Thursday 15th May at 6.30pm (GMT) was the date of the British Society of Perfumers’ 61st Annual General Meeting.
It was a pleasure to welcome our valued members from the United Kingdom and internationally, from Germany, Greece, France and the United States of America.
I would like to express my gratitude to BSP Council members and to those attending the AGM for formally voting for my re-election and hence giving me the opportunity to continue this important journey together for a second term. It is a great privilege to serve as BSP President, I look forward to the year ahead, with Virginie Daniau remaining in her role as Vice President.
The BSP team of Council members are an inspirational group of people from the fragrance industry, who volunteer their time and without whom we could not offer such a diverse and wide-ranging programme of events to our fragrance community. A heartfelt thank you goes to Virginie Daniau, Julie Dunkley, Peter Malton, Christina Koutsoudaki, Elizabeth Dowden, Hayley Forster, Jean-Charles Mignon and Matthieu Meneuvrier, for your commitment, drive, dynamism and innovative approach in taking our Society forward.
I am delighted to share that Ruth Mastenbroek (a former BSP President) was announced as the British Society of Perfumers Honorary Member for 2025. Ruth joins a small group of distinguished individuals recognised for their outstanding contributions to the fragrance industry and the Society.
As we continue to expand and broaden our reach as a Society, we look forward to meeting as many of you as possible at SIMPPAR in Paris and at the Barcelona Perfumery Congress in June. A great opportunity to learn about who we are, what we do and even how to become a member! We are grateful to both organisations for their invitations, as a way of building relationships and working on mutual collaborations.
Our aims and objectives for the Society in 2025 remain the same, with an additional focus for 2025 on strategy, membership and the long-term sustainability of the organisation.
As a reminder, our next Society event will be a first ever collaboration with the International Society of Perfumer Creators with special guests Francis Kurkdjian and Sylvie Jourdet. This highly anticipated evening for perfumers will be held in London at the Royal Society of Chemistry on Thursday 26th June 2024 starting at 6.30pm.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank the following retiring council members for their valuable contribution to the society: Matthew Williams, Allison Dixon, Tina Hotchin, Inga Raftery, Alexandra Birden and Mustafa Varcin. With special mention to Matthew Willams for his long-term commitment and hard work, as council member and Treasurer of the Society for many years.
And finally, on behalf of the British Society of Perfumers, a huge thank you goes to all of our members and friends for your support of our Society – we look forward to a bright future together!