Born in 1949 in Grasse, France, grew up in a family in the “business.” Very young, he showed an interest in high perfumery. After obtaining his baccalauréat in science in 1967, he entered the Perfumery school of Roure Bertrand Dupont. There he studied with Marcel Carles (son of Jean Carles, the founder of the school and of the famous Roure Method). According to his peers, even then he stood out as a phenomenon. First a perfumer for Roure in Grasse, he joined the Fine Fragrance department of the company in 1977, then headed by Jean Amic. In the mid 80s he became one of France's star perfumers