--- description: Find out how Thibaud Hug de Larauze is shaping the future and defining the next generation of leadership. title: Thibaud Hug de Larauze Is on the 2025 TIME100 Next image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3bead8a8786810b7/6998ca03d32e930628cd75bc/t100-next-2025-thibaud_de-Larauze.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 --- Sep 30, 2025 # Thibaud Hug de Larauze by [Charlotte Hu](/author/charlotte-hu/) ## Charlotte Hu Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Associate Editor  Julie Glassberg When Thibaud Hug de Larauze co-founded Back Market in 2014, not even 5% of smartphones sold in France were refurbished, and sellers were siloed across different platforms like eBay and Craigslist. The number today is nearly 36%, and Back Market played a major role in the shift. Launched as a trusted “supermarket” for refurbished devices, the platform hosts verified resellers and manages trade-in programs for manufacturers. Boasting over 15 million customers in 17 markets, Back Market helps lower carbon footprints by facilitating at-home repairs, and also has partnerships with nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) to train unemployed people to repair electronics. In a pilot recycling program in France, Hug de Larauze says, over 15% of the electronics received were refurbished and sold—largely to NGOs—with the remainder recycled. Back Market is also now profitable in Europe, which the CEO says proves a point: “It’s actually a big business opportunity.” Thibaud Hug de Larauze: TIME100 Next 2025 ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Article","@id":"https://time.com/collections/time100-next-2025/7318818/thibaud-hug-de-larauze/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/collections/time100-next-2025/7318818/thibaud-hug-de-larauze/"},"headline":"Thibaud Hug de Larauze","datePublished":"2025-09-30T10:51:31.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-03T00:54:57.765Z","description":"","url":"https://time.com/collections/time100-next-2025/7318818/thibaud-hug-de-larauze/","keywords":["TIME100 Next","sponsorshipblock","t100nextinnovators25"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3bead8a8786810b7/6998ca03d32e930628cd75bc/t100-next-2025-thibaud_de-Larauze.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Charlotte Hu","jobTitle":"Associate Editor","url":"https://time.com/author/charlotte-hu/"}],"creator":"Charlotte Hu","articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3bead8a8786810b7/6998ca03d32e930628cd75bc/t100-next-2025-thibaud_de-Larauze.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time100-next/","name":"TIME100 Next"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/collections/time100-next-2025/7318818/thibaud-hug-de-larauze/","name":"Thibaud Hug de Larauze"}}]}] ```