Sharon Macbeath, CHRO, Hermès

Sharon MacBeath is the seniormost executive responsible for human resources at Hermès, where she sits on the company’s executive board. 

Hermès was founded in 1837 when expert leather maker Thierry Hermès opened a Paris workshop to make horse harnesses for European nobility. The company has thrived since then while maintaining its commitment to exquisite craftmanship and uncompromising quality across a range of product lines including leather goods, clothing, home furnishing, and the iconic Birkin and Kelly bags. 

Hermès is the 42nd largest company in the world by market capitalization. Its employee count has approximately doubled in the last ten years, to 22,000. Measured by total shareholder returns, it is one of the most financially successful companies in the world.

Core to Hermès success is its distinctive and, remarkably, unwritten culture. On Glassdoor, employees are multiple standard deviations more favorable about toxic culture, organizational support, and empowerment than peer companies in the luxury space: all core elements of Hermès’ humanistic approach to culture, yet just a small subset of the many cultural dimensions where Hermès significantly outperforms peers. 

In this episode, Sharon lets us dive into one of the most enigmatic and successful cultures in the world, sharing what Hermès’ culture actually is and how leadership has been able to preserve it so effectively for nearly two centuries in the face of transformative growth, especially during her own tenure. 

Link to Hermès Universal Registration Document

Link to excellent Acquired podcast on Hermès