Reflets Magazine #146 devotes a feature to Arnaud Le Clere (E04), who runs Perles d’Histoire, an agency specialised in preserving and promoting the historical heritage of companies. A new venture for this history buff, with a former career in the French Navy and the aeronautics industry. Here is a free online translation of the article… subscribe to get the next issues (in French)!

During his ESSEC days, Arnaud already had a passion for heritage. "I founded a non-profit which organised tours of Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris, led by students." He then took a sabbatical year to enlist in the French Navy. Trained as an officer of the watch, he was assigned to the surveillance frigate ‘Nivôse’, and patrolled the southern seas as far as the remote Kerguelen Islands. "This is a mythical, wild and volcanic area, between the Roaring Forties and the Furious Fifties, which had to be protected from illegal fishing." From the bridge, he supervised vessel manoeuvres or helicopter landings in rough seas. "It’s rare to be assigned to such a high level of responsibility at such a young age."

A Change of Waves

A love of the skies overtook his passion for the sea, however. "During my studies, I also introduced skydiving to Extrem’ESSEC and attended two training courses with Air France." Freshly graduated, he pursed this path by joining the financial department of Dassault Aviation. "The first thing I did was to sign up to the company’s air club and obtain my pilot’s licence." He thus followed in the footsteps of his ancestor William Le Clere, who had designed an aircraft prototype, patented in 1910.

This is when his career took off. Following a few years at the helm of the company’s subsidiaries, he moved to the general management of civil aircraft to look after business dealings. "I set the prices of Falcons and the options catalogues for the managing director, and sat on the executive committee."

He then joined the Dassault Management programme, "a booster for future company executives", before working on the Culture & Management aspect of a vast transformation plan for the firm. "We worked to capitalise on the strong source of commitment behind the outstanding history of this family business which played and continues to play a major role in the aviation saga and has built some of the world’s finest aircraft."

A New Chapter

Attentive thus to the importance of company culture and a firm believer that their history represents an invaluable intangible capital, Arnaud decided to team up with his wife Pauline to consolidate and accelerate the growth of Perles d’Histoire, which she had founded ten years earlier. "Perles d’Histoire was arriving at a turning point with recognised expertise, and we decided to step things up together."

The couple guide businesses in the development and roll-out of their heritage strategy from its definition to implementation, via a structuring of their archival resources and collections, in addition to the creation of cultural operations, through museography, publications and digital tools. "We see ourselves as “transmitters of meaning and emotions!” Transmitters because the passing on of history is our core mission. Meaning, because to know your history is to know where you come from and where you are going. Emotions, because to share your history is to develop affective affinities and foster attachment."

No two projects are the same. "Château Latour entrusted us with the management of its historical archives, which included a new inventory, digitalisation, and the restoration of old parchments, etc. LU called on us for global support in its heritage strategy, from the acquisition of auctioned items, the preventive conservation and inventory of its collection of emblematic objects, right up to the designing of its showcase via a physical tour path. My colleagues Rémy Gerin (E84) and Loïc Danel (E05), the directors of ESSEC’s Mass Market Chair, asked us to produce a web series to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Marseille speech given by Danone’s iconic boss, Antoine Riboud."

Perles d’Histoire thus strives to provide meaning while acting for the future. "Beyond legal obligations and operational imperatives, what documents should be kept in order to constitute the archives of the future? We help our clients to define guidelines, along with identification and selection processes."

Arnaud and Pauline Le Clere also pursued this task of transmission during the lockdown, by launching the project ‘Company Memories in the COVID-19 Period’. "Between late 2020 and early 2021, we collected oral testimonials from the leaders of 40 major French companies, in partnership with the French National Archives of the World of Work, KPMG, the B2V Memory Observatory and ESCP."

Another History

At the same time, the taste for active engagement Arnaud Le Clere had acquired during his navy days led him into local politics, as a municipal councillor in Meudon, regional councillor for Île-de-France and president of the Paris CDG Alliance, a body responsible for developing employment opportunities and economic attractiveness in the Grand Roissy-Le Bourget area.

At the end of these terms, he enrolled in an advanced Master’s in Historical Research at the Sorbonne. "My thesis was on the Manufacture Royale d’Étoffes in Brive, a fabric plant which was founded in the 18th century by my Irish-born ancestor, Thomas Le Clere." In addition to its intellectual aspect, his aim was to train in research and develop his expertise in the textile sector.

All these projects have been driven by his conviction that "in this age of profound technological and social change for companies, the transmission of their history lends meaning, forges links and offers a crucial key to addressing modern-day issues."

Find out more:
 perlesdhistoire.fr

Translation of an article published in Reflets Magazine #146. Get a preview (in French). Get the next issues (in French).