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00:09Good morning everyone and welcome. Today's conversation brings together two
00:14personalities who operate in different worlds, yet share many of the same
00:19principles. Discipline, precision, innovation and endless pursuit of
00:24excellence. On one side, Antoine Arnault, who has played a key role in shaping the
00:29image and reputation of LVMH on the global stage while also helping drive
00:34the group's long-term commitments around sustainability and responsibility
00:39without any compromise on desirability. And although his involvement with
00:45Paris FC, he brings a perspective that connects creativity, performance,
00:50collective ambition and also a long-term vision. Just on my right, on the other,
00:55Leon Marchand, one of the most accomplished athletes of his generation,
00:59despite his very young age, four-time Olympic gold medalist whose
01:03extraordinary success is built on rigour, constant improvement and an
01:08exceptional understanding of performance. Although their worlds couldn't be more
01:12different, they share something essential, everyone, culture of excellence. And there
01:16is no coincidence on having them both on stage this morning. Hello to both of you,
01:21thank you very much for being with us. Hello Sandy. Thanks for having us. Thank you
01:25very much. In your highly competitive environments to you both, what role does
01:29innovation play in the way you stay agile and maintain excellence? Maybe let's start
01:35with you Antoine. Thank you for this question Sandy. Hello everyone and good
01:41morning. First of all, let me tell you how proud and how humbled I am to be of course
01:47with you Sandy, but also next to one of the greatest athletes of his generation. I was
01:53lucky enough to witness him during the Olympic Games and it's a real pleasure and
01:57honor to be your partner for the past few years. To answer your question, I think it's
02:04important also to take a step back in history and to remember that all the great
02:10Maisons that are part of the LVMH group today started with innovators. Louis Vuitton was an
02:18innovator. That's how Louis Vuitton became the Maison, the brand, the myth it is today. He
02:26invented the flat trunk, but he also had countless innovations that made his brand at the time very
02:34relevant in the 19th century. Don PĂ©rignon invented champagne. How crazy is that? I mean, it's the
02:43ultimate innovation if you think about it. The same for almost all of our Maisons. So while we think of
02:50innovation today as AI, as everything that we all know that are in our devices, as a way to be
02:57more
02:57efficient, let's also remember that the reason why our Maisons are so successful and still exist
03:03centuries later is thanks to their innovative spirit. Now that being said about innovation today,
03:13I think it's of course a question of embracing it, but with the right tempo. I very vividly remember
03:21the time where everybody was speaking about metaverse, even here. I didn't really see it in the film that
03:27Maurice showed this morning, but people were crazy about metaverse. It was the only thing that mattered,
03:32and everybody thought that we would basically live in our rooms with the goggles and the helmet.
03:39Some companies even changed their names, remember?
03:43We do know that.
03:44Very famous ones around that topic. And what did it do? It completely failed, and I think
03:51we were right to take our time. We don't need, our vocation is not to be the first ones to
03:58embrace
03:59innovation. When it's relevant, when it has already proven its success, then definitely we will be the
04:06ones that embrace it. And AI already today is very, very active and is helping us to be more efficient.
04:13So innovation, yes, but at its right tempo.
04:17Thank you very much, Antoine. Same question for you, LĂ©on.
04:19The innovation regarding the way you stay agile and excellent.
04:24Hello, everyone. Thanks for having me. I'm also very honoured to be with you, with you as well.
04:29This is my first talk, so I'm a little bit stressed, but I'll be fine.
04:33You look fine, don't worry. Everything's fine.
04:35That's true.
04:40So, yeah. In swimming, at least, details matter. So, of course, innovation matters a lot. We are constantly
04:49looking for improvements. For me, it's underwater, my stroke count, the details on my turn, my breathing
04:56pattern, the rate that we have. And this is basically like four hours a day. So it really
05:01matters when you really focus on the details. I would say my coach, at least. He's a Michael
05:09Thorpe's coach. His name is Bob Bowman. He's not a very innovative guy, I would say. He's
05:15very old school. When I would ask about him about what was like his technology, he would
05:19say notebook and my pencil. That's it. So, yeah. We've been doing what he's been doing
05:26for the last 30 years, basically. And even him, we're in 2026, and he's actually bringing
05:33some new stuff into training, some new tools. And now we have some sensors that can see the
05:40BPM that we have at every set during the session. And for him, it's pretty innovative. So I'm
05:46pretty happy with it. And there's a huge human part in swimming, but I think innovations and
05:51technology could probably push us to the limit of the sport, which would be interesting in
05:57the future. I think we already have some technologies that we can use, but right now we need engineers
06:03to use it. And I hope in the future, regular coaches and swimmers will be able to use it
06:08as well on a daily basis.
06:10But do you wear devices? Like, I'm wearing this Oura Ring. I'm not an athlete, but do
06:14you wear constantly? Do you monitor your body constantly?
06:17Yeah. Actually, the WHOOP bracelet was a big thing in the US. So we used that as a team.
06:24We could also kind of see how well we were sleeping, how well we were recovering, and it was really
06:30interesting to see and really precise as well. But it's also really hard to use it because
06:36our fitness level is never the same. When we train really hard, like seven kilometers a
06:43practice, and when we do two kilometers, it's a very different data to analyze. But it's
06:48really interesting, yeah.
06:49What I hear between both of you is common language, the high-level mindset, and also measurement
06:57for you. Innovation is clearly key, and you want more in swimming. That's what I heard. I think
07:01that you have a first question for Antoine.
07:04Yeah. So talking about a competitive environment, I'm curious to understand why are you investing
07:09so much time and money in developing the Paris FC?
07:14Yes. Time, yes. Money, yes. So, well, how about that for an innovation? I mean, it surprised
07:23everyone when almost two years ago we decided to invest in a football club in Paris. It was
07:31a family decision. It was a project that we had sort of thought about for a few months. We
07:38were very avid with my brothers to live passionately a project like this one, not to take too much
07:47time away from what we have to do with our family and with my father, of course, in LVMH. But
07:54it
07:54felt like a good project to have together to live emotions for ourselves, but also for others, and to
08:01try to create a project that was not already at the top, and not by a top team to make
08:08it even
08:08better, but to try to find a team that was maybe in Ligue 2. We even thought about Ligue 3
08:14or
08:15National. And in the end, we found Paris FC that was in the right dynamic, that was a healthy,
08:25let's say, club, very well managed by Pierre Ferracci and his family. And we decided to go
08:31for it and to try also to nurture this very famous talent pool around Paris of footballers. I mean,
08:44every person who understands football and who knows French football knows that it is recognized as the
08:51best talent pool in the world, even above the talent pool around Rio in Brazil. So we felt that there
08:59was
08:59something to do. There was also, and don't take this in the wrong way, in a way of a social
09:05project to do
09:06and to try to build up all these young players and build up the academy around their projects. And for
09:18the
09:18moment, it's been really only positive, very enriching encounters that are incredibly moving and you feel the
09:27passion. We were told at the time, you're crazy, don't go. It's the worst possible environment. It's everything. It
09:36wasn't true at all. I mean, it's all the opposite. It's been only positive. Of course, we were lucky to
09:40go up from Ligue 2 to Ligue 1 the
09:42first year, now to maintain solidly in Ligue 1. And it's, I must say, a great venture that we're living
09:49passionately as a family. And as a group, I see a lot of fans here.
09:55Well, they have to be. So a good challenge to take them to the top, I guess. A very motivating
10:01project, I guess.
10:03Yes, it is. I had a question for you, LĂ©on. I follow sports all my life and I've always been
10:11passionate about not only football, but sports in general.
10:14One of the probably most avid readers of L'Equipe every morning, I go and try to find even the
10:20littlest brev. And I believe, I might be wrong and I'm interested to have your take on this, that per
10:29generation, there's not only one or two Roger Federer's. There's not only one or two LĂ©on Marchand. But there's hundreds.
10:38But in the end, in the long game of history, only one or two emerge. And there is only like,
10:45let's say, Federer, Nadal and Djokovic in their generation. And in your generation of swimmer, you and a couple of
10:52others are the ones that are at the top.
10:54How do you explain this? There is talent, of course. There's genetics. But what makes the difference in the end?
11:02Is it only discipline? Is it only hard work? Is it only mental?
11:08Yeah, I would say discipline is the main thing. At least for me in my career, discipline has really brought
11:16me here, basically. Because I think motivation is a thing. I think a lot of people can have motivation. It's
11:21emotional. You will have it on the day. You won't have it the next day. That's not how you reach
11:26a goal.
11:27I think discipline really changes. Self-discipline, but also structured discipline when you train in an environment where everyone is
11:34reaching for a goal. That was a dream before.
11:38So I think, yeah, I mean, there's so many days, probably like 80% of the days that I've been
11:44training, I didn't want to show up. I didn't have any motivation to wake up at 5 a.m. and
11:49jump in the water.
11:51But you do it. You show up because your training group is, your coach is asking you to do it.
11:57And that's how discipline works. And I think when you do discipline on a daily basis, it becomes like a
12:04routine.
12:05And it becomes easier and easier as you keep going. And it also becomes automatic, I would say. So I
12:12think that's, it also keeps you on the right track on your goals.
12:17I like to, yeah, to, like, name a goal at the beginning of the year. And I know that discipline
12:22will bring me there if I follow it, like, closely.
12:25Let's stay on the matter of discipline. I think that you have a question about the discipline in the business
12:30approach, LĂ©on, for Antoine.
12:32Yeah, I have a question for you. So Antoine, sports have a major part in your life, like you said.
12:39I know you're a very good golf and tennis player. Are you still good?
12:43Well, tennis, a little bit less, but golf, yes, je me défends.
12:47Vous ĂȘtes classĂ©, Antoine, vous ĂȘtes classĂ©, nous le savons.
12:50Oui, vous ĂȘtes trĂšs bons.
12:51As you mentioned, you have a personal involvement in the Paris FC. What is the role of discipline in your
12:57global approach to the business?
13:00So I think there are a lot of parallels to put between sports and business.
13:07But I very vividly remember when I was a teenager and I was a little bit less interested in school
13:12and being bored about homework and why am I learning this.
13:17And my father was above my shoulder and he was telling me, you know, and I was complaining.
13:25I was like, but why am I doing this now?
13:27You're so lucky to have such an exciting life in business and, you know, to have only interesting meetings.
13:34And he took me and he said, what are you talking about?
13:38You think all my meetings are interesting?
13:40And he said, 90% of my meetings are boring as hell.
13:46There are things that I must do to get the 10% fascinating ones.
13:52And that stuck in my mind.
13:55I thought even if someone that has reached a certain level in business, even if at the time he was
14:00not as high as he is today, but he was already very successful.
14:04And I thought even for people who are there, they need to work through this sort of boring and routinely
14:13meetings to enjoy those 10%.
14:18And it makes me think of something else is the parallel also between the repetitiveness of the artisan.
14:28When you go see in a Vuitton atelier or any atelier of our maison or any maison in this world
14:37of high luxury, you see how repetitive the work is.
14:43But there is also in this repetitiveness some sort of enjoyment and pride.
14:49And I feel that probably for athletes, it's the same.
14:52Yes, it can seem boring, but in the end, there's almost a rhythm to it that makes it become pleasurable.
14:59Endurable. Absolutely.
15:01Yeah.
15:02The only one to react.
15:03Yeah, I think it really actually is the same for us.
15:06Exactly the same.
15:08You kind of have to like enjoy the process, which is a thing that is really hard to do.
15:12But also when you do that repetitiveness and when you get to the point where you can actually enjoy it,
15:18it makes it way bigger, I think.
15:21Also, nowadays, everything that we do, we get an immediate response, immediate feedback, immediate reward.
15:27And I think those long projects, those passions that we can have, I think, kind of like change our lives
15:34a little bit in the way we behave on a daily basis.
15:38I think that's why it's important to have some of that.
15:42This morning, we heard Bernard Arnault, your father, talk about having fun.
15:46That's what I heard.
15:47So trying to find an enjoyable part of this, I think also that's important.
15:51But you share the same qualities.
15:52That means discipline, rigor, and also energy and resilience, and try to find fun in that.
15:58And whether you're leading a group in luxury, the biggest group in luxury, or preparing European championships that you're actually
16:06preparing now, I think this is something that you boast here.
16:12And I think that, Antoine, you have a question about this matter.
16:15Yes, you are, LĂ©on, in one of the most individual sports in the world, I guess.
16:23I mean, at least from the outside world, that's how it looks.
16:28How important is your collective spirit and probably the team around you?
16:34How big is it in your preparation and in your life?
16:40Yeah, I think going to the United States for American college kind of changed my perspective on this.
16:48Because behind the blocks in swimming, you're alone.
16:50No one is going to replace me.
16:52No one is going to fix my mistakes that I do.
16:54So when I went to the U.S., I got to join Arizona State University.
17:00It was a team that went from like 12th place at NCAA ranking to like the first place last year.
17:07So I got to see like the team culture building up to that from A to Z.
17:13And it was really like, it was, I mean, it was mind-blowing to see that we kind of like
17:18created this team culture.
17:19We would have like meetings every week.
17:20We would have, it was like a whole like company.
17:23It was a whole company.
17:24And we were like, we would take each other like accountable.
17:28We were swimming for something that was bigger than just yourself.
17:31It was really collective sport.
17:33It was, it was a lot of fun.
17:34It was more fun than what I used to do.
17:37So no boring meetings in this little company?
17:40No, the meetings were pretty fun because we were like, upload about like accomplishments of the week.
17:45And that's something that we created.
17:47I don't think the coaches said anything about it.
17:50And that's, I think that's how we won the last year at NCAA.
17:54And yeah, I think, I think I'm probably the only one getting the medal, but I think like the whole
17:58journey is like collective.
18:00I don't think excellence can be like created by only one human being.
18:05Um, so yeah.
18:07And also like, I mean, I train in a, in a really, really great environment.
18:12Um, in my group, I have teammates that, um, I'm doing like four strokes, right?
18:18The four I am is four strokes.
18:19Uh, in my group, I have people that can push me in butterfly, in backstroke, in breaststroke and freestyle.
18:25That means that I'm going to lose in practice.
18:27I need to put my ego aside, but I'm going to lose.
18:29But it also like, it will make me better, um, to be with those people when to like race them
18:34every day.
18:34So I think it's really important.
18:36Yeah.
18:37I believe you have the same question about individual or collective, isn't it?
18:42Yeah.
18:42What do you say about a luxury?
18:43Do you think it's individual or a more collective sport?
18:47Well, I think it's, um, it's the truth for any business is a collective sport.
18:52I mean, no, no business, no organization has ever thrived only with, with one person.
18:57As you, as you said, in sports, it's the same for, for a company.
19:00It's even truer, I would say for a company.
19:02Um, but it's probably, um, uh, even more evident in, in our, uh, business and in fashion, for example,
19:11where one idea from one designer then starts a whole process with hundreds, sometimes thousands of people
19:19pursuing the same goal of creating the most desirable, the most, sometimes, sorry for the bad word, marketable products.
19:28Um, but if you have to draw parallels, um, but if you have to draw parallels, it's also interesting for
19:32those designers.
19:34The fashion show is their race.
19:37And, uh, and, uh, and it's only lasts maybe eight to 12 minutes.
19:42I don't know how, how long your longest race is, but it's probably not far.
19:46And they put all the energy of one designer, but it's thousands of people.
19:51It's not only the models, uh, walking on the, on the runway.
19:54It's, uh, it's really the marketing teams, the merchandising teams, uh, the artisan, of course, who is the, one of
20:01the center parts.
20:02Until the last second to make it right before they go on the runway.
20:05And then after the show happens, there's the editing and then everything goes back to the artisan and they have
20:11to produce as quickly as possible, but in the best possible way.
20:14Um, all those products, so that's, uh, the store then, and that's another part of the equation where the sales
20:20assistant is part of, of this team as well.
20:23So it's, it's really a whole ecosystem of people working together with one collective goal.
20:29I believe we have another question about, we've talked about vision, dream.
20:33Antoine, you have a question for LĂ©on.
20:35So we say that at LVMH, dreams are at the core of everything and you've already achieved so much.
20:41What is your next dream?
20:43Um, that's a, that's a really good question.
20:47Um, I would say I'm, I'm a really curious person and that's what like drives me forward, I think.
20:54Uh, I want to see how far can I go.
20:57Uh, I want to see how fast can I go.
20:59And I want to see, um, I want to see myself racing in different events in the next few years,
21:04uh, because I want to be creative.
21:06I want to step out of my comfort zone, I would say.
21:09That's how I grow as a person and as a swimmer.
21:11Um, and what's really exciting for me is that I know there's a lot of room to improve on the
21:18details and some, some stuff that I didn't really put a focus on before Paris.
21:22Um, you say, yeah, so I'm really excited for what's next and, um, I mean the, the main goal for
21:28me is L.A. 28, so I have, uh, I have two more years to prepare that.
21:32Um, um, yeah, I'm really excited for that.
21:34Before L.A., we have the European Championship and that will be beginning of August here in Paris, everyone.
21:40And if you want to know how you're actually preparing them, there's an exclusive documentary that will be released on
21:46the 10th of July and it's, uh, filmed by your dad the past few months.
21:50Uh, if you could maybe in, in a few words, just tease us what we're supposed to see in this
21:56documentary.
21:57Okay, yeah, so, um, the documentary is, uh, documentary is releasing in, uh, on July 10th, like you said.
22:03Um, it's, uh, so it's basically my dad who filmed me last year, uh, which was the year after Paris,
22:08after all the success.
22:10Uh, and it was a, a year that was really difficult for me, I would say.
22:14Um, so basically in, in this film you can see someone that is trying to find, like, identity, like, above
22:20the sport.
22:21Uh, trying to see if winning is really the goal here.
22:24And, um, yeah, it's pretty, it's pretty cool.
22:26Uh, there's, uh, some, some good insights and also it's really exciting to, like, show the behind the scenes.
22:32Uh, because people probably saw that you're on a butterfly, which was like a two minutes.
22:36But my life is basically just training, training for four years.
22:40Uh, so I think the film is really showing.
22:42And a little bit of traveling.
22:43Yeah, exactly.
22:43I think you travel a little bit in the documentary.
22:45Yeah, so it's, it's pretty fun to see if you can, uh, if you can watch it next month.
22:48So everyone, 10th of July, so we will be able to see all this.
22:51Thank you very much.
22:52Before we close, I would like to tell you how fortunate we all are to have you on stage.
22:57I know that you're very, very, both of you very busy.
23:00He was training this morning.
23:02He's gonna go back in the swimming pool in a few, in, in, I think an hour.
23:05Thank you very much, Antoine.
23:07I know that your time is very valuable.
23:08What we could maybe, sorry, take away today is maybe that, um, excellence is never a destination.
23:17It's just the pursuit of excellence.
23:20Thank you very much again.
23:21Thank you for your attention.
23:22Have a nice end to your day.
23:23Thank you, everyone.
23:23Enjoy Bivotech.
23:24What did we do?
23:25Take it!
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