Jean Despres (1903–1988) was a

perfume Perfume (, ; french: parfum) is a mixture of fragrant essential oils or aroma compounds (fragrances), fixatives and solvents, usually in liquid form, used to give the human body, animals, food, objects, and living-spaces an agreeable scent. Th ...

industry businessman, known for his work with

Coty, Inc. Coty Inc. is an American-French multinational beauty company founded in 1904 by François Coty. With its subsidiaries, it develops, manufactures, markets, and distributes fragrances, cosmetics, skin care, nail care, and both professional and re ...

The French-born Jean Despres came to New York in 1921 working for Coty Inc. Starting as a shipping clerk, he went on to become a travelling salesman, covering thousands of miles on the

Santa Fe Railroad The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway , often referred to as the Santa Fe or AT&SF, was one of the larger railroads in the United States. The railroad was chartered in February 1859 to serve the cities of Atchison and Topeka, Kansas, and ...

across America to sell Coty

s and gift sets. He soon became a sales manager, and in 1942 was appointed

Executive Vice President A vice president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vice president is on ...

of Coty, Inc. He held this position for more than 25 years when

Pfizer Pfizer Inc. ( ) is an American multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology corporation headquartered on 42nd Street in Manhattan, New York City. The company was established in 1849 in New York by two German entrepreneurs, Charles Pfizer ...

purchased Coty in 1968. Coty, Inc., was a French perfume company created by wealthy

François Coty François Coty (born Joseph Marie François Spoturno in Corsica ; 3 May 1874 – 25 July 1934) was a French perfumer, businessman, newspaper publisher, politician and patron of the arts. He was the founder of the Coty perfume company, today a ...

, proprietor of ''

Le Figaro ''Le Figaro'' () is a French daily morning newspaper founded in 1826. It is headquartered on Boulevard Haussmann in the 9th arrondissement of Paris. The oldest national newspaper in France, ''Le Figaro'' is one of three French newspapers of r ...

'', the French daily newspaper headquartered on the

Champs-Élysées The Avenue des Champs-Élysées (, ; ) is an avenue in the 8th arrondissement of Paris, France, long and wide, running between the Place de la Concorde in the east and the Place Charles de Gaulle in the west, where the Arc de Triomphe is l ...

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

and owner of numerous chateaux and villas in France and Corsica. Coty died in 1934. Jean Despres led Coty in New York with Philippe Cortney, brother-in-law of Mrs.Coty-Cotnareanu. He founded the Fragrance Foundation in New York, for the perfume industry, serving as its president. When he retired he appointed Anette Greene. He was a founder of the Toilet Goods Association Inc.,

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

and served as its president in the 1960s, attending its annual meetings until 1987, a year before his death. With the expansion of department stores in the 1930s and 1940s, he created "in-store" displays and "in-store" merchandising staff, which evolved into the cosmetics counters of today. He was a founding member of the Coty American Fashion Critics' Awards, along with Grover Whalen, created to encourage and honor American talent and American fashion designers. The awards presentation ceremony initially took place at the Metropolitan Club (where he was a member for 50 years) subsequently moved to the

Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 1000 ...

and eventually held at Alice Tully Hall,

Lincoln Center Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (also simply known as Lincoln Center) is a complex of buildings in the Lincoln Square neighborhood on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. It has thirty indoor and outdoor facilities and is host to 5 milli ...

. He joined the New York Athletic Club when it opened in 1924, was a director of the French Hospital in New York City, of Coty International, the French-American Chamber of Commerce, Compagnie de St. Gobain and Lilly Dache, Inc., a Chevalier of the Confrerie des Chevaliers de Tastevin, and resident of New York City, Pound Ridge, NY, Delray Beach, Florida and Meudon, France. In the 1940s he became an American Citizen. Despres married

milliner Hat-making or millinery is the design, manufacture and sale of hats and other headwear. A person engaged in this trade is called a milliner or hatter. Historically, milliners, typically women shopkeepers, produced or imported an inventory of ...

and fashion designer

Lilly Daché Lilly Daché ( 1892 – 31 December 1989) was a French-born American milliner and fashion merchandiser. She started her career in a small bonnet shop, advanced to being a sales lady at Macy's department store, and from there started her own ha ...

in Palm Beach, Florida on March 13, 1931, a happy, loving marriage for more than 53 years. His grandson, John Gordon Gauld, is a New York and Massachusetts artist. Daughter, Suzanne Dache, continues the Dache businesses.

References

External links

Jean Desprez on Fragrantica

Coty, Inc.

Pfizer, Inc.
1903 births 1988 deaths French cosmetics businesspeople History of cosmetics French emigrants to the United States {{France-business-bio-stub