Jung Ick Lee (MBA 08): “A good marketer understands the emotions behind a brand”

From L’Oréal where he worked for multiple brands, to LVMH and now Tissot, Jung Ick Lee (MBA 08) has built an outstanding career in luxury brand management, between Hong Kong and Seoul. A graduate of the ESSEC Global MBA in International Luxury Brand Management, he represents a generation of global Korean leaders combining strategic thinking, creativity, and a deep passion for brands. Now General Manager of Tissot Korea, he shares his insights on how luxury brands must balance digital innovation with the emotional connection of physical experience.

Starting out at L’Oréal: Learning the Power of Brands

His journey began in the early 2000s, when international groups were expanding rapidly across Korea: “My first internship was at LG Group, followed by L’Oréal. At that time, internships were extremely competitive. Working in the Kerastase division and later on men’s skincare and fragrances for Lancôme was a real school of marketing.” In a predominantly female environment — “About 85% of my colleagues were women; I was a bit of an outlier!” — he quickly learned how to navigate between products, emotions, and strategy. After five years in marketing, he moved to a commercial role in Hong Kong, seeking to gain a broader, more global perspective on business operations.

Choosing ESSEC: a Turning Point

After several years in the beauty industry, he decided to take his career global: “I knew I wanted to do an MBA. The United States seemed like the obvious choice, but at L’Oréal, many executives were French — and many were from ESSEC!” A conversation with Denis Morisset, a luxury expert and professor, now Director of the Luxury Career Lab of the ESSEC Global MBA, convinced him: “At the time, few programmes offered a true luxury specialisation — maybe only Bocconi. ESSEC was the perfect match for my background, and it had strong links with L’Oréal.”
 During his studies, he worked on a consulting project for Bacardi, repositioning the Grey Goose brand: “It was intense, concrete and transformative. I’m still in touch with the team today.” And “ESSEC is a great a French brand — not the most famous at that time in Korea, but highly respected. The CEO of L’Oréal is an ESSEC alumnus!”

From Beauty to Swiss Precision: Mastering Brand Transformation

Leading the Duty Free Division as North Asia area manager for L’Oréal Luxe in Hong Kong, joining Giorgio Armani Beauty in 2011 as General Manager for Korea, then Fresh (LVMH) in 2013, each role deepened his understanding of Asian luxury consumers behaviors. In 2017, he joined Tissot, part of the Swatch Group, as General Manager— a shift from beauty to watches that felt natural: “Tissot wanted to modernise its image, especially toward male consumers. My background in cosmetics helped — it’s an industry that’s both emotional and data-driven.” Under his leadership, the brand achieved a 30% growth rate, combining digital reach with a renewed focus on the retail experience: “Digital has become ordinary for younger generations. It no longer creates excitement. What truly matters now is what happens offline — the experience, the human connection, the service.”
 He also adapted the brand’s distribution strategy to the realities of the Korean market: “In Korea, 90% of retail is controlled by large conglomerates like Lotte and Shinsegae. You need agility and creativity to thrive in that ecosystem.”

ESSEC and Luxury in Asia: a Pioneering Relationship

Deeply proud of his diploma, Jung Ick Lee emphasises ESSEC’s forward-thinking vision in Asia: “ESSEC was one of the first European business schools to establish strong academic partnerships, really avant-garde. It had the right intuition before many others.” He admits, however, that this influence is sometimes underestimated: “At Seoul National University, there are only four active double-degree programmes. And some faculty members don’t know one of them is with ESSEC. ESSEC’s global reach is truly unique.”
 Today, he is an active member of the ESSEC Alumni South Korea chapter. He animates its Luxury Group, which brings together around thirty ESSEC graduates from major luxury houses, from Céline to Guerlain, Burberry, Dior and many more: “I’m very proud to belong to this network. It’s the right time to give back and help strengthen ESSEC’s presence in Korea.”

A Thoughtful View on Brands and Consumers

Alongside his professional career, Jung Ick Lee completed a PhD on luxury brand management, focusing on consumer behaviour related to luxury goods and service: "Behind every brand lies something invisible — a story, a culture, a sense of coherence.” He now teaches Luxury Marketing to young professionals, encouraging them to look beyond KPIs and market share: “Marketing isn’t just about numbers or analysis — it’s about emotion. Understanding the emotions behind the brand, that’s what makes a great marketer.”

Between marketing strategy, brand psychology, and cross-cultural leadership, Jung Ick Lee stands out as a professional who moves seamlessly from operations to vision, from analysis to emotion. His journey perfectly illustrates the values that ESSEC instils in its graduates worldwide: curiosity, precision, and passion for brands.