Philippe Mihailovich - of French and Serbian descent - was born in South Africa and has worked mostly in London, New York and Paris. Today Philippe is considered to be a leading academic in the field of Brand Management and a founding theorist of Brand Architecture and Brand Stretching.

As a practitioner he has been the Marketing head of famous international brands such as Nivea, Wella (P&G) and British Telecom and as a brand consultant has assisted in the creation or repositioning of numerous challenger brands from private label to high-end luxury houses and hotels. He has recently completed a book on high luxury brand theory and publishes monthly summaries of each chapter on LuxurySociety.com and on his own site HauteLuxe.net

L&S: How would you best describe yourself in your own words?
PM: A humanist and hedonist driven by curiosity, sensitive to integrity, authenticity and soul. I believe in sharing knowledge, kindness, cultural tolerance, sensitivity, intuition and insights.

L&S: What do you enjoy most about your profession?
PM: I enjoy seeking solutions to complex problems, being able to cross from one category to another, one country to another, and living with constant change.

L&S: The best compliment you’ve received?
PM: I think it was this surprise recommendation received on Linked-in from an ex-colleague, now a high profile CEO, whom I hold in very high esteem: “This man is one of the greatest visionaries I have ever worked with. His mind works in the most visually creative and dynamic ways imaginable. He sees trends before they exist so should be treated with the respect and understanding that can be afforded to such an individual.”

Ex-student compliments are perhaps even more appreciated such as this one: “Philippe was my professor at EDHEC Business for Luxury Brand Management and Brand Management and was hands down one of the most inspirational, exciting, and knowledgeable people I've ever met. Philippe brings with him a contagious passion for branding, loads of professional and practical experience, and a devout understanding of how branding works inside and out.”

The added benefit is that my ex-students often end up in top positions with blue chip companies and then recommend me to their bosses! Who says teaching doesn’t pay?

L&S: What is your proudest accomplishment to date?
PM: I never think about past achievements to avoid becoming complacent as well as to avoid licking my wounds. I’m always more proud of the most recent work and right now I cannot wait to see how my German design emporium client, Stilwerk will implement the new brand plan we devised for their Vienna opening in a stunning but very awkward new Jean Nouvel building with a five star Sofitel hotel at year end.

L&S: Who or what motivates you in your work?
PM: The more complex the projects, the more they excite me. I love working with free-thinking, humanist and adventurous CEO’s such as Virgin’s Richard Branson. If the chemistry is not right, I’ll turn down the job. If I don’t feel integrity, soul or generosity I recommend the big branding agencies who will respond to them in the way they deserve and it will cost them ten times more.

L&S: What are some professional challenges you’ve faced in your career?
PM: Perhaps the biggest was to break out of corporate life to go solo, and then establishing a strong reputation country by country but the recent crisis was a big killer.

Some very exciting and lucrative personal contracts that I had such as bringing famous luxury brands to emerging cities and creating sustainable partnerships with local players all got suspended, and while big brands were laying off workers they couldn’t justify paying for consultants either so I had to return to instigating new skin care and hair care brands for large retailers on royalty deals to ensure a regular ongoing income. That’s currently still a work in progress for the Russian market.

Luckily, Louis Vuitton presented two very challenging and confidential projects but it was only in conjunction with one of my business schools so they got my and my students’ brains for free. But branding is about building reputation and sustainable relationships and it always pays back in the long-term.

L&S: Are there any new luxury lifestyle trends that we should be aware of?
PM: Of many, perhaps two stand out the most:

1) With the growing interest in luxury brands along with the regular use of the web, clients have fast become connoisseurs of luxury brands and categories and often have more knowledge than a brand’s salespersons.

They are determined to discover the best and have the confidence to buy under-the-radar brands. With the advent of the credit crunch, branding has become more important than ever. Weak brands have been forced to fight on price and promotion to survive while the stronger brands were adding perceptual value and transparency to their stories to ensure that they satisfy the stringent demands of this emerging connoisseur customer.

2) Philanthropy has become the contemporary symbol of luxury. Forty US billionaires have already signed up to pledge at least half of their fortunes to charity under a philanthropic campaign kicked off by Warren Buffett and Bill Gates.

Our times have witnessed a growth in social entrepreneurship – as highlighted by the Skoll awards and Medinge’s Brands With A Conscience Awards - for those who help achieve social objectives by business means.

Brands who seek to attract such high-end customers ought to ensure that they share the same value systems or they may find themselves left behind tending to the last of the bling shoppers and living in a different universe.

L&S: With a schedule as hectic as yours, what’s the best way to unwind?
PM: Well time-permitting I do fashion photography for fun or make dance videos but on a daily basis I escape into another world by playing with my girlfriend’s cat. The challenge is to come up with a new trick or game daily and I always end up crying with laughter, let alone the odd scratch marks! She’s now made me a fun calling card with a job title of ‘Cat Entertainer’. I recently had to use them at the Beyond Beauty trade fair when I ran out of business cards and as a result I could well be one of the few visitors that the exhibitors will remember. At least they enjoyed the joke.

Photo : Marija Randjelovic