AMBASSADORS
PHILIPPE CHAMBON
CEO AND CO-FOUNDER, EG427
Dr Philippe Chambon worked for many years in the field of venture capital dedicated to healthcare in the United States. Since late 2019, he has led a gene therapy company, EG427, based in Paris. He collects artists from all backgrounds, with a particular interest in emerging artists working in mixed media.
PÉRI COCHIN
CEO OF WAWWLATABLE AND FOUNDER OF "1 PICASSO FOR 100 EUROS"
Péri Cochin left Lebanon at the age of 10 to settle in France. After studying at the École du Louvre, she obtained her DESA architecture degree with honours in 1989. She then turned to entrepreneurship, launching La Tarte aux bonbons before developing a furniture line. In 2001, she joined Laurent Ruquier on radio and television, where she became known to the general public. From 2005, she founded Periscoop and produced several adaptations of French TV shows for the Middle East. In 2013, she conceived "1 Picasso for 100 euros", an unprecedented charity lottery whose donations enabled the construction of an artisan village designed to revive traditional know-how, create jobs and support local economic development. In 2020, she co-founded Waww La Table with her friend Arabelle Reille, an influence and inspiration media platform paired with an e-commerce site.
BORIS CUCALÓN
MANAGER AT ALMINE RECH EDITIONS
Since 2023, Boris Cucalón has held the position of manager at Almine Rech Editions, where he runs the publishing house and oversees all limited-edition projects.
As an editorial extension of the gallery, the organisation publishes art books and designs original prints and collectors’ objects in close collaboration with artists. His background is rooted in practical training in Arts and Design at Escola Massana in Barcelona, later complemented by a bachelor’s degree in Art History and a master’s in cultural management at the Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB). Before joining Almine Rech, he notably contributed to the organisation of Brussels Gallery Weekend 2022 and its VIP programme. This hands-on experience is paired with advisory work for private collections, through which he has developed genuine expertise in sourcing rare art books.
© Noel Manalili
KARL FOURNIER
ARCHITECT AND CO-FOUNDER OF STUDIO KO
Behind the creation of Studio KO, architects Karl Fournier and Olivier Marty have been developing projects for more than twenty-five years in Europe, Morocco, the far reaches of Africa and the Americas. The creative duo brings a spirit in which eclectic styles align with an approach that is always distinctive, grounded in an art of storytelling for which space, light and materials form the essential grammar.
Public places, private residences, contemporary houses set within natural settings: each project is an opportunity to reveal the singularity of a place and the unique way it will be experienced or inhabited. For Studio KO, context is the matrix: archaeology, environment and topography become the elements of a creative equation. Between the spirit of place, narrative structure, traditional craftsmanship and bespoke poetry, Studio KO plays with materials as it does with words. By rediscovering echoes of the past to better détourne them or break free from them, the studio asserts a sensitive and contemporary vision of modernity.
© Quentin Elleboudt
SOPHIE GASPERMENT
FORMER CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER AND INDEPENDENT BOARD DIRECTOR FOR PRIVATE COMPANIES
A former Chief Operating Officer, Sophie Gasperment has served for fifteen years as an independent board director for private and listed companies, including Accor, Givaudan, Cimpress, Kingfisher and D’Ieteren. She is also a Senior Advisor to the Boston Consulting Group and an angel investor in several innovative start-ups.
Previously, she pursued an international career of more than thirty years within the L’Oréal Group, notably as Managing Director of L’Oréal UK and Global CEO of The Body Shop. A graduate of ESSEC and INSEAD, she was appointed a French Foreign Trade Advisor and contributed to the Advisory Council of Saïd Business School at the University of Oxford.
A committed music lover, Sophie Gasperment actively supports the arts. A member of the Board of Directors of the Orchestre de Paris until 2018, she is now Vice-Chair of the Advisory Council of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and a board member of the École Normale de Musique de Paris. She also advises Le Palais royal, a vocal and orchestral ensemble that designs concert experiences for diverse audiences.
© Isabelle Bideau/ Mobilier national
RENÉ-JACQUES MAYER
DIRECTOR GENERAL AT THE CITÉ DE LA CÉRAMIQUE SÈVRES ET LIMOGES
A graduate of the Institut d’Études Politiques de Paris and holding a degree in Art History, René-Jacques Mayer joined the Louvre Museum in 1990 as a project officer on cultural economics. In 1992, he joined the Ministry of Culture, within the team responsible for overseeing major public institutions, before taking on responsibilities in the office of the Minister of Culture and Communication and then being appointed Secretary General of the Directorate for Live Performance.
Appointed in 2004 as Secretary General of the Manufacture nationale de Sèvres, he contributed to the development of production, its dissemination and the institution’s influence, notably in the fields of design, architecture and decorative arts. In 2010, he became Director of Creation and Production at Sèvres – Cité de la céramique, with the mission of developing applied research in ceramics and the arts of fire.
Volunteer President of D’Days from 2012 to 2017, he then took the helm of the Camondo school, where he created Camondo Méditerranée in 2019. After serving as Director of Creation at Mobilier national and Director General of Sèvres from 2022 to 2024, he has, since 2025, been Deputy Director for Creation, Research and Dissemination at the Manufactures nationales – Sèvres & Mobilier national.
RAPHAËLLE PINONCÉLY
ARTISTIC DIRECTOR AND HEAD OF PUBLISHING AT PERROTIN
An artistic director and specialist in art publishing, Raphaëlle Pinoncély graduated from Penninghen in Paris and continued her training in London at the Royal College of Art. Her career sits at the intersection of visual creation, contemporary publishing and supporting artists.
After developing the Arts department at Éditions Actes Sud for nearly fifteen years, she has, since 2020, led the Publishing department at Galerie Perrotin, dedicated to art books, limited editions and exclusive objects.
With more than twenty years of experience, she supports artists and institutions in designing editorial and cultural projects, with particular attention to artistic direction, editorial strategy and the shaping of projects.