out to Essential Parfums, because they also happen to be this month's sponsor of Perfume Room.

Yet another reason to love the brand.

They have to, they say probably no to a lot of more brands than they would say yes today.

Mm-hmm.

So, and I was very fortunate because Givaudan said yes, IFF said yes, and I let the perfumer choose which note would you like to prefer to work on to start.

Mm-hmm.

crime,

if there was any consolation, there were a lot of tears in the premiere of the ends at IFF.

I was there and it was really, really emotional and people crying at the same.

If you have a friend group and you want to have a good cry night, that's a good movie to watch.