As a child, Cyrille Bessiere became more passionate about business stories than those in French literature. The CEO and investor, who lives to feel the excitement and thrill of bringing a business and brand to new heights, was inspired to start his career at The Boston Consulting Group (BCG), a leading strategy consulting firm, out of business school. Since then, he has worked in multiple high-profile roles in various companies.
Bessiere’s Background
Fresh out of HEC Paris Business School in 2004, Bessiere was eager to learn more about business strategy in a wide range of industries. After 6 years at BCG in Europe, the Middle East, and the US, Bessiere worked his way from BCG to the consumer brand Palais des Thés in the United States.
“It was a 180-degree change in my career,” Bessiere says and adds that “switching from executive committees of big corporations to developing my own e-commerce website and B2B clients” helped him learn to do a lot of things at the same time, all while keeping his priorities in mind.
Highlights in Bessiere’s Career
Over the past 14 years, Bessiere has worked in a number of industries and has helped companies make great headway in their business practices.
From 2010 to 2018, he worked to make Palais des Thés the #1 tea brand in premium department stores, including Macy’s, Saks, Neiman Marcus, and Bloomingdales, and in palatial hotels such as The Plaza NY, the Ritz Carlton, and St. Regis. The brand has since become the partner choice of prestigious brands.
After his success at Palais des Thés, Bessiere helped invest in various consumer brands, including Dossier (a fragrance company), Ana Luisa (a jewelry brand), and Bradery (a marketplace). He actively supported the launch of the fashion brand Polene in the United States, which was the first retail store outside its core market in France. As a board member of Ana Luisa, he led its Series A round of financing, which helped the brand switch from direct-to-consumer to omnichannel.
Bessiere also worked for Kids Empire, a fast-growing retail company backed by private equity firm Otium Capital, which he joined in 2018, only a few months after the company opened its first location in Los Angeles. He ultimately took control of the company in 2024 as their new CEO.
Advice and Wisdom for Upcoming Clients and Entrepreneurs
Bessiere is clear that one should hire only the best according to their business practices. “Success is more about execution than the idea,” Bessiere shares. “A lot of people think the idea or innovation is everything.”
Bessiere says that execution, rather than the concept itself, differentiates dozens of similar projects or initiatives in the same space. He also shares that finding the right people to execute strategy is any CEO’s number one challenge. He suggests that one should grow a brand at the same time as one grows sales, testing, and learning in the process.
“At first, you try many things. You explore various ways to grow your business,” Bessiere says. “But as soon as you find a path toward growth, you can easily become blind to innovation.”
He adds that, even during setbacks, one should never consider oneself a victim and can achieve any goal with work, dedication, and time.
“If you fail, start again, try another way,” Bessiere adds.
With the ultimate goal of inspiring young professionals to cross the Atlantic and establish their own businesses, Bessiere aims to bring companies from humble beginnings to heights they can only dream of reaching.
