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Maurice Hennessy

Maurice Hennessy

International Hennessy Ambassador, Hennessy

Born in Neuilly in 1950, Maurice-Richard Hennessy spent all his youth in Cognac. He is the eighth generation of the family that came from Ireland in mid eighteen century and founded the Maison in 1765. He has the “cognac gene” as firmly in his DNA as his inherited passion for the terroir of Charente, the art of winegrowing, and fine gastronomy.

Trained as an agronomist at the Institut Technique et Pratique de l’Agriculture, he spent several years in West Africa working on international cooperation and development projects. He returned to Cognac in 1975 and joined the family business. After focusing on communications, Maurice-Richard moved to London in 1979, where he played an active role in the development of the British market.

Back in Cognac since 1984, he has been an extensive traveler, representing Hennessy in the world. As familiar with the history of Hennessy as with that of cognac itself, Maurice-Richard Hennessy embodies the memory and the legacy of the company. He speaks English, Spanish and Italian fluently, and particularly enjoys meeting new Hennessy aficionados during his trips abroad. Faithful to a long family tradition, he is also the owner of a vineyard, which involves him personally in the main activity of the region.

He lives near Cognac with his wife Catherine, where they often receive their three daughters and their grandchildren.

“When I tell people that X.O was invented by my great-great-grandfather for his friends, people understand that it’s a real story, that we know the dining room table where he sat. We are so certain that what we tell people is true that we embody it. If I take the example of the Richard Hennessy, I can say that I have my entire family in that bottle!”

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