Carlos Benaim, the Master Perfumer of IFF, is celebrating his 50th year with the flavour and fragrance company.
The perfumer is the nose behind some of the most high profile fragrance launches to date, including Euphoria by Calvin Klein, White Diamonds by Elizabeth Taylor, and Flowerbomb, Spicebomb, and Antidote by Viktor & Rolf, among many others.
Benaim said: “I want to talk not about what I did for IFF, but what IFF did for me.
“IFF trained me to be a perfumer, opened the doors of the major customers worldwide, and helped at every step along my path toward a successful international career.
“IFF gave me creative freedom. 50 years later, with all the clarity of hindsight, I know that finding IFF was one of the luckiest accidents of my life.”
Benaim joined IFF in 1967, when he answered an ad for a position, which resulted in an apprenticeship with perfumer Ernest Shiftan, dubbed the ‘father of perfumery’ at IFF.
He later trained with renowned perfumer Bernard Chant.
Among his accolades is the Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Society of Perfumers.
Master Perfumer since 2013, Benaim is described by IFF’s Group President of Fragrances Nicolas Mirzayantz as “a genius of perfumery”.
“A master of natural ingredients, Carlos is at the cutting edge of his creativity and innovation and I’m excited, as always, to see what successful and iconic fragrances he will create for us – and our customers – in the future.
“His passion for his art, the industry, and our customers is unparalleled. Beyond the extraordinary pleasure of having Carlos as my colleague, I am also proud to call him a dear and lifelong friend.”
