This story was originally part of the 2023 Glossy 50 feature. Click here to see all of this year’s honorees.
Bruno Bavouzet, evp of research and development at LVMH, says his two passions are innovation and people.
These two passions came together when Dior Beauty announced the creation of an International Reverse Aging Scientific Advisory Board in March. It’s comprised of 600 researchers and 18 experts, and led by Bavouzet from the LVMH side. The idea is to better understand the 12 signs of aging, including genomic instability, epigenetic changes, stem cell fatigue and chronic inflammation. Weaving that knowledge into skin-care product innovations to reverse these signs is the next step, said Bavouzet.
Bavouzet has been at LVMH for 10 years, having previously worked at L’Oréal Group. He oversees all beauty R&D for LVMH brands including Givenchy, Fresh and Benefit Cosmetics. A scientist by training, Bavouzet has a Ph.D. in physical chemistry.
“Sometimes you can create new bridges between one domain and another,” he said, describing how breakthroughs in science regularly occur. “This is often the way to inspire innovation: through [exposure to] a new approach or a different way of thinking,”.
As a result of Board discussions, Dior is already set to debut new product technology as early as 2025. In the meantime, the Board will collate the hallmarks of aging and its own research approach into a paper that can then be submitted to an academic journal.
Bavouzet said it is important that he be both ambitious in his goals and humble in his approach. In addition, he hopes that Dior’s advisory board will inspire younger people to consider a career in scientific research.
