Francois Pinault is one of the most famous people in the business world.
Unlike many entrepreneurs, he is distinguished by a very tough and uncompromising approach to business.
But this strategy led him to unprecedented success.
Childhood
Pinault was born in 1936 in a small village in northwestern France. His father had a small farm and sawmill, which provided the family with income.
The future businessman's childhood coincided with the difficult occupation times for the country. When the occupation ended, he began studying at the city college located in Rennes.
As Pino himself often recalls, he was often ridiculed for his country accent and old clothes. As a result, at the age of 15, he did not continue studying at college and began working in his father's business.
Career
He worked for his father until he left for the army, after which he returned and got a job with his father’s friend, the owner of a timber business.
A few years later, he married the owner's daughter and became the sole founder of the company with the help of his father-in-law, who helped with money and provided a guarantee for Pino's loan. He eventually divorced his wife and repaid all his debts to his father-in-law.
Very often Pino is accused of speculation, because his deals were almost always extremely successful and profitable.
He did not disdain to use insider information, to buy out companies that found themselves in a difficult situation. Nevertheless, this path led the businessman to great success.
Character
Pino has a very tough character, which is why he was nicknamed “the shark of business”. He is taciturn, decisive and strict with his subordinates.
One of the most severe manifestations of the management style is the reduction of the staff of the acquired wood panel manufacturing company from 700 to 25 people.
Present time
Today, Pinault owns 53.2% of the shares of Gucci, which were once the subject of lawsuits by LVMH. He is the owner of PPR, which now owns the fashion houses Bottega Veneta, Saint Laurent, a furniture factory, a shopping center, a theater, a football team, its own winery and many other small companies.
In conclusion
François Pinault is a very tough businessman who was able to build his career literally from scratch, without having any talent for it. This is at least worthy of respect and admiration, despite his methods of achieving his goals.
Earlier I talked about how to avoid emotional burnout at work.
