Edouard was born in 1963 in Clermont-Ferrand, a city in central France. His father Francois named him "Edward", apparently hoping that he would inherit the legacy of Edward Sr., founder of the Michelin Group and Francois's grandfather, and carry forward the family's business. To his father's satisfaction, Edward lived up to his expectations and reflected the family style in everything he did. For example, the heads of the Michelin family lived a simple life. As one of the youngest rich men in Europe, Edward did not have the style of a rich man and lived a life like ordinary people. He has neither a luxury yacht nor a private jet. His only luxury item is an Audi RS4 sports car worth more than 60,000 US dollars. The car is fitted with Michelin tires and serves as an advertisement for the company. Everyone in the Michelin Group knows this story: On June 12, 1959, when General de Gaulle came to visit the factory workshop, former president Fran?ois actually asked de Gaulle's entourage to wait outside the gate in order to "keep the company secret." Compared with his father, Edward has made great progress in external communication, but when he was just starting out, he did not learn a lesson from the incident. In September 1999, shortly after Edouard took over, the company's performance showed a profit of 300 million euros in the first quarter of that year. However, the "Young Marshal", who is trying to save costs and improve efficiency, also decided to lay off 7,500 Michelin employees in Europe, including 1,500 French employees.
This unexpected decision aroused strong reactions in society. Many people believe that Edward's announcement of layoffs despite the company's profit growth was not only contrary to common sense, but also ran counter to the "35-hour work system" employment policy advocated by the leftist government at the time. As a result, Mrs. Aubrey, who was the French Minister of Labor at the time, showed Edward a yellow card, and Michelin became a "negative example" in the French and even European media.
As the saying goes, "When you take a bite, you gain wisdom." The layoff crisis made Edward realize the importance of strengthening exchanges and communications between fellow unions and the media. Shortly thereafter, Edward opened his office door to reporters. He first accepted an interview with the French "Liberation", and then had lunch with the heads of newspapers in Paris, answering their questions, listening to their opinions, and apologizing for some misunderstandings and mistakes. Smile.
On June 20, 2001, a French daily called "Montage" also organized a "Sunday Walk" event, allowing thousands of people to visit the Michelin factory, which has always been regarded as a mysterious empire. Many employees of the company are proud to bring their families to visit.
However, Michelin’s public relations staff all know that Edward adheres to the creed of “promoting the company rather than the boss himself” when strengthening external publicity work. He once said: "Bosses who are exposed too much to the media are fragile." Therefore, he always emphasized that "Michelin is Bibendum (tire man, Michelin's brand logo), not Edward." Since taking over the reins in 1999, Edward has made several major business blows. After the "Concorde" crash in 2000, Michelin responded to Air France's request and specially made a new reinforced tire for the Concorde, allowing this "supersonic bird" to return to the sky. Air France sources said at the time that without Michelin under Edouard’s leadership, Concorde would probably have difficulty flying.
In addition, in order to strengthen the image of Bib Gourmand, Michelin launched the annual Bib Gourmand Environmental Challenge in 1998, inviting automobile manufacturers to work together for the diversified development of automobile energy and protection of the earth. Environment provided advice and received praise from the United Nations in 2001 and the active participation of many environmental organizations. Today, the Michelin Group has developed into a huge empire with more than 70 factories and 130,000 employees in 18 countries. It occupies 20% of the global tire market of US$70 billion, ranking first in the industry.
Compared with the legacy left by his father, Edward’s greatest achievement is his successful entry into the Chinese market. In April 2001, Edward announced that Michelin would invest US$113 million to establish a joint venture with Shanghai Tire & Rubber Group, China's number one tire company, and hold a 70% stake in the new enterprise. This is the first time China has allowed a foreign company to control a majority stake in a strategic industry.
For Edward, who has lived and worked in Europe and the United States since childhood, ancient China inevitably seems distant and unfamiliar. However, his team of senior consultants and his at least one trip to China every year have impressed many competitors with his understanding of the Chinese market. The price of Michelin's radial tires in the Chinese market is three times that of ordinary tires. Some people within the group once doubted whether such expensive tires could be accepted by Chinese customers with weak purchasing power.
After consulting with Chinese dealers, Edward believes that implementing a "high price" strategy in the Chinese market is not unfeasible, because Chinese trucks are often overloaded and ordinary tires need to be replaced soon, while steel Reinforced radial tires can adapt to such transportation conditions.
It is precisely based on his familiarity and love for the Chinese market that Edward has clearly tilted his global strategic focus towards China. In the past few years, he has reduced Michelin's 60,000 sales outlets in Europe by half, but has injected huge funds and manpower into the Chinese market, and this market is still developing at an average annual growth rate of 15%. Now, Edward has fallen in love with this once very strange country. The French "Challenge" magazine once listed several of Edward's likes and dislikes, among which "China" was included in the "Things He Loves" column.