Project Manager during the conceptual stage of Essencional.com (2017-2019), Sarah is an American perfume writer, journalist, and video producer living in Paris. Her book, Bad Girls Perfume  www.badgirlsperfume.com   was the recipient of the 2017 Perfumed Plume Award. 

My first contact with the world of fragrances goes back to my childhood. My mother owned a perfumery in Paris and trained me to the secret world of beautiful scents. Born French, in Paris, but citizen of the world with direct ancestors from Northern Europe, France, Haiti and Syria, I had a classic academic training (Science PO, Masters in Finace, Economics and Law) and I have less conventional hobbies (Ikebana, piano, drums, pilot of planes and motorbikes, photography, cooking patisserie). I worked as a banker, a strategy consultant and managed various internet and services companies. With Thierry de Bashmakoff I founded The Different Company that I own and manage. In 2018 I created the disruptive brand “Wide Society - le parfum en liberté”
 

Director of a leading company in the field of Industrial Property Consultancy with over 60 employees and collaborators for more than 25 years. Reference consultant for numerous multinational companies. He has participated in numerous strategic operations on a global scale related to the protection and enhancement of the portfolios of trademarks and patents managed by important companies. The family has been dealing with Industrial Property for three generations.

As a happy member of the Esxence jury, I am so glad to embark on this new essencional adventure and to follow Silvio's leadership, innovation and brio. For the last 6 years, as beauty director for Bongenie - a high chain specialty store in Switzerland - I have been doing market research, client surveys, identifying trends and contacting brands so as to launch them in Switzerland. It has been wonderful to successfully implement 25 exclusive perfume brands. Designing marketing plans, digital, retail, events, PR, putting in place merchandising, sales training, writing content communication and assessing financial results; what a journey full of learnings and lovely connections with great people! I am now dedicating my time to brands providing consultancy and also writing articles.  I have always been passionate about those 2: perfumes and writing. With essencional, they come nicely together. I enjoy it thoroughly and I hope others do too! 

Ermano Picco graduated in computer engineering at Politecnico di Milano. Charmed by perfume since childhood, in 2010, he founded the blog La Gardenia nell'Occhiello, to share insights, perfume reviews and interviews. He collaborates with main trade shows giving lectures and workshops on perfume history and culture. Partnerships include institutions like Smell Festival, Per-Fumum Torino, and Osmothèque Versailles for which he curated the conference “The golden age of Italian Perfumery” in 2019. Artistic projects include installations for Mustafa Sabbagh and scented staging for the Puccini Opera Festival. Ermano is editor for the fragrances site ÇaFleureBon and contributes to the Italian webzine Extrait and the French magazine Lumières Internationales. Since 2018 Ermano is part of the Jury of experts for the Premio Accademia del Profumo. Collaborations with several players in the perfume field include communication, brand and product development, evaluation and training.

Passionate about perfumes and its universe,  I started my professional adventure 27 years old, after a graduate in law. From 1993 to 2008, I multiplied experiences to understand and master the value chain of the perfume industry: I developed my competences in sales and animation for prestigious brands such as Chanel, Hermès, Patou. Iimproved my savoir-faire in training fields for Serge Lutens, Paco Rabanne, Carolina Herrera. In 2009, I founded toPNotes, an agency specialized in tailored made training, focused on sell-out, customer relationship and market/retail expertise, which drove me in many countries. I work for small niche brands or big groups. 
I  am also fragrance evaluator and accompany young brands in their marketing and business development.
 

Director of economic research at the Federation of the Italian fashion industry from 1990 to 1999, in 2000  I co-founded a consulting company and still I am advisor to the President at the Camera Nazionale della Moda Italiana – and consultant to Pitti Immagine – the organizer of trade exhibitions including Pitti Fragranze, for which in 2018-2019 I implemented the Artistic Perfumery Observatory. I worked on creative industries related projects in European and extra European countries and for the World Bank and UNIDO. In 2010 I co-founded Blumine, a consulting company specialized in sustainability projects for the fashion and creative businesses that is part of the European S.T.ARTS (Scientists, Technologists + Artists) community. I published books and academic articles on creative industries, fashion sustainability and circular economy and served as teacher at Politecnico di Milano, SUPSI Southern Switzerland Technical University, IED Moda Milano and Venice and the at Interaction Design Institute

Since 1976 she has been editor-in-chief of the MTE Edizioni Group, publisher of various publications specializing in the beauty industry: EM - Export Magazine, Hygiene and Beauty, Beauty in Pharmacy, Salon International. She has over ten years of experience in the world of beauty and has an in-depth knowledge of international markets, as well as the main players in both industry and distribution.

After studies in Communication I had experiences in the fields of fashion, design and luxury and  this crossover approach become my major passion and asset  that will be very positive in  my activities in communication strategies, identity management, product development and event design. From 2004 until June 2008 I directed the innovation platform, the Beyond Beauty LAB and I was behind  exhibitions as  “Strictly Confidential” (2005), “BEAUdiversiTY (2006) and Time is...Beauty (2007)  and since September 2009 ‘Rives de la Beauté a major Paris’ beauty and fragrance event, that allows beauty and fragrance protagonists to express their creative vision of a modern and socially responsible beauty during  a yearly festival open to both professionals and amateur consumers, a laboratory for brand and retail experiences with a dedicated focus on cosmetics and perfumery.