The global licensing community is powered by an incredible group of professionals whose diverse backgrounds and creative energy drive innovation and excellence. Each week we’re profiling one of these professionals in this ongoing series.

How did you get into licensing (or how did licensing find you)?
I was in the last year of my Bachelor degree and a teacher asked us to picture our work life in 10 years. When I finished my presentation, he told the rest of the class to pay attention to me because my eyes were filled with joy and sparkling when I talked about my dream job. I knew then I wanted to work in the entertainment industry.

My first goal after that was to be an intern at Disney. One day during my internship at Universal Pictures Video, someone asked for my help to take a picture of the team. While discussing afterward I told them about my goal, and it turns out they all worked at The Walt Disney Company before. They saw my excitement and shared my profile with someone from their former consumer products team. I got a call for an interview, got the internship, fell in love with licensing, and the rest is history!

What’s a “typical” day in your current position?
It starts with a coffee and a walk in the neighborhood with my dog. Then I arrive at the office between 9:15 am and 9:30 am (very Parisian) and reply to emails received overnight. Mornings are usually for meetings with agents or potential clients. You’ll often find me checking something with the approval team, asking for information for the marketing team, doing some reports for the accounting team, or checking the signature of a contract with legal. Then I return home to my dog before I do it all over again the next day!

What’s your biggest personal or professional accomplishment?
Professionally, my biggest accomplishment would be to have found a job that makes my eyes sparkle. I’m very proud of what I’m doing and my ultimate joy is seeing fans proudly wearing products that took us months to negotiate and launch.

My biggest personal accomplishment would be to have studied and lived in three different countries. I was very fortunate to be able to study abroad and chose the United States, China, and Brazil. These were all incredible, unforgettable experiences that shaped me as a person.

What are the most significant trends or changes that you’ve seen in the business in recent years?
The huge demand for anime products in every market! Working at Toei makes it all very exciting. It has become mainstream but it’s still quite recent, so there are some scared buyers/retailers, but nothing we can’t overcome. I truly believe anime properties are here to stay. 

What keeps you up at night? What’s your biggest challenge these days?
Climate change is my biggest concern right now. My biggest challenge would be to find ethical products and brands that match our properties.

In your opinion, what is the top skill every licensing executive should have in order to succeed?
Patience and a bit of passion. We have to be patient to find the right partners, to develop exciting products, and to implement the right activation. If you are willing to put the energy and the time into it, it will be worth it at the end.

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received, or what’s your favorite quote?
If you do something that you love, no one can tell you that you’re not successful.

What is your favorite licensing deal of all time? (It doesn’t have to be one that was signed by you.)
Mattel is doing quite a lot of exciting and inspiring collaborations with Barbie right now, like the Dreamhouse Airbnb collaboration! Another deal that I adore is the collaboration between Lush and One Piece. It matches perfectly in terms of universe. You have the bath, the boat, the devil fruits that are dissolving in the water—I wish I was at Toei then to work on it. My all-time favorite would be one I’m working on right now. Unfortunately, I can’t tell you anything about it yet. It’s a very exciting One Piece project in the toy category. Stay tuned!

If you weren’t in licensing, what would you be doing now?
I would probably be pursuing a career in marketing or event planning in the movie industry, in the amusement park industry, or in Formula 1. I was always drawn to the entertainment industry because it’s related to what I like in licensing—offering an escape to people. Ultimately, I always wanted a job that brings emotions to people on the daily basis. No matter if it’s crying in front of a movie, screaming on a roller coaster, cheering for your favorite F1 team, or being excited about the new video game you have been wanting for months!

The last licensed product I bought was…
Minnie ears at Disneyland Paris.