Former Puig president Mariano Puig dies

Businessman Mariano Puig, former president of Puig and architect of the multinational Spanish fragrance company's international expansion, has passed away at the age of 93. 

The Catalan company announced the former executive's death in a release that highlighted his skills as a businessman and leader, as well as his keen instincts for business expansion. 

Born in Barcelona in 1927, Mariano Puig was part of the second generation of the Puig family. He trained as a chemical engineer and also studied at Barcelona's IESE Business School. He was married to María Guasch, with whom he had four sons and a daughter.

Perhaps the biggest achievement of his business career was his transformation of Puig into an international company. Having signed off on a distribution deal for the Agua Lavanda Puig fragrance in the U.S. in the late 1950s, Mariano Puig secured a contract with the Max Factor brand, serving as its distributor in Spain for more than 15 years.

The company's experience in the U.S. led to a jump to Paris in 1968, when the group formed a partnership with designer Paco Rabanne for the creation of his fragrances. From there the company secured a deal with Carolina Herrera for the production of the brand's perfumes in 1987, before also acquiring the label's fashion division in 1995. 

As a businessman, Mariano Puig was president of the Instituto de la Empresa Familiar from 1995 to 1997 and, in February 2019, he received the Reino de España Award from Spain's King Felipe VI. In 2014, he received the Foment Medal of Honour for a Business Career and, in 2016, the Gold Medal of Merit in Labour from the Spanish government's Ministry of Labour and Social Economy.

In 1998, he also received the Distinguished Family Business Award from IMD on the behalf of the Puig family, as well as the Family Business Award from Kellog University, Chicago, in 2003. 

A sportsman and sea lover in his youth, Mariano Puig was also a member of the Spanish waterskiing team and was twice national champion, as well as president of the Spanish Waterskiing Federation. In addition, he was a trustee of the Princess of Asturias Foundation and the Royal Spanish Academy, among many other institutions. 

Currently, the multinational fragrance and fashion company that bears his family name is led by his son, Marc Puig.