Kering Beauté has named Nathalie Berger-Duquene CEO of iconic heritage fragrance House, Creed. She will succeed Sarah Rotheram who left last October, with Kering Beauté’s CEO Raffaella Cornaggia managing the luxury fragrance brand in the interim.
As a member of Kering Beauté’s executive committee, Berger-Duquene will spearhead the next phase of development for Creed and report directly to Cornaggia. She joins Kering from The Estée Lauder Co., where she was global general brand manager of Balmain Beauty since 2022.
Creed logged sales of more than 300 million euros in 2024, with a strong performance in the United States, said Jean-Marc Duplaix, Kering’s deputy CEO in charge of operations and finance. “It’s a brand with much greater potential than that,” he told a press conference in February. “There’s a lot of demand for unique fragrances, and that’s really Creed’s proposition.”
Heritage fragrance house, Creed
Iconic heritage fragrance house Creed has a legacy of crafting unique scents by harnessing exquisite natural ingredients. Established in 1760 by James Henry Creed during the reign of King George III of England, the House of Creed possesses a distinct collection of timeless and sophisticated perfumes, including the iconic Aventus, Viking, Himalaya and Green Irish Tweed.
The acquisition of Creed was a major step for Kering Beauté. While preserving Creed’s rich heritage and high-end brand image, Kering Beauté unlocked Creed’s potential across geographies, channels, and categories, notably through the acceleration of its development in China and in Travel Retail, and further expansion of the feminine fragrance portfolio, body and home categories.
“The acquisition of Creed represents Kering Beauté’s first strategic initiative, and demonstrates our commitment to developing a strong position in the luxury beauty segment,” said François-Henri Pinault, Chairman and CEO of Kering at the time.
Creed is renowned for one of its best sellers, Aventus, which is consistently positioned remarkably high in the luxury fragrances rankings in key markets globally. Praised for its rich heritage, timeless scents, and unisex versatility, Creed is widely recognized for manufacturing artisanal essences of unrivalled quality using a traditional technique and for crafting highly distinctive and sophisticated scents.
Distinguished as a House driven by artistry and perfection, Creed is known to carefully source, research, inspect, and commission their own natural raw ingredients, constantly seeking the finest and most exquisite throughout the world. Through its “Fragrance for the Future” framework, Creed ensures that its fragrances, created with the expertise and techniques of generations past, are sustainably produced in their laboratory in Fontainebleau on the outskirts of Paris. Olivier Creed and his son Erwin perpetuate this tradition today.
Who Is Nathalie Berger-Duquene?
A graduate of French business school ESSEC, Nathalie Berger-Duquene started her career at Guerlain prior to joining L’Oréal in 2005, where she held various positions at brands including Biotherm, Helena Rubinstein and Lancôme, before being named general manager for fragrances at L’Oréal Luxe France. Nathalie joined The Estée Lauder Companies in June 2019 as Vice President, Tom Ford Beauty and Kilian Paris, EMEA where she led the acceleration of key fragrance initiatives, increased ranking of key products at retail and grew their in-store presence. In her recent role as Senior Vice President, Global Marketing, Tom Ford beauty, Nathalie’s leadership positioned the brand to reach its future rank ambitions.
Jasmeen Dugal is Associate Editor at FashionABC, contributing her insights on fashion, technology, and sustainability. She brings with herself more than two decades of editorial experience, working for national newspapers and luxury magazines in India.
Jasmeen Dugal has worked with exchange4media as a senior writer contributing articles on the country’s advertising and marketing movements, and then with Condenast India as Net Editor where she helmed Vogue India’s official website in terms of design, layout and daily content. Besides this, she is also an entrepreneur running her own luxury portal, Explosivefashion, which highlights the latest in luxury fashion and hospitality.
