POL ROGER has a new recruit, having recently welcomed Bastien Collard de Billy into the fold – the first sixth- generation family member to work for the Champagne house, which was founded in 1849. After attaining political science degrees in Bordeaux and Paris, Collard, nephew of fifth-generation director Hubert de Billy, worked as a lawyer for a top-tier firm in Paris.

In 2017 he was appointed as a mergers- and-acquisitions lawyer at the headquarters of Pernod Ricard, and subsequently held the same position with the Cognac and Champagne subsidiary of the group. Both experiences proved invaluable training for his current role as general secretary at Pol Roger. “The law firm I started out at had the same culture as Pol Roger, and the same way of doing business. It taught me the importance of having a strong work ethic, and helped me to become very rigorous and methodical in my approach,” Collard says. “It also taught me the importance of always being one step ahead and learning how to anticipate things, which is a skill you need in all businesses.”