SPECIAL REPORT
Leboeuf as a child with his mother , Maud
better than that ,’” Leboeuf says . “ There was no choice . She sent me to hotel school at age 15 , which I had absolutely no intention to go to .”
His first job in the industry was as a reservation agent , then not long after , as an attendant on the private jet of then-President Francois Mitterrand .
Ultimately , he graduated from Cornell University and HEC Management School in Paris , becoming fluent in English and proficient in Italian and Spanish . In 2014 , he was awarded France ’ s Knight of the Legion of Honor – the country ’ s highest decoration .
Since his entry into the industry , he has traveled constantly and worked all over the world . During a period when he was out of work and visiting his daughters in New York , he met with hotelier James McBride for coffee – a moment which led him soon thereafter to an almost year-long stint in Dallas , Texas , as vice president of operations at Rosewood Hotels & Resorts .
“ Philippe was always in the lobby . He ’ s an old-fashioned hotelier where success is based on relationships ,” McBride says . “ Having very , very strong relationships with travel agents , clients – that embodiment of being a leader with deep relationships just bodes so well for success . And
Leboeuf at a ceremony awarding him France ' s Legion of Honor in 2014 . A Chacun Son Everest ' s Christine Janin decorated him with his insignia : She is pictured ( right ) with Leboeuf and his partner , Pepita Diamond .
when you couple it with innovation and loyalty to the company you ’ re working for , it becomes a very successful force which Philippe embodies .”
Leboeuf is also president of A Chacun Son Everest , a foundation for children with cancer and more recently , women diagnosed with breast cancer . The organization , which Leboeuf joined in 1997 , was started by Christine Janin , the first French woman to summit the peak of Mount Everest and with whom Leboeuf became friends through his time at the Crillon .
“ TOGETHER WE GO FURTHER ” In addition to Archie and his partner , Pepita Diamond , he has two daughters from a previous marriage , both of whom live in the United States . One works in the film industry , and the other , who received a Ph . D . from Harvard University , revolves her research around feminist philosophy .
It ’ s a philosophy that Leboeuf also adheres to . He makes a point to elevate women in the workplace . In his daily morning meeting , over half the leading staff members present are women , as is his “ number two ,” hotel manager Sonia Timsiline .
“ It ’ s important for him to see women rise ,” Verneuil says . “ And having women be in key positions .”
Joanne Budge , senior director of people and culture at Four Seasons Hotel New York , worked with Leboeuf in the 1990s at the Westbury Hotel on New York ’ s Upper East Side ( since converted into luxury condominiums ).
“ He was very openminded ,” says Budge , who remains friends with Leboeuf to this day . “ But whenever he would get a little crazy on me and not want to listen , I would sit him down and say , ‘ Frenchman ! You
24 hotelsmag . com November 2018