The Founder of Pamplemousse PR Reflects on Life and Career Lessons Learned
By Katelyn Simone
Victoria Hood, Founder of Pamplemousse PR
For communications executive Victoria Hood ’08 and G’10, the world is her grapefruit—bright, vibrant and bursting with potential. Hood has drawn on her rich international experience, both personal and professional, to create her lifestyle public relations firm, Pamplemousse PR—named for the French word for grapefruit. Working with clients across the luxury sector, Hood leverages a fresh, global perspective and a depth of cultural literacy to uplift brands and shape distinctive messaging that resonates worldwide.
Hood’s international journey began early. Her English-Australian father and Croatian-French mother worked around the world and Hood lived at various times in London, New York, Hong Kong and Brazil. Attending AUP was a natural next step; while studying at American University, Washington DC, Hood came to Paris through an exchange program, fell in love with the city, and decided to transfer to AUP to pursue a BA in Comparative Literature.
Jardin du Luxembourg, Paris, France
The new environment challenged Hood in new ways. “Paris taught me a lot of life skills,” she says. “I had to sharpen my abilities and think in a different language.” She studied comparative literature, and her professors pushed her to improve her writing and analytical skills—she developed a rigor that became crucial in her communications career, from crafting pitches and presentations to strategic planning and assessing media trends. “It was a phenomenal experience that shaped who I am today,” she explains. “All that training helps me pare down someone's story, hone a clear pitch, and come up with relevant analogies for brands.”
In 1893, Frédéric Boucheron was the first of the great contemporary jewelers to open a boutique on Place Vendôme.
With this strong foundation, Hood embarked on roles that further developed her cultural fluency and understanding of luxury industries. She began with internships at NARS Cosmetics in New York and French jewelry house Boucheron in Paris. After a stint in London at Ralph Lauren Home, she returned to Paris to earn her MA in Global Communications from AUP while consulting in high-end fashion in Southeast Asia. Next, she moved to Singapore to work as a fashion brand manager at FJ Benjamin, followed by Hong Kong and London. Eventually, she settled in New York, transitioning into hospitality, food, and wine, working at agencies like Nadine Johnson. She helped launch several products—including the “Summer in a Bottle” wine range—for Wölffer Estate vineyards.
A turnkey apartment designed by Jeffrey Beers International (JBI) for One57.
In 2016, Hood took a position directing communications for Jeffrey Beers International, a leading design studio. Over the next eight years, she worked with clients around the world. “My background was perfect—from helping promote their work internationally to nuances in client relationships,” Hood says. She relished the diversity of her projects, from casinos to corporate offices to boutique properties. Hood also found a formative mentor in the firm's founder, the architect and artist Jeffrey Beers. “His wealth of knowledge and experience was a driving creative force for everyone,” she says. With Beers’ support, Hood launched Pamplemousse PR as a side project in 2019. She chose the name because it was “light, cheerful and uplifting.”
Beers’ untimely passing from cancer in early 2024 created profound challenges for Hood—both personally and in leading the firm’s communications. “It meant protecting the family's privacy, getting ahead of the industry and press, and reassuring clients the firm was as strong as ever.” This period honed her strategic communication and crisis management skills.
A master bedroom designed by Assure Interiors for a private client in Miami.
By July 2024, Hood was ready to go solo with Pamplemousse. “It was the right time,” she says. “Sometimes you’ve just got to believe in yourself and do it.” Her work spans arts and culture, design, food and wine, and travel. She credits her versatility and ability to craft compelling pitches to her literature studies at AUP.
She also stresses the importance of patience: “Rome wasn't built in a day—Kim Kardashian wasn't born Kim Kardashian.” Her company’s mantra is: Slow and steady not only wins the race, but also creates a long-lasting impression and legacy. The approach is paying off: a Miami-based interior design company she’s worked with for 18 months, called Assure Interiors, is now winning awards and garnering coverage in major American and European publications. “That's the most fulfilling part of my job,” she says, “when clients tell me how much they're getting noticed.”
This article first appeared on AUP's website on Friday, September 27 here.
Credit
Portrait Photography: Elena Uryadova
Jardin Du Luxembourg: French Senate
Place Vendôme: Boucheron
JBI Designed Apartment: Eric Laignel
Assure Designed Bedroom: Richard Powers
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