The British perfumer founded Jo Malone London in 1988, moving from home-made creams to best-selling fragrances in a short span. She stayed on as creative director when she sold the company to the Estée Lauder group in 1999, but then quit the industry altogether in 2006 because she temporarily lost her sense of smell following a battle with breast cancer. Malone launched her second business, Jo Loves, in 2011, with the popular Pomelo perfume. The mother-of-one attended the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature in Dubai in March, to discuss her memoir Jo Malone: My Story
If you could wake up anywhere in the world tomorrow, where would you be?
Exactly where life wanted me to be. I love my home and I also love travelling, but wherever I am, I want to be with my family. I don’t care where in the world we are, as long as we are together.
If you could invite anybody to dinner, whom would you put on your guest list?
I would invite Coco Chanel, Moses, because I want to know what happened when the Red Sea parted, and a great politician, maybe John F Kennedy. Also someone involved with riding horses, and [zoologist] Dian Fossey because I love animals. And Steve Jobs. It would make an interesting dinner, wouldn’t it? But I would definitely want my husband there because you need someone to climb into bed with after and go: “Wasn’t that a great evening?”
Are you a collector?
I am. I collect perfume bottles – old, new and different-looking. Also, I have a big shelf in my room where I keep all the beautiful notebooks I collect, and I put my thoughts in them. And I love cashmere wraps. I pick one up from wherever I travel, and they often have the scent of whatever I was working on at the time.
What was one piece of advice that really resonated with you?
Be who you are. The most important thing in life is to be happy; not to be wise, or famous, or rich. And happy, contented people don't run away from who they are. I'm not frightened for anyone to know that I come from nothing. I'd rather be the person I am, even though it's not always comfortable to have others know your vulnerabilities. I did The Oprah Winfrey Show a couple of times, and I remember I went and had lunch with Oprah in her apartment, which was magical. And she told me: "You know, honey, own everything you do and stamp your identity on everything you do." This was great advice, and I have held true to it.
What makes a great fragrance?
That’s a hard one for me to answer. Maybe what makes a great fragrance is that when I smell it, it’s full of integrity and truth and realness. And when I smell it, it unlocks everything and takes me right back to a special moment.
Is there a particular note you favour?
Orange blossom. When I die, I’m going to take orange blossom with me. And I love really bitter vetiver and really aggressive grapefruit. If I had those three notes, I could spend the rest of my life creating fragrances, and I would create something different every single day.
You built Jo Loves from scratch. How big of a challenge was it the second time around?
It was so hard. I felt really vulnerable. And in my book, I talk about the struggle because that sense of reinvention is hard, but it’s not impossible. You have to face your most negative moments to get through it. I heard the most amazing quote the other day: a river does not cut through rock because of its power, but because of its persistence. And that describes the last three years of my life.
What would you say is your key strength?
Passion, resilience and creativity are my three best friends. I have a passion for life and people. I’m very black and white, though; if I don’t like someone or something, I’ll walk a million miles away from it. Also I’ll never quit – I may talk about it, or feel like doing it, but the physicality of quitting is not a part of my mental make-up. And I love spending time with my creativity. It’s the combination of these three qualities that can make me very formidable.
You're an ambassador for the British Film Institute. What is your favourite film?
I love, love, love movies. Recently, I enjoyed Lion with Dev Patel. I also loved The Sea of Trees, which is about a man who goes into a Japanese forest to kill himself. It's very dark, but so brilliantly made. I love visually beautiful movies, and my favourites range across the spectrum – from The Hundred-Foot Journey to The Sound of Music.
Read this and more stories in Luxury magazine, out with The National on Thursday, May 11.
sasaeed@thenational.ae
SHAITTAN
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Heather, the Totality
Matthew Weiner,
Canongate
Who's who in Yemen conflict
Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government
Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council
Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south
Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory
The specs: Hyundai Ionic Hybrid
Price, base: Dh117,000 (estimate)
Engine: 1.6L four-cylinder, with 1.56kWh battery
Transmission: Six-speed automatic
Power: 105hp (engine), plus 43.5hp (battery)
Torque: 147Nm (engine), plus 170Nm (battery)
Fuel economy, combined: 3.4L / 100km
T10 Cricket League
Sharjah Cricket Stadium
December 14- 17
6pm, Opening ceremony, followed by:
Bengal Tigers v Kerala Kings
Maratha Arabians v Pakhtoons
Tickets available online at q-tickets.com/t10
BULKWHIZ PROFILE
Date started: February 2017
Founders: Amira Rashad (CEO), Yusuf Saber (CTO), Mahmoud Sayedahmed (adviser), Reda Bouraoui (adviser)
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: E-commerce
Size: 50 employees
Funding: approximately $6m
Investors: Beco Capital, Enabling Future and Wain in the UAE; China's MSA Capital; 500 Startups; Faith Capital and Savour Ventures in Kuwait
How to improve Arabic reading in early years
One 45-minute class per week in Standard Arabic is not sufficient
The goal should be for grade 1 and 2 students to become fluent readers
Subjects like technology, social studies, science can be taught in later grades
Grade 1 curricula should include oral instruction in Standard Arabic
First graders must regularly practice individual letters and combinations
Time should be slotted in class to read longer passages in early grades
Improve the appearance of textbooks
Revision of curriculum should be undertaken as per research findings
Conjugations of most common verb forms should be taught
Systematic learning of Standard Arabic grammar
