Our commitments and our values
In 2019, Francis Kurkdjian created the Per Fumum Endowment Fund from a genuine desire to build and maintain, through patronage, the many ways he has personally supported fragrance for nearly 20 years.
This initiative allows him to reveal a lifetime of passion and commitment, dedicated to promoting France’s olfactory heritage to experienced enthusiasts as well as underexposed audiences.
Named Per Fumum (“through smoke”), the endowment fund’s missions are as follows:
- Preserve and showcase tangible and intangible French olfactory heritage
- Support and promote contemporary fragrance-related creation
- Organise and support, by all means possible, scientific research related to fragrance and smell
- Organise and support educational and social actions related to fragrance, specifically for underprivileged or underexposed audiences.
Transformed by a perspectivist vision and community values, the Per Fumum Endowment Fund’s patronage will make it possible to secure the precious heritage related to fragrance in the modern world thanks to philanthropy uniting the perfume world’s key players and reaching a wide audience in France and abroad.
Parfumeur-Créateur
Président
The governance
The board
It determines the political orientations and selects the projects whose execution and follow-up are ensured by the Executive Director.
President
Francis KURKDJIAN
Upon deciding to become a perfumer, Francis Kurkdjian quickly discovered that the passion, perfectionism and perseverance he developed while learning piano and ballet would serve him throughout his career.
Devoted to fragrance for over twenty five years, winner of multiple awards and appointed as Knight in the Order of Arts and Letters (by the French Minister of Culture), Francis Kurkdjian is respected by his peers and equally thankful.
In 2019, he founded the Per Fumum Endowment Fund to coordinate his acts of patronage, aiming to promote France’s olfactory heritage and support its innovation.
Administrator
Delphine PINET
“Wisdom is to have dreams big enough not to lose sight when we pursue them.”
Oscar Wilde
Working closely with Francis Kurkdjian for over ten years, Delphine Pinet is quite familiar with this saying which rings true to her each day through the projects and encounters sparked by her curious and multifaceted nature
Her role as an Event project manager and personal assistant naturally made her an important member of the Per Fumum Endowment Fund which demonstrates the constant and bold philanthropic efforts undertaken by Francis Kurkdjian since its creation.
Administrator
Philippe-Henri DUTHEIL
A former Chairman of the Hauts-de-Seine lawyers Bar Association, Philippe-Henri led the Not-for-Profit Organizations network at EY for nearly 25 years. Former member of the French High Committee for Association Life and of the French Higher Council for the Social and Solidarity Economy. He uses his non-market sector legal expertise to advise the Per Fumum Endowment Fund and its partners.
His vision of what is at stake is, above all, guided by his respect for authentic and loyal commitment that Francis Kurkdjian has to his passions.
Qualified personalities
Through their expertise, they provide valuable support to the Per Fumum Endowment Fund.
Historian and author of books related to perfume
Eugénie BRIOT
Eugénie Briot is the Head of Programs at the Givaudan Perfumery School, where she helps train the perfumers of tomorrow.
She holds a doctorate in the History of Techniques (CNAM, 2008) and is the author of La Fabrique des Parfums (Vendémaire, 2015), some forty chapters and academic articles, and is a regular contributor to Nez, the olfactory journal. Her work has been awarded several prizes including the CNRS-Observatoire Nivea prize.
Vice Président Global Account and New Business Development at Symrise
Yvan BAGNIS
With a literary background and a passion for antiquities, Yvan Bagnis developed a passion for the world of perfume and for this industry. Appointed in 2020 Vice President Global Account and New Business Development_ Fine Fragrance Division at Symrise based in Paris, his experience shaped in key positions in Fine Perfumery (at Quest, Firmenich, Drom Fragrances and Symrise), is universally recognised in Europe in the industry.
Journalist, Writer, TV and Radio Presenter Restoration & Heritage
Stéphane BERN
Stéphane Bern is a journalist, author of over 50 books, TV presenter of “Secrets d’Histoire”, among others, radio host, producer and actor. In September 2017, the French President assigned him to the mission of protecting endangered heritage. He founded the Stéphane Bern Foundation for History and Heritage, under the aegis of the Institut de France, and contributes to the protection of heritage by funding projects which educate and share knowledge about History.
The Executive Director
The Word from the Executive Director
“Revealing beauty which is neither seen nor felt.
Lifting this important yet invisible subject out of the shadows by sharing priceless tangible and intangible heritage.
Exploring by focusing on Research, to find solutions with hope and creativity.
Sponsoring Contemporaneity. These are the ambitions to which the Per Fumum Endowment Fund aspires through ardent passion and patient generosity.”
Executive Director
Stéphanie PRINET MOROU
From working for major luxury and cosmetics companies to founding a consultancy firm dedicated to brands strategies and a start-up, Stéphanie Prinet Morou is an ambassador for cultural and multi-cultural expertise. Eclectic and confident that the Creative and Cultural Industries represent catalysts for innovation and development, she met Francis Kurkdjian and stepped into a world where meaning and value come together.
Today at the Per Fumum Endowment Fund she strives to explore new avenues.
The genesis
For nearly 20 years, Francis Kurkdjian has carried out numerous personal support actions related to perfume. The Per Fumum Endowment Fund was born in 2019 out of his sincere desire to sustain and structure them through philanthropy.
Also, 4 major projects, prior to the creation of the Fund, were decisive; we propose you to discover them here :
2018 – Francis Kurkdjian’s olfactory innovation for the Homo Faber exhibition showcasing the Pour l’intelligence de la main® prize recipients awarded by the Bettencourt Schueller Foundation.
2005 – Thanks to Francis Kurkdjian’s contest, Marie-Antoinette’s travelling case was restored and transferred to the Château de Versailles as part of an exhibition on the Queen.
