Louise Blouin MacBain
Encyclopedia
Louise Thérèse Blouin is a French-Canadian
magazine
publisher and philanthropist
. She is the CEO and President of Louise Blouin Media
, and the founder and chairman of the Louise T Blouin Foundation.
, the youngest of six children. Having worked part-time as a book-keeper whilst at school, she went on to McGill University
to study commerce, later switching to Concordia. She did not graduate but she did study at the Owner/President Management program at Harvard Business School
. In the early eighties, she met and married David Stewart, a member of the Canadian MacDonald tobacco family. The marriage was annulled within a year for unknown reasons.
, the two acquired Auto Hebdo, a classified car trading magazine, in 1987. The business grew into Trader Classified Media
, which acquired around 400 classified-advertisement
publications and – as an early adopter of the internet
– 60 websites over the next ten years in over 20 companies, with sales rising from $2m to $400m, and focus expanding from cars to include boats, real estate and jobs. As Chairman and CEO of Trader Classified Media for over 15 years, Louise Blouin and her management team and over 5,000 employees, was able to turn around over 80 companies. At Trader, Blouin had launched 60 magazines and compiled
over 400 publications internationally, which yielded 9 million readers per week.
Hebdo changed its name to Trader.com NV in 2000 after holding IPOs on NASDAQ and the Paris Premier Marché. It continued an acquisition spree that impacted its operating profits for two years, before becoming profitable in 2002. Blouin however, had exited the company in 2000 and not long thereafter divorced her second husband.
She later became CEO of international auction house Phillips, de Pury & Luxembourg
, resigning the position after a year, before setting up Louise Blouin Media
in 2003, and moving into art publications, acquiring Art+Auction
, Gallery Guide, Museums, Culture+Travel, and Modern Painters
within three years. She also founded ARTINFO
(www.artinfo.com), an online portal for access to the world of arts and culture.
Louise has also had some negative press. An article in New York Post noted people who have had problems with Louise: One group, WAAANKAA (Writers Angry At Artinfo Not Kidding Around Anymore), have demanded payments of $18,000 that Louise has neglected to pay them. Despite her philanthropic efforts, her business practices should be further scrutinized...
The foundation's projects since its inception include:
The Louise Blouin Foundation organizes the Blouin Creative Leadership Summit as a think tank style forum. The Louise Blouin Foundation is a strategic partner of the United Nations Office for Partnerships. The annual Summit is covered by international media outlets and is accessible online via audio podcasts and videos.
The Louise T Blouin Foundation's flagship event took place at Harold Pratt House, New York City
in November 2006. Its stated aim was:
Notable speakers included:
, west London
. A gallery space combined with a centre for the foundation's work, its opening exhibition featured light installation pieces by California
n artist James Turrell
. Lecturers organised to speak on the theme of art, light and science in tandem with the exhibition included Professors Semir Zeki
, Martin Kemp
and Sir Michael Berry.
The foundation's website lists the philosophy of the institute as follows:
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
magazine
Magazine
Magazines, periodicals, glossies or serials are publications, generally published on a regular schedule, containing a variety of articles. They are generally financed by advertising, by a purchase price, by pre-paid magazine subscriptions, or all three...
publisher and philanthropist
Philanthropist
A philanthropist is someone who engages in philanthropy; that is, someone who donates his or her time, money, and/or reputation to charitable causes...
. She is the CEO and President of Louise Blouin Media
Louise Blouin Media
Louise Blouin Media is an art magazine, website and book publishing company which was founded in 2001 by Louise Blouin MacBain and is under the parent company LTB Holding. Louise Blouin Media's titles include Art+Auction, Gallery Guide, and Modern Painters magazines. ARTINFO is the online...
, and the founder and chairman of the Louise T Blouin Foundation.
Early life
Louise Thérèse Blouin was born in MontrealMontreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
, the youngest of six children. Having worked part-time as a book-keeper whilst at school, she went on to McGill University
McGill University
Mohammed Fathy is a public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The university bears the name of James McGill, a prominent Montreal merchant from Glasgow, Scotland, whose bequest formed the beginning of the university...
to study commerce, later switching to Concordia. She did not graduate but she did study at the Owner/President Management program at Harvard Business School
Harvard Business School
Harvard Business School is the graduate business school of Harvard University in Boston, Massachusetts, United States and is widely recognized as one of the top business schools in the world. The school offers the world's largest full-time MBA program, doctoral programs, and many executive...
. In the early eighties, she met and married David Stewart, a member of the Canadian MacDonald tobacco family. The marriage was annulled within a year for unknown reasons.
Media career
Having later married John MacBainJohn MacBain
John H McCall MacBain is the founder, President, and Chief Executive Officer of Trader Classified Media, one of the world's largest classified advertising companies...
, the two acquired Auto Hebdo, a classified car trading magazine, in 1987. The business grew into Trader Classified Media
Trader Classified Media
Trader Classified Media is one of the largest classified advertising companies in the world. It was founded in 1987 and currently operates over 575 print titles and 56 websites in 20 countries. The company focuses particularly on the automotive, real estate, jobs and general merchandise sectors. ...
, which acquired around 400 classified-advertisement
Classified advertising
Classified advertising is a form of advertising which is particularly common in newspapers, online and other periodicals which may be sold or distributed free of charge...
publications and – as an early adopter of the internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
– 60 websites over the next ten years in over 20 companies, with sales rising from $2m to $400m, and focus expanding from cars to include boats, real estate and jobs. As Chairman and CEO of Trader Classified Media for over 15 years, Louise Blouin and her management team and over 5,000 employees, was able to turn around over 80 companies. At Trader, Blouin had launched 60 magazines and compiled
over 400 publications internationally, which yielded 9 million readers per week.
Hebdo changed its name to Trader.com NV in 2000 after holding IPOs on NASDAQ and the Paris Premier Marché. It continued an acquisition spree that impacted its operating profits for two years, before becoming profitable in 2002. Blouin however, had exited the company in 2000 and not long thereafter divorced her second husband.
She later became CEO of international auction house Phillips, de Pury & Luxembourg
Phillips de Pury & Company
Phillips de Pury & Company is an auction house and art dealership, with offices in London, New York, Geneva, Berlin, Brussels, Los Angeles, Milan, Munich and Paris. Phillips conducts auctions in New York, London and Geneva in the areas of Contemporary Art, Photography, 20-21st Century Design, Art...
, resigning the position after a year, before setting up Louise Blouin Media
Louise Blouin Media
Louise Blouin Media is an art magazine, website and book publishing company which was founded in 2001 by Louise Blouin MacBain and is under the parent company LTB Holding. Louise Blouin Media's titles include Art+Auction, Gallery Guide, and Modern Painters magazines. ARTINFO is the online...
in 2003, and moving into art publications, acquiring Art+Auction
Art & Auction
Art+Auction is a monthly art magazine published in New York City by Louise Blouin Media. The magazine is published 12 times per year; it includes special features & art news stories, art & collector profiles, reviews & auction reports, calendar of art events, art market trends & insider market...
, Gallery Guide, Museums, Culture+Travel, and Modern Painters
Modern Painters (magazine)
Modern Painters is a monthly art magazine published in New York City by Louise Blouin Media. The magazine is published 10 times per year; it includes profiles on two international artists per issue; columns by international contributors; interviews with and articles by contemporary artists and...
within three years. She also founded ARTINFO
ARTINFO
Artinfo is the web site of Louise Blouin Media, a cultural media group.Artinfo focuses on coverage of the art world and culture with daily updates of breaking news, artist profiles, stories about collectors and collecting, gallery round-ups from around the world, market trends and analysis, and...
(www.artinfo.com), an online portal for access to the world of arts and culture.
Louise has also had some negative press. An article in New York Post noted people who have had problems with Louise: One group, WAAANKAA (Writers Angry At Artinfo Not Kidding Around Anymore), have demanded payments of $18,000 that Louise has neglected to pay them. Despite her philanthropic efforts, her business practices should be further scrutinized...
Philanthropy
Louise Blouin founded the Louise T Blouin Foundation in 2005, with the aim of raising awareness about the role culture and creativity can play in resolving global issues. The foundation's website lists its two core aims as:- Encouraging a better understanding of foreign affairs and culture beyond borders through international cooperation, exchange and dialogue for the 21st century.
- Exploring the broader practical significance of creativity and the creative potential of the human brain.
The foundation's projects since its inception include:
- being the principal supporter for the staging of StravinskyIgor StravinskyIgor Fyodorovich Stravinsky ; 6 April 1971) was a Russian, later naturalized French, and then naturalized American composer, pianist, and conductor....
's The Soldier's TaleHistoire du soldatHistoire du soldat , composed by Igor Stravinsky, is a 1918 theatrical work "to be read, played, and danced" . The libretto, which is based on a Russian folk tale, was written in French by the Swiss universalist writer C.F. Ramuz...
at The Old Vic theatre, LondonLondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, in 2005; a collaboration between IraqiIraqi peopleThe Iraqi people or Mesopotamian people are natives or inhabitants of the country of Iraq, known since antiquity as Mesopotamia , with a large diaspora throughout the Arab World, Europe, the Americas, and...
and EuropeanEuropean ethnic groupsThe ethnic groups in Europe are the various ethnic groups that reside in the nations of Europe. European ethnology is the field of anthropology focusing on Europe....
actors - 'Bring Back New Orleans' – support for a research project into rebuilding the cultural infrastructure of New Orleans in the wake of Hurricane KatrinaHurricane KatrinaHurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was a powerful Atlantic hurricane. It is the costliest natural disaster, as well as one of the five deadliest hurricanes, in the history of the United States. Among recorded Atlantic hurricanes, it was the sixth strongest overall...
- '4 Generations' – a multi-part TV series, chronicling the stories of two families, one IsraelIsraelThe State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
i, one PalestinianPalestinian peopleThe Palestinian people, also referred to as Palestinians or Palestinian Arabs , are an Arabic-speaking people with origins in Palestine. Despite various wars and exoduses, roughly one third of the world's Palestinian population continues to reside in the area encompassing the West Bank, the Gaza...
, in partnership with the Film SchoolFilm schoolThe term film school is used to describe any educational institution dedicated to teaching aspects of filmmaking, including such subjects as film production, film theory, digital media production, and screenwriting. Film history courses and hands-on technical training are usually incorporated into...
of Tel Aviv UniversityTel Aviv UniversityTel Aviv University is a public university located in Ramat Aviv, Tel Aviv, Israel. With nearly 30,000 students, TAU is Israel's largest university.-History:...
and the Royal JordanJordanJordan , officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan , Al-Mamlaka al-Urduniyya al-Hashemiyya) is a kingdom on the East Bank of the River Jordan. The country borders Saudi Arabia to the east and south-east, Iraq to the north-east, Syria to the north and the West Bank and Israel to the west, sharing...
ian Film Commission - 'Making the Case for Culture' – support for a research project with the OECD which investigates the possibility of a link between the quality of life in a country and the amount of its GDP spent on culture
- cultural exchange programmes with ChinaChinaChinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
and with The Middle East - 'Art and the New Biology of Mind' – a think-tank at Columbia UniversityColumbia UniversityColumbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
, New York CityNew York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
in March 2006, featuring debate between artists (such as David SalleDavid SalleDavid Salle is an American painter who helped define postmodern sensibility by combining figuration with a varied pictorial language of multi-imagery...
, Richard MeierRichard MeierRichard Meier is an American architect, whose rationalist buildings make prominent use of the color white.- Biography :Meier is Jewish and was born in Newark, New Jersey...
and George CondoGeorge CondoGeorge Condo is an American contemporary visual artist.-Life and career:Condo works in the medium of painting and sculpture...
) and scientists (such as Richard AxelRichard AxelRichard Axel is an American neuroscientist whose work on the olfactory system won him and Linda B. Buck, a former post-doctoral scientist in his research group, the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2004....
, Eric Kandel and Joseph LeDoux) toward a clearer understanding of the ways in which the brain responds to art - 'Music and the Brain' – a research review exploring how the brain processes music and how music can affect psychological development.
The Blouin Creative Leadership Summit
The annual Blouin Creative Leadership Summit unites Heads of State, Nobel Laureates, private sector CEOs, artists, doctors, and leader in the areas of science, technology, culture, business, and politics. The two day executive level speaking engagement explores the challenges and opportunities presented by globalization. Delegates discuss the implications of globalization on an array of topics ranging from global health to economics to human safety.The Louise Blouin Foundation organizes the Blouin Creative Leadership Summit as a think tank style forum. The Louise Blouin Foundation is a strategic partner of the United Nations Office for Partnerships. The annual Summit is covered by international media outlets and is accessible online via audio podcasts and videos.
The Louise T Blouin Foundation's flagship event took place at Harold Pratt House, New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
in November 2006. Its stated aim was:
By bringing together influential leaders in business, technology, government, science and the arts, the Global Creative Leadership Summit, hosted by the LTB Foundation, hopes to unleash insights that will have practical implications for problem-solving across disciplines. How can business and government leaders benefit from knowing more about how the brain works? How can those who see the world differently come together to break through today’s complex challenges?
Notable speakers included:
- Nobel Laureates Henry KissingerHenry KissingerHeinz Alfred "Henry" Kissinger is a German-born American academic, political scientist, diplomat, and businessman. He is a recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize. He served as National Security Advisor and later concurrently as Secretary of State in the administrations of Presidents Richard Nixon and...
, Richard AxelRichard AxelRichard Axel is an American neuroscientist whose work on the olfactory system won him and Linda B. Buck, a former post-doctoral scientist in his research group, the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2004....
, James WatsonJames D. WatsonJames Dewey Watson is an American molecular biologist, geneticist, and zoologist, best known as one of the co-discoverers of the structure of DNA in 1953 with Francis Crick...
and Eric Kandel - Scientists V.S. Ramachandran, Mehmet OzMehmet OzMehmet Cengiz Oz , also known as Dr. Oz, is a Turkish-American cardiothoracic surgeon, author, talk show host, and commentator for The Dr. Oz Show, a daily television program focusing on medical issues/personal health....
and Lisa RandallLisa RandallLisa Randall is an American theoretical physicist and a leading expert on particle physics and cosmology. She works on several of the competing models of string theory in the quest to explain the fabric of the universe. Her most well known contribution to the field is the Randall-Sundrum model,... - Spiritual leader Sri Sri Ravi ShankarSri Sri Ravi ShankarRavi Shankar usually known as Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, born Ravi Shankar Ratnam, born 13 May 1956) is a spiritual leader and founder of the Art of Living Foundation , which aims at relieving individual stress, societal problems and violence. It is an NGO with UNESCO consultative status...
- Journalist Arianna HuffingtonArianna HuffingtonArianna Huffington is a Greek American author and syndicated columnist. She is best known as co-founder of the news website The Huffington Post. A popular conservative commentator in the mid-1990s, she adopted more liberal political beliefs in the late 1990s...
; chess grandmaster Susan PolgarSusan PolgarSusan Polgar is a Hungarian-American chess Grandmaster...
; then-Saudi Ambassador to the US Prince Turki Al FaisalTurki bin Faisal al-SaudPrince Turki bin Faisal Al Saud , known also as Turki Al Faisal, is a member of the Saudi royal family. He is one of the founders of the King Faisal Foundation and serves as Chairman of the King Faisal Center for Research and Islamic Studies.From 1977 to 2001, Turki was the Director General of Al...
; artists Chuck CloseChuck CloseCharles Thomas "Chuck" Close is an American painter and photographer who achieved fame as a photorealist, through his massive-scale portraits...
and Richard SerraRichard SerraRichard Serra is an American minimalist sculptor and video artist known for working with large-scale assemblies of sheet metal. Serra was involved in the Process Art Movement.-Early life and education:...
; CEO of the Blackstone GroupBlackstone GroupThe Blackstone Group L.P. is an American-based alternative asset management and financial services company that specializes in private equity, real estate, and credit and marketable alternative investment strategies, as well as financial advisory services, such as mergers and acquisitions ,...
and Stephen SchwarzmanStephen A. SchwarzmanStephen Allen Schwarzman is an American businessman and investor and the chairman and co-founder of the Blackstone Group, the private-equity and financial advisory firm.-Early life and education:...
. - H.E. President of Georgia Mikheil Saakashvili.
The Louise T Blouin Institute
In October 2006 the foundation opened the Louise T Blouin Institute in Shepherd's BushShepherd's Bush
-Commerce:Commercial activity in Shepherd's Bush is now focused on the Westfield shopping centre next to Shepherd's Bush Central line station and on the many small shops which run along the northern side of the Green....
, west London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. A gallery space combined with a centre for the foundation's work, its opening exhibition featured light installation pieces by California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
n artist James Turrell
James Turrell
James Turrell is an American artist primarily concerned with light and space. Turrell was a MacArthur Fellow in 1984. He is represented by The Pace Gallery in New York...
. Lecturers organised to speak on the theme of art, light and science in tandem with the exhibition included Professors Semir Zeki
Semir Zeki
Semir Zeki is a professor of neuroesthetics at University College London. His main interest is the organization of the primate visual brain. He published his first scientific paper in 1967...
, Martin Kemp
Martin Kemp (art historian)
Martin Kemp is Emeritus Research Professor in the History of Art at Oxford University. He has written and broadcast extensively on imagery in art and science from the Renaissance to the present day...
and Sir Michael Berry.
The foundation's website lists the philosophy of the institute as follows:
The philosophy of the Institute will be experimentation, questioning, debate, learning, and there will be two focuses of activity. The first is to present the work of individual artists through temporary exhibitions, installations, performances and screenings. We will also promote a lively programme of events such as lectures, debates, workshops, think-tanks and summits related to the Foundation’s areas of interest.
Trivia
- She is known to have dyslexiaDyslexiaDyslexia is a very broad term defining a learning disability that impairs a person's fluency or comprehension accuracy in being able to read, and which can manifest itself as a difficulty with phonological awareness, phonological decoding, orthographic coding, auditory short-term memory, or rapid...
, and has often stated her belief in the enhanced creative abilities of those who have the condition. - The Sunday Times Rich List 2005Sunday Times Rich List 2005The Sunday Times Rich List 2005 was published in April 2005.Since 1989 the UK national Sunday newspaper The Sunday Times has published an annual magazine supplement to the newspaper called the Sunday Times Rich List...
placed her at equal 192nd place, estimating her fortune at £250 million.
External links
- The Louise T Blouin Foundation website (also contains information about the Louise T Blouin Institute)
- Website for the Blouin Creative Leadership Summit
- ARTINFO.com
- Louise Blouin Media website
- Art+Auction magazine
- Gallery Guide magazine
- Modern Painters magazine
- Culture+Travel magazine
- MYARTINFO.com a social networking website for artists
- Interview Guardian interview, October 2006