The Rhythms of Excellence: Kamyar Moghadam, leading through softness

In our series The Rhythms of Excellence, Monaco Tribune explores the daily practices of influential leaders in the Principality. The aim: to understand how these people shape their performance day after day – from morning rituals to decision-making frameworks that cultivate excellence.

Today, we meet Kamyar Moghadam in the living room of his villa in Èze-sur-Mer, overlooking the Mediterranean. He sips a steaming matcha latte – a drink that is becoming increasingly popular in Monaco. Around us, the fabrics, textures and materials that have made Maison Moghadam renowned create a warm and inviting atmosphere. Here, it is impossible to tell where the showroom ends and private life begins. And that, precisely, is the genius of this unconventional entrepreneur.

At exactly 7:38 a.m. – or sometimes as early as 5:36 – Kamyar Moghadam is already at work. But don’t look for a traditional desk, a laptop or multiple screens. The founder of Maison Moghadam (formerly Fashion For Floors) runs his empire from his bed, armed with a single ageing iPhone and WhatsApp.

“I don’t have a computer, no fixed desk. I’m nomadic,” he confides with a calm smile that contrasts with the intensity of his schedule. “WhatsApp is my main work tool. I send a huge number of voice messages first thing in the morning.”

This apparent simplicity conceals a sophisticated orchestration. With production in India, Nepal and Mexico, Kamyar juggles time zones, working with India during the European night and Mexico in the evening. What he calls his “bed office” is not laxity, but a freedom earned through the meticulous structuring of his company.

The architecture of a morning of excellence

Before anything else, two rituals are absolutely non-negotiable: time with his child and a massage lasting between one hour and an hour and a half. “That’s my morning routine. Without that, I can’t start the day,” he states. The daily massage is not an unnecessary luxury, but a strategic investment in his mental clarity and decision-making ability.

Then comes breakfast: his matcha, a beetroot and ginger juice prepared daily, and fruit – often picked directly from the garden of his villa. “And I have to listen to classical piano or jazz piano in the morning. It’s essential. The piano is my dream instrument, the one that inspires me the most.”

This attention to detail in his morning rituals reveals a deeper philosophy: “I need those 15 to 20 minutes alone in my bed, with the sun, my tea, my juice. That’s my moment.” In a world where entrepreneurs glorify hyperactivity at dawn, Kamyar claims the right to contemplative slowness.

Redefining luxury: comfort and freedom

“For me, luxury is being able to live the life I truly want to live,” Kamyar explains. This belief is reflected in his deliberately minimalistic technology choices. No sophisticated apps; even ChatGPT is “an adventure” for him. “I stay low-tech because that’s my freedom. It’s my luxury not having to do all that.”

This philosophy of comfort extends to every aspect of his work. His showrooms resemble homes – with fireplaces, functional kitchens and intimate spaces. His private club in the basement of Eichholtz by Moghadam, which has welcomed Bono, The Edge and other celebrities, is not just a networking venue; it’s an extension of his vision: creating spaces where people feel so comfortable that business happens naturally.

“It’s all about comfort. When you’re comfortable, things happen easily,” he sums up. “Even the way I sit – everything has to be comfortable. Because when you’re comfortable, things come easily.”

Vertical delegation: reversing the pyramid

Unlike most leaders who delegate downwards, Kamyar has designed a system of “vertical delegation”. Information rises from 50 employees to five key people, then reaches him in a condensed form. “It’s a filter. The information goes into a tunnel and comes up concentrated.”

This structure allows him to stay connected to everything – “all my employees know that I know everything, even if I’m not physically there” – while avoiding paralysing micromanagement. And when he detects a problem, he bypasses the hierarchy: “I go directly to the person concerned to find and resolve the issue.”

He has also created a “cell” of four young talents – some barely 19 years old – who work directly under his supervision. “They’re Gen Z with exceptional skills in areas I can’t master, even if I still feel young,” he acknowledges candidly. “Whether it’s AI or other fields, if you want to grow your company, you have to accept feeding it with new energy, new things you can’t know on your own.”

Mentorship as a growth engine

This mentorship approach reveals an important aspect of his leadership. “People come to see me constantly and I also like to respond, because I’ve been through a lot in my life and I have a lot of experience. It’s very rewarding to give your own experience and advice to someone younger to help them grow faster.”

His process is intuitive yet rigorous: “When I meet someone and I believe in that person, I bring them on board. I explain very clearly the mission we have, the strengths that person possesses, and that I will be there to help bring out the best of those strengths.” He compares it to polishing a rough diamond – identifying rare talent, then refining it relentlessly.

Networking reinvented: hospitality as strategy

“Networking is the foundation of all business success,” Kamyar says. But his approach differs radically from traditional networking events. “Now it comes naturally to me. I don’t really network in the sense of doing business. I bring people together. I connect them.”

His private bar, home dinners, showroom events – everything is designed to create a community. “It’s also important for my business, which is interior design and aesthetics, that people see how I live, how I present things, how I do things.”

Even his business lunches have evolved. “I now prefer to organise them in my showroom with my chef, rather than going to a restaurant.”

The elusive balance between work and life

When asked whether he ever fully disconnects, Kamyar laughs softly. “I don’t really have holidays because my holidays are at home.” He acknowledges being permanently connected, but adds nuance: “The question is: what do you define as work? If being present at the office is work, then yes, I don’t go to the showroom at the weekend. But work is my… I love my work. It’s also my pleasure.”

The fusion of passion and profession sheds light on his 14- to 15-hour days. “Honestly, I really love my work. I enjoy my work.” The only time he truly disconnects his phone? In Morocco, a destination he reserves exclusively for pleasure – even if, he admits, he is now also developing property projects there.

The path to recognition

Kamyar’s determination is rooted in his personal history. Hailing from a wealthy family but having had to leave the family home, he understood very early on that “the only way to succeed was to be successful, because that’s how things work in the family. You gain recognition through success.”

That initial driver has evolved into something deeper: “Today, success is being recognised. It’s realising your dream and your vision.” His strategic vision is crystal clear: “We are going to own the entire interior market in the south of France within the next three years.”

The secrets of sustainable performance

Beyond morning rituals, Kamyar maintains his performance through meticulous attention to nutrition – “super important” – and electrostimulation, which he uses for its efficiency: “Fifteen minutes is equivalent to an hour of traditional training. It gives me that buzz, that recharge exactly how I like it.”

But above all, he cultivates his environment with almost obsessive care. “Staying healthy is also about being happy. It’s all in the mindset. Living in an environment that is comfortable. I create an environment for myself that makes me happy.”

His sources of inspiration? No management books or trending podcasts. “I read the world at the moment,” he says simply. A geopolitics enthusiast, he consults sources as varied as the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, CNN, BBC, Al Jazeera and Le Monde to “collect that information and turn it into what I think.”

And his best mentors remain his clients: “My clients come from the very highest levels. Each of my clients is a superstar. They’ve achieved incredible things in business. I learn from them simply by being with them.”

The essence of leadership according to Moghadam

“True leadership is inspiring people, giving them a vision and also giving them comfort,” Kamyar concludes. He defines this comfort as security: “If people feel they’re working in an environment where they feel safe, where I, as a boss, give them that feeling of protection, that person will go far beyond what they would if they were living in fear.”

This philosophy naturally extends to his clients: “Comfort at home is something that makes them so happy, and it spreads. It’s word of mouth. Because they live the experience of my way of doing interiors. And my way of doing interiors is quite different from most others. It’s a more textured and layered life.”

Seated in his living room that could be a showroom, or in his showroom that could be a living room, Kamyar Moghadam embodies this philosophy of total comfort. His refusal of traditional meetings (“I hate meetings, they’re just a ventilation zone”), his organisation into 25 different WhatsApp groups, his ability to visualise spaces “in 5D with my eyes closed” – everything converges towards a simple yet rare truth: he has built a company that reflects exactly who he is.

“I’m an aesthete who makes people’s lives more beautiful,” he said in a previous interview. But after this intimate conversation, a more precise definition emerges: Kamyar Moghadam is an architect of comfort – in his spaces, in his relationships, in his management, and above all, in his own life. And it is precisely the absolute coherence between personal values and professional practices that makes him one of Monaco’s most fascinating entrepreneurs.