Le Baron Perché is a way of thinking, leading and convening based on the learnings from place, curiosity and the power of exchange.
Through presence with place, we work with companies and creatives to get to the essence of what matters, see potential, organise and make decisions with a wider view.
Convening
Bringing leaders, creatives, investors, artists, producers and communities into conversation.
Place-based thinking
It starts by paying close attention to what already exists before deciding what should come next.
Strategic experience
Shaped over time by Vanessa Rothschild’s work in business, governance and leadership.
Curiosity
Curiosity is the key to discover how we can do things differently.
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Learning from place
Places based in nature are at the core of Le Baron Perché. The name itself is the title of a book written by Italo Calvino, about a boy who goes up to live among the trees, and from there sees life from a different perspective.
Oftentimes, this is just what we need, to be in touch with nature, nurtured by its beauty, and take the time to let it change our views. From there, we can make different decisions, based on the understanding that we are part of life, and not separate from it.
Living in Sarreyer, 1250 m d’altitude, and slowly bringing an old barn back to life gave this thinking a physical place to develop. Nature, community and the rhythms of mountain life made visible many of the principles Vanessa had encountered through her professional work: interdependence, adaptation, stewardship and the value of understanding a system before trying to change it.
Sarreyer and its community continue to teach Vanessa to observe: the seasons, the soil, how a community works, what grows, what endures and what needs to adapt. Observing in this way leads to different types of actions and decisions.
This type of attention to place can be applied to an individual or corporate journey. Through curious exploration, we discover, learn and are able to apply and bring insights to our own creative journey and strategic choices, bringing about creations and businesses that are in Service of Life.
Place is a method, not a backdrop
Get beneath complexity to understand what really matters
02
Getting in touch with essence
Once we are in touch with being part of life, we can start exploring our own relationship to it, and what we are here to do. This brings us, as individuals, creatives, teams, leaders and investors, to a place of alignment with our core values and purpose.
Le Baron Perché combines strategic experience with curiosity and intuition to identify the values, qualities and potential already present. Essence becomes a compass for creative work, leadership and decision-making.
Through place-based thinking, we explore and discover essence of place, to bring insights into our own creative journeys and choices.
For example, the barn itself has been an exercise in this type of thinking: not starting with what it should become, but understanding what is already there, what belongs and what is worth carrying forward.
What we learn from one specific place and community, can often be applied, in one way or another, in our own context. Curiosity is the key to discover how we can do things differently.
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Bringing people together
Le Baron Perché began with an idea of creating somewhere for people to gather. That intention remains, yet the thinking has grown beyond its walls.
We learn from each other, at the edges of different communities, generations, teams and industries. At Le Baron Perché, the exchange that happens between people is what brings us forward. The collaboration itself is an outcome.
Vanessa convenes and facilitates across disciplines, generations and points of view, bringing leaders, creatives, investors, artists, producers and communities into conversation. This can happen around a table in Sarreyer, while walking in the mountains, or somewhere entirely different. Always somewhere beautiful, where we feel part of something bigger.
The best learnings happen through exchange
Work with LE BARON PERCHÉ
While collaborating, the aim is to create the conditions for better questions, creativity, new connections and decisions rooted in what matters. The starting point is that we are part of life, not separate from it. The way we work together can take different forms depending on the needs.
Boards & Governance
Serving as a board member, bringing experience in sustainability strategy, family-founded governance, culture and nature-based thinking.
Board membership
Multi-stakeholder engagement
Long-term stewardship
Convening & Facilitation
Hosting and facilitating gatherings where leaders, teams and creatives explore important questions, drawing on the people and places around them.
Leadership & board retreats
Cross-generational gatherings for family businesses
Creative workshops in collaboration with artists
Speaking & Conversations
Speaking at events and moderating panels, drawing on experience in fashion and sustainability, nature-based leadership and life in a mountain community. With a particular interest in finding essence and bringing it to life.
Keynotes & talks at events
Panel moderation
Hosted conversations
