The Team

Born in Rio de Janeiro in 1987, Flora Bonfanti is a writer and the founder of La Sphère. Her work spans literature, philosophy, theatre, and comparative spirituality. After studying in Brazil and later in Paris, she pursued a personal line of inquiry informed by European traditions, Chinese cosmology, and Afro-Brazilian spiritualities. Now based between Paris and Rio de Janeiro, Flora Bonfanti leads La Sphère as a cultural and spiritual laboratory open to contemporary cross-cultural and intellectual exchanges.

She is a member of the International Advisory Board of the MAK – Museum of Applied Arts, Vienna.

Carolina Perlingiere leads La Sphère’s strategy, development and overall management. She brings together strategic, organizational and creative experience, shaped by more than fifteen years of work across the private sector and international organizations in Brazil, Singapore and the United States.

Over the course of her career, Carolina has worked with the United Nations Global Compact, the Principles for Responsible Investment and the United Nations Development Programme, as well as in sustainability strategy and reporting, responsible investment and climate-related issues. She is co-founder of Rio Ethical Fashion, a forum dedicated to sustainable fashion in Latin America.

Carolina holds a Master of Public Administration from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs, a Master of Public Policy from the National University of Singapore, and a BSc in International Relations from IBMEC in Rio de Janeiro.

A theologian, Talmudic scholar, and Hebrew calligrapher, Nissim Sultan contributes to the intellectual direction of La Sphère and oversees the development of its annual programme. His work explores the relationships between spiritual traditions, collective imaginaries, and contemporary challenges. Through lectures, dialogues, and research programmes, he situates La Sphère within an ongoing reflection on the circulation of ideas and the role of cultural inheritances in modern societies.

Nissim Sultan was trained in Talmudic academies (yeshivot) and at the Rabbinical School of France. For twenty-five years he served as a rabbi in several cities across France, accompanying congregants, developing teaching, and strengthening community life. Deeply engaged in bioethical reflection, societal issues, and interfaith dialogue, he furthered his research in medieval and contemporary Jewish philosophy, with a commitment to intellectual exchange and the sharing of knowledge. At the end of his rabbinical career, he has spent the past five years—alongside his research—dedicating himself to the Hebrew calligraphy of sacred texts and overseeing the programming of a Talmudic training institute.

Charles Lombard contributes to the development of La Sphère. At the heart of its operations, he translates and brings the cultural space’s projects to life, ensuring coherence and quality in their execution.

He has developed expertise in project creation and development, and partnership management, working with organizations seeking to establish themselves in France and Europe — notably with exceptional houses such as OGATA Paris. This experience of tailored, high-standard work in service of cultural and hospitality projects now shapes his operational vision for the space.

Attentive to human interaction and the quality of encounters, he holds a simple conviction: it is within a carefully crafted setting that exchange can truly nourish thought. This sensibility naturally led him to join La Sphère's humanist project, where aesthetic rigor meets depth of meaning.

Passionate about hospitality and design, Charles brings a thoughtful eye to both form and idea — a sensibility that infuses every project he supports.

At La Sphère, Marina Mantoan develops the project’s content and institutional relationships and works closely with the artists in the programme.

Marina holds a degree in Art History, Criticism and Curatorial Studies from PUC-SP (Brazil). She continued her studies in Paris, earning a Master’s degree in Aesthetics and Philosophy of Art from Université Paris IV – Sorbonne, followed by a Master’s degree in Cultural Heritage History and Management from Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne.

Her career combines communications and institutional development. She began in press relations in France, then worked in communications and sales at Galerie Luisa Strina, before spending several years at Pinacoteca de São Paulo as a fundraising manager, and later at the University of São Paulo’s endowment fund as an institutional development manager.

Ioana Iacob supports the daily organisation and development of La Sphère in her role as Executive Assistant. Working closely with the management team, she oversees administrative and financial coordination, while bringing more than eleven years of professional experience in retail, client relations and team management.

Over the course of her career in Austria, Ioana progressed to Department Manager at Inditex before joining Max Mara Fashion Group, where she focused on building personalised and lasting relationships with clients.

Ioana holds a Bachelor’s degree in Administrative Sciences, specialising in Management Assistance and Secretarial Studies, from the Faculty of Law and Social Sciences in Romania.

Hélène Gratet is an actress and artistic director who trained under Philippe Sire. She has performed under the direction of leading theatre makers in works ranging from Shakespeare to Sarah Kane, while also developing projects that bring together theatre, music, and literature.

A member of the reading committee of Le Troisième Bureau since 2005, she has worked closely with numerous contemporary writers and poets. She is particularly committed to preserving and sharing the work of Christian Bobin, of whom she is the goddaughter.

A qualified drama educator, she currently teaches at the Annecy Regional Conservatory, where she has headed the theatre department since 2024. She also serves as a mentor at the Saint-Étienne School of Drama.

Thibaud Bernard-Helis is a French artist born in 1989. In 2014, he presented his first monographic exhibition on the Divine Comedy in Florence. Since then, his work has continued to return to this foundational masterpiece through various angles – philosophical, mathematical and artistic.

Trained at the Beaux-Arts de Grenoble, he developed, in philosophy, the perspectives introduced by Bruno Pinchard, who acquainted him with the thought of Dante, Aristotle and René Thom. He also studies Chinese tradition: its philosophy, its practices of meditation and divination, its medicine.

His approach aims to synthesize and bring foundational texts into dialogue with the tool of geometry, thereby clarifying the qualitative laws of space and myths.

An artist in residence at La Sphère, he supports the project's editorial, graphic and intellectual activities, working in direct contact with its speakers. He is currently developing a tarot deck devoted to the Dantean legend.