Citymaking: The Singapore Story
18 May 2018
Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy
Who should attend?
Venue
Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy
National University of Singapore
469C Bukit Timah Road
Singapore 259772
Programme Fees
S$1,070
Contact
Lee Wee Lip
Tel: (65) 6516 8255
Email: spplwl@nus.edu.sg
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Jeremy Gill is Head of Policy at the Committee for Sydney, a not-for-profit urban policy think tank, where he also leads economic policy. Jeremy is a public policy expert, working across economic development, innovation and industry policy, strategic planning, housing, energy, culture and transport. Jeremy chairs the Sydney Innovation District Alliance - a coalition of innovation district stakeholders advocating for Sydney's innovation ecosystem.
Talia Melic is a Policy Analyst in the OECD’s Local Employment and Economic Development (LEED) Programme. In this role, she leads research and facilitates global dialogues on innovative approaches to strengthening local economies and communities, working with governments at the national and subnational level. As part of the OECD’s Transforming Places project, she leads a workstream on place identity, local pride and branding. She has also developed a new OECD programme on neighbourhoods. This programme focuses on area-based initiatives that combine regeneration of the physical environment and high streets with economic, social and community capacity measures.
Prior to joining the OECD, Talia gained almost a decade of experience in international policy with the Australian Government. She holds a PhD in Human Geography jointly awarded by the University of Melbourne and University Paris-Est, a Master in Community and Regional Development, and a Bachelor of Arts.
Talia teaches at the Paris School of Urban Planning, and is engaged in local community initiatives in her neighbourhood in the Paris suburbs.
Harman Sagger is Head of Cultural Analysis at DCMS. He is responsible for setting the analytical strategy for the directorate, ensuring that public investment decisions are underpinned by robust evidence, evaluation and value-for-money principles. He leads the Cultural and Heritage Capital Programme, a flagship, cross-sector initiative to embed consistent appraisal and evaluation approaches across the cultural system, which was nominated for a Civil Service Award. Harman previously led the analytical work supporting the Cultural Recovery Fund. He chairs and advises senior technical groups across government and the sector, including the Technical Reference Group for the UK City of Culture, with a particular focus on cultural infrastructure, place-based growth and data. Harman was previously Head of Economics at the British Film Institute and held economist roles at HM Treasury and HM Revenue and Customs, advising on major economic and fiscal policy issues including productivity, globalisation and environmental taxation.
Kevin is passionate about supporting local businesses, attracting investment and growing local economies. Having led economic development, events, place management and marketing functions in several councils in Western Sydney, Kevin brings significant experience and capability in developing strategies and nurturing partnerships to build resilience in local economies. He is currently in a leadership role at Penrith City Council as the Head of Economy and Marketing, a portfolio that includes economic development, investment attraction, place activation, tourism, city marketing and international partnerships.
Emma Falconer. Senior Engagement and Communications Officer, Torbay Council. Works within Torbay Council’s Regeneration and Place Delivery team, bringing a strong grounding in place leadership and stakeholder engagement. Completed the Institute of Place Management’s Postgraduate Certificate in Place Management and Leadership in 2025. Has played a central role in convening public, private, community and voluntary sector partners to shape and promote Torbay’s place narrative at both local and national levels. Recognised with a 2025 staff award for Building Successful Relationships, following her work on a public realm scheme that strengthened collaboration between the council and the local business community, resulting in demonstrable outcomes including increased private‑sector investment.
As the Sydney Road Brunswick Association Manager, Troy leads a highly dedicated and refined delivery for over 575 businesses within Sydney Road Brunswick precinct – located in Melbourne’s bustling inner north.
Immersed into the industry of main street management in 2021, Troy’s experience and approach comes from over 15 years of working across branding, marketing, and communications; consumer and corporate events; award programmes and competitions; tender writing, and strategic planning.
Troy’s had the fortunate opportunity to work for various industry leading companies and organisations – all leaning into their key points of difference and never being afraid of standing out, or standing up to a challenge.
Today, Troy applies his vast experience and knowledge to the beloved bohemian that is the Sydney Road Brunswick precinct – a premier commercial corridor stretching 2.5km and part of the longest shopping strip in the southern hemisphere.
Delivering across business development and empowerment; events and activations; advocacy, tourism and visitation; and importantly, promotion and destination marketing – Troy’s multi-disciplinary background and exposure has come into its own within the industry of main street management.
Rachel Laver is the Managing Director of Rochdale Development Agency, bringing over 25 years of senior leadership experience in economic development, regeneration and the delivery of major public sector programmes. Throughout her career, she has successfully overseen projects exceeding £50 million across the environmental, transport and education sectors, earning a strong reputation for turning ambitious regional strategies into long-term, measurable outcomes.
Prior to joining RDA, Rachel served as Chief Executive Officer at Staffordshire Chambers of Commerce, where she championed sustainable investment, business growth and innovation. She also held the role of CEO at the Marches Local Enterprise Partnership, leading significant regeneration programmes and pioneering low-carbon initiatives to enhance regional competitiveness.
Rachel is leading the RDA at a pivotal time for Rochdale, building on the legacy of its Town of Culture year while driving forward its role in Greater Manchester’s reindustrialisation, with strengths in advanced materials, machinery and manufacturing.
Steve Law is Destination Strategy Project Manager at TOPOSOPHY, the specialist destination and place consultancy. Based in Kent, he leads strategy, research and stakeholder engagement projects for cities, regions and national tourism bodies across the UK, Ireland and continental Europe.
Steve brings two decades of experience at the interface of place strategy and public sector delivery. His background spans destination management planning, sustainable tourism, and the design of partnership-led programmes that connect local authorities, industry and community stakeholders, with a focus on practical, deliverable strategies that reflect local priorities and long-term ambition.
At TOPOSOPHY, Steve was part of the team that delivered Edinburgh's first dedicated Night Time Economy Coordinator engagement for the City of Edinburgh Council, a project shaped by policy review, international benchmarking, stakeholder engagement and a city-wide resident survey. He has also supported the European Travel Commission's Crisis Preparedness Hub, a digital platform of playbooks, templates and training built by TOPOSOPHY to help destinations respond to geo-political, environmental, health, reputational and digital crises.
His wider portfolio includes visitor levy feasibility and tourism strategy development for UK local authorities, destination marketing and management planning for European city regions, and policy research on the impact of artificial intelligence on tourism.
Amanda is the Managing Director of AT+ M Marketing, part of a national business services group. An active member of the committee of management for Mainstreet Australia, she developed a passion for place activation, place branding and community collaboration during her 7 years serving as EO of Launceston Central, a successful and innovative traders association in Tasmania. Her expertise spans destination marketing, B2B sales, small business growth and leadership across Australia and the UK. She has worked in and with sectors across commerce and government including professional services, industrial, retail and events , and has an active interest in the not-for-profit sector.
Based in Launceston, with clients across Australia, Amanda leads her team of 13 staff with a focus on client relationships and delivering results. Passionate about community and place, she serves two not for profit boards and has a secret passion for governance.
Mayor Teresa Harding was officially sworn in as the 51st Mayor of Ipswich in April 2020 and is the first female Mayor in the city’s 166-year history.
She brings to Council more than 35 years of business, government and not for-profit leadership, and more than 25 years’ experience in leading large teams and managing complex projects within the public sector. Mayor Harding held senior roles in the private sector in the fields of information technology and sales.
She holds a Master in Management, Post Graduate Diploma in Management, Post Graduate Certificate in Information Technology, Diploma in Small Business Enterprises, has completed the Australian Institute of Company Directors Course and is a graduate of the Australian Command and Staff course at the Australian War College.
Mayor Harding was named 2021 McKinnon Emerging Political Leader of the Year for her work in leading transformational transparency reforms to improve the accountability of officials elected to local government.
Sarah Holland is a Senior Brand Strategist at Gravity Global, specializing in place branding and the role of narrative in economic growth. She works with cities, counties, and institutions to define their position in an increasingly competitive attention landscape.
Her work focuses on turning complex insights into clear strategic direction—helping organizations move from awareness to impact through stronger messaging, sharper positioning, and integrated campaigns. Recent clients include Montgomery College, Fulton County, and Middlesex County.
Tēnā koutou. Amanda Wellgreen is a seasoned place leader and strategic communications specialist with over 20 years of experience navigating the complex intersection of business, governance, and community. As the Director of Impact(ful) Management, she is dedicated to moving local economic development beyond "survival mode" into a state of sustainable growth.
Amanda’s career is defined by her ability to professionalise organisations and lead through friction. From managing internal communications at IBM New Zealand to spearheading major community engagement for national infrastructure projects, she has a proven track record of building trust in high-stakes environments. Most recently, as a prominent Town Manager within the Auckland BID network, she led significant strategic transformations, including achieving a 75% increase in member engagement through innovative digital storytelling and podcasts.
Currently serving as the Town Manager for the Panmure Business Association, Amanda is focused on transitioning the district from a "scattergun" community model to a mature, data-driven business improvement district. A staunch advocate for the power of the "archipelago," she believes that the resilience of our main streets depends on the strength of the connections between the practitioners who lead them. Amanda holds a Postgraduate Diploma in Management Communication, accreditation in public relations from Public Relations Institute of NZ, and has served in several key governance roles, including Presiding Member at Onehunga Primary School.
Alex Catterton is Director of PR & Content Strategy at Visit Fort Worth and has been with the organization for over 6 years and in this role for a year and a half. Alex was born and raised in Fort Worth, Texas, and has a rich background in the hospitality industry. She has worked with notable organizations such as the Fort Worth Convention Center, Billy Bob’s Texas, Visit Fort Worth and most recently iProspect, a digital marketing agency, where she excelled in planning full-funnel marketing strategies before returning to Visit Fort Worth.
On a personal note, Alex lives in Fort Worth with her husband Chris, and two rescue dogs, Boogie and Sis.
Katie Fitzmaurice is a strategic and collaborative leader driving economic transformation across in the Metro Vancouver region. As Executive Vice President at Invest Vancouver, she leads initiatives that advance inclusive prosperity, regional wellbeing, and long-term competitiveness.
With experience across the private sector and all levels of government, Katie brings a systems-level perspective to unlocking economic opportunities. She is known for convening diverse stakeholders and shaping bold strategies that build resilience and innovation.
Katie holds a Bachelor of Commerce from UBC’s Sauder School of Business and remains committed to community impact—most notably through a 4,500-kilometer fundraising ride from Amsterdam to Istanbul and as Tri-Cities Chamber of Commerce board member.
With more than 15 years of experience in digital marketing and advertising within the travel & tourism industry, Daniel has built a career helping destinations turn complex data into clear, actionable strategies. He’s led award-winning campaigns for tourism boards, hospitality, and a wide range of industries—bringing a blend of analytical rigor, creative thinking, and a genuinely collaborative spirit to every partnership.
Known for connecting the dots between audience behavior, media performance, and real-world outcomes, Daniel thrives in bringing strategic solutions that not only reach the right people but inspire them to act. Daniel’s work is rooted in curiosity, continuous innovation, and a commitment to elevating results for the clients and communities he supports.
David is a former Victoria Police Detective and former member of the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission with over 15 years of experience in law enforcement.
Throughout his career, David witnessed first hand the challenges faced by police investigating crimes - particularly the hundreds of thousands of hours spent collecting CCTV footage manually from businesses and homes.
With his unique background in both law enforcement and technology (30 years of software development), David founded Safer Places Network to bridge the gap between community safety and efficient policing - while maintaining the highest standards of privacy protection.
Trish McClean is the Chief Marketing Officer for Visit Baltimore, responsible for driving positive economic impact for the city through the attraction of leisure visitors and meetings and conventions. With over 25 years of experience in advertising and brand strategy for a variety of industries, she joined Visit Baltimore to help craft a more authentic story for the diverse city. Collaborating with agency partners, community stakeholders and hometown creatives, Trish helped launch a successful brand revolution and marketing strategy that have been embraced across the city and together serve as a platform for extensions into sports tourism, local ambassador programs, hospitality training and more.
Dan Holowack is the Founder & CEO of CrowdRiff, where he works with destination marketers to rethink how technology supports modern storytelling. Dan is passionate about scaling authentic storytelling so teams of any size can amplify local voices, without losing what makes them real. By day, Dan works between the tech and travel worlds, building solutions that help DMOs use AI naturally in their day-to-day work. By night (or on weekends!), you can catch him adventuring Vancouver Island with his family.
CrowdRiff is a visual marketing platform that helps destination marketers plan campaigns, draft content with AI, centralize visuals, source UGC and track partner coverage—all in one place.
Yoge Biju is an accomplished leader in placemaking and urban revitalisation with more than 20 years of experience in strategic development, and community-focused city shaping across several local government areas in Melbourne. As the Head of Placemaking and Revitalisation at the City of Greater Dandenong, Yoge has led major urban renewal, economic development, and cultural activation initiatives that have transformed some of Melbourne’s most diverse and dynamic neighbourhoods.
Her leadership of the flagship Dandenong Market Precinct Plan is a 20‑year vision for one of Victoria’s most iconic markets which demonstrates her commitment to innovative precinct planning, investment attraction, and sustainable urban growth. Yoge has also driven transformative projects including the Springvale Revitalisation Action Plan, Revitalise Central Dandenong, Little India Precinct and Afghan Bazaar Revival, and the Living Neighbourhoods Place Activation Program, each celebrating cultural diversity, strengthening local economies, and enhancing community cohesion.
Passionate about community wellbeing and economic resilience, Yoge brings political acumen, strategic insight, and a deep commitment to placemaking excellence to every project she leads.
Marie Scalia has been part of the marketing team for Destination Cleveland since 2012. In her current role, she is responsible for overseeing the organization’s integrated marketing efforts, including development and management of the Cleveland brand, digital marketing, web development, and major event campaigns. Marie holds a bachelor’s degree in interpersonal communications with a minor in marketing from Kent State University and an MBA from Cleveland State University. Shortly after joining the organization, she was part of the work to define and introduce the Cleveland visitor brand, resulting, most notably, in the creation of the now-viral hashtag #ThisIsCLE and Cleveland script signs. She was a key part of the work to bring ABC’s “The Bachelor” to Cleveland for an episode in 2019 and instrumental in the local marketing efforts for the 2021 NFL Draft and 2022 NBA All-Star Game. In 2021, Marie was named a Distinguished Sales and Marketing Award recipient by SME Cleveland. Her list of Cleveland favorites includes strolling the stalls at West Side Market, chowing down in Little Italy, experiencing the city’s culture at the Cleveland Museum of Art and connecting with nature along the lakefront.
Siobhan Chretien is a global leader in tourism brand strategy who has helped shape destinations through integrated marketing programs and the creation of new destination brands. She brings over 18 years of executive leadership and destination marketing experience to DCI, including her tenure with Destination Canada, where she led the U.S. and emerging market portfolios. Her work spans India, Japan, South Korea, Mexico, the U.S., Brazil, Canada, and Europe—expertise that enables her to craft strategies tailored to each market. Passionate about discovery and driven by curiosity, Siobhan shares insightful approaches to branding for success, helping destinations connect with and win the right customers.
Emilie is a passionate and experienced tourism professional with over 20 years of leadership in the sector. Guided by her belief that welcoming visitors can enrich community quality of life, she is deeply committed to collaboration, community engagement, and data-driven strategies.
Emilie brings comprehensive knowledge of the tourism ecosystem, with experience spanning municipal, provincial, and national contexts. Her career has included leading destination growth strategies, strengthening industry and stakeholder relationships, and leveraging data and analytics to guide policy, marketing, and development initiatives.
Proud of her Acadian heritage, Emilie lives in Fredericton, New Brunswick, with her family and Rufus the cat.
Carolann Ouellette is the Director of Tourism, Film & Outdoor Recreation at the Maine Department of Economic & Community Development (DECD). Carolann was the Director of the Maine Office of Tourism from 2010-2016. In September 2018, she returned to DECD to serve as the first director of the newly created Office of Outdoor Recreation focused on leveraging Maine’s assets and outdoor recreation heritage to grow the outdoor recreation economy and build Maine’s outdoor recreation brand as part of a coordinated effort with partners from the public and private sectors. In her expanded role, she oversees the work of the offices of Tourism, Film & Outdoor Recreation.
A graduate of Cornell University's School of Hotel Administration, she has a strong background in tourism, hospitality and outdoor recreation having held positions from lodging manager and restaurant chef/owner to whitewater guide and outdoor recreation non-profit executive director. Carolann has been involved in many related organizations in board or advisory member capacity over the years including US Travel Association, Maine Tourism Association, Maine Sports Commission, Maine Gear Share, University of Southern Maine Muskie School of Public Service and Skowhegan Savings Bank. She is a ski, snowmobile, snowshoe, hike and paddle enthusiast, working on her fishing and hunting skills, and loves the exploration and discovery of travel.
Peter C. Yesawich, Jr. ‘PJ’ is Executive Creative Director of Miles Partnership. He is a lifelong travel, tourism, and hospitality professional. PJ is a branding, marketing, and advertising executive with over 20 years of experience shaping global brands. As a lifelong creative agency and hospitality industry veteran, PJ leads cross-functional teams to develop compelling brands and campaigns that resonate with audiences and drive measurable results.
PJ oversees creative for Miles Partnership, ensuring that every brand and creative initiative reaches its maximum potential online and offline. Previously, he served as VP, Executive Creative Director at Deloitte Digital, where he led the global Apple business from Cupertino, California. Over the past two years, PJ has also consulted as an executive creative director for multiple agencies and brands, further broadening his influence in the travel, hospitality, and tech industries.
Throughout his career, PJ has guided strategy, branding, advertising, and marketing for Fortune 1000 brands—most notably in travel and hospitality, with clients including the Government of Costa Rica, Hilton International, Marriott International, Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts, and numerous other world-renowned organizations. His expertise lies in aligning creative vision with business objectives, crafting powerful storytelling, and delivering integrated multi-channel campaigns that solidify brand loyalty.
PJ translates ideas into iconic brands, content, and experiences. He crafts innovative creative, design, and digital transformation strategies that drive growth and build brand loyalty.
Ms. Nowak has extensive work experience as Nation Brand and Place Analytics consultant for countries, regions and cities all over the world.
Ms. Nowak has had the opportunity to participate in Nation Branding projects and #Digitalidentity brand audits using big data tools. She also has a key role in the development of the Bloom Consulting Country Brand Ranking, a biannual research publication that analyzes over 180 nation brands in the world in the fields of Tourism and Investment attraction.
Since joining Bloom Consulting in 2018, Ms. Nowak has worked for the governments of Australia, Costa Rica, Uruguay, Andorra, Sweden, Finland, Norway, South Africa, Turkey, Brazil and for the European Travel Commission (ETC), as well the municipalities of Stockholm and Riyadh among many others.
Ms. Nowak has participated as keynote speaker in several summits hosted by the UNWTO and European tourism organizations.
Find out more on Bloom Consulting website: www.bloom-consulting.com
Michael is a creative leader who has produced global brand campaigns across countless channels for Fortune 500 clients like EY, Pfizer. His expertise in brand identity and activation has supported award-winning rebrands for organizations like AmeriCorps, The Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra and The Greater Washington Partnership. He brings his ten years of creative leadership to DCI’s client roster.
Michael has guided the strategic creative direction of high-profile destination brands across economic development, talent attraction and tourism, including Charleston, Miami, Philadelphia and Winnipeg.
Directing an interdisciplinary team requires bringing the right people together to help a client create and execute a vision. Michael supports this mission and brings expertise in both traditional and digital advertising, from TV spots and digital billboards to UX/UI design and experiential activations.
Raised in the UK and Switzerland, Michael moved to the United States as an adolescent. He provides a multicultural perspective to his work, allowing him to adapt to international client needs. His adaptability makes him an efficient and compassionate leader. Navigating the creative rigor of ad agencies and harnessing the strategic smarts of brand consultancies has shaped how Michael approaches his work. Whether building a national brand identity or launching a global advertising campaign, he believes the best creative comes from fostering curiosity, confidence, and candor. His view is that the greatest creative ideas take bold moves, beautiful style and a big heart.
Pamela Saunders is the Site Director for Microsoft’s R+D campus in Vancouver. With more than 25 years in corporate communications across a variety of industries, she joined the company in 2016 to shape regional investment through collaborative partnerships. Today, she oversees site strategy and employee engagement, with a continued focus on positioning British Columbia’s tech ecosystem as a global leader. Pamela is an advocate for the power of community driven innovation. She serves on the Cascadia Innovation Corridor Steering Committee, the Canadian Digital Marketing Sector Council and the Gastown Business Improvement Society Board of Directors.
Ileana leads the Chamber of Commerce for Greater Philadelphia’s talent attraction and retention strategy, working across employers, institutions, and regional partners to position the region as a viable destination for talent. Her work sits at the intersection of workforce development, place branding, and economic competitiveness, aligning regional storytelling with business needs to strengthen Greater Philadelphia’s talent pipeline. With a professional foundation in the arts and cultural sector and a Master of Science in Arts Administration from Drexel University, she brings a creative, audience-centered lens to talent attraction and regional strategy.
Anita Lankinen is a Marketing Manager for Talent Attraction at Helsinki Partners, the city’s international marketing and investment promotion agency. Together with the team, she works to attract senior international talent by showcasing Helsinki’s innovation ecosystem and outstanding quality of life in the capital of the world’s happiest country.
As an international talent who relocated to Helsinki herself, Anita brings a firsthand perspective to her work — communicating the city’s value with authenticity, empathy, and credibility, and connecting opportunity with lived experience.
With over 14 years of experience across IT, agency, and diverse industry environments, she has led strategic marketing initiatives, built brands, and driven growth in competitive markets. Her experience enables her to translate complex value propositions into clear, compelling narratives that resonate with international decision-makers and senior talent.
As Chief AI Officer and SVP of Innovation at Brand USA, Janette spearheads AI-driven
strategies to enhance tourism marketing, streamline internal operations, and foster innovation
for the benefit of both Brand USA and the broader U.S. travel industry. She joined Brand USA
from New York City Tourism + Conventions, where she oversaw the organization’s paid media
strategy, programs and media insights to drive visitation across the five boroughs. Prior to
joining NYC Tourism, she spent more than two decades marketing Broadway at organizations
such as Broadway.com and AKA NYC
Elliott Ferguson is President and CEO of Destination DC (DDC), the official destination marketing organization for Washington, DC.
A 35-year veteran of the travel and hospitality industry, Ferguson leads DDC’s efforts to generate economic development opportunity for the District through meetings and tourism, overseeing the organization’s convention and tourism sales, marketing, finance, and business development operations.
Nicolas Dessureault is Co-Founder and Head of Sales, GeoIndicators at Propulso, where he leads the commercialization of location intelligence solutions that help place leaders make evidence-based decisions about tourism strategy, visitor management, and economic impact measurement.
With nearly 20 years of sales leadership across media, technology, and data sectors, Nicolas has built his career helping organizations transform complex data into actionable strategy. At Propulso, that means partnering with destination marketing organizations, economic development agencies, and municipal leaders across North America to answer critical questions: Where do visitors actually go? How long do they stay? What economic value do they generate? How does mobility data inform infrastructure planning and place activation?
Under Nicolas' leadership, Propulso has expanded from regional pilot projects to serving national-scale destination organizations and city brands. His approach is grounded in understanding the unique challenges place leaders face—tight budgets, accountability to stakeholders, and the need to demonstrate ROI—then delivering location data insights that support defensible, measurable outcomes.
Brisa Byford is Lead Strategist at CivicBrand, where she leads place branding projects and directs engagement and brand strategy for communities across the country. She hails from New Mexico, the “Land of Enchantment,” and understands how a strong place identity shapes people’s pride and sense of belonging.
With a focus on equitable engagement, her experience spans place branding, destination management, marketing, and planning efforts. She partners with communities to surface their distinct character, bring diverse voices into the conversation, and translate a shared vision into strategies that build momentum. Beyond her role at CivicBrand, Brisa serves on the board of the Downtown Las Cruces Partnership.
A proud Winnipegger, Ryan’s career has spanned the public, private, and non-profit sectors in roles located around the world, with a consistent focus on supporting business growth, investment, and trade at the national, provincial, and municipal levels.
A former Canadian diplomat and trade negotiator, Ryan has been involved in bilateral and multi-lateral trade negotiations federally; supported Canadian businesses in complex environments exporting and investing abroad, while attracting foreign direct investment to Canada; and currently works to advance Winnipeg and Manitoba’s economy through his executive leadership as President and CEO of Winnipeg Economic Development and Tourism.
Ryan served on the Premier’s Business and Jobs Council, and recently Chaired the related Subcommittee on Trade with the US, while also advising Destination Canada as Vice-Chair of a national Taskforce on Investment in the Tourism Industry.
Ryan is a husband and father, and speaks English, French, and Spanish.
Julie Gilbert is the Chief Marketing Officer for Explore St. Louis, where she leads the organization’s marketing, brand, communications, and destination storytelling efforts to elevate the St. Louis region as a premier place to visit, meet, and experience.
Prior to joining Explore St. Louis, Julie served as President & CEO of Destination Door County in Wisconsin. During her tenure, she led the organization through a period of significant growth and transformation, advancing a nationally recognized model focused on sustainable tourism, community engagement, and data-driven marketing. Under her leadership, Destination Door County strengthened its brand positioning, expanded strategic partnerships, and launched innovative programs that supported both the visitor economy and local communities.
Julie has more than two decades of experience in destination marketing, brand strategy, and stakeholder engagement. She is known for her collaborative leadership style, her ability to align diverse stakeholders around a shared vision, and her passion for ensuring tourism delivers meaningful economic and community impact.
She is an active leader in the travel and tourism industry, serving on national boards and contributing to initiatives that shape the future of destination organizations.
Bailey joined City Nation Place fresh out of the Puppy Training Academy back in 2019. Whether he's begging for a walk or hopping on to someone's lap while they're trying to meet a deadline, Bailey has 100% commitment to his role as Chief Disruptive Influence within the team.
No one would have it any other way.
Jamari Douglas, Vice President of Marketing, PR, and Communications at the Bermuda Tourism Authority, is a seasoned marketing leader with nearly 14 years of post-graduate experience and deep roots in his native Bermuda. A Morehouse College graduate with an MBA in Strategy and Management from NYU Stern, Jamari has held pivotal roles at both the Bermuda Tourism Authority and the Bermuda Business Development Agency, where he spearheaded brand launches, media partnerships, and digital strategies. Since rejoining the BTA in 2022, he has led high-impact initiatives such as the award-winning “Find the Time You Lost” campaign and innovative activations including 3D billboards and immersive digital experiences in key U.S. markets. A frequent speaker at global industry events and podcasts, Jamari is recognized as a thought leader on sustainable tourism and inclusive travel, bringing vision, innovation, and a profound passion for Bermuda’s culture and natural beauty to his work.
Adriaan Fourie is the Business Development Manager: International Business Events for the Cape Town & Western Cape Convention Bureau, a unit within Wesgro, the official tourism, trade, and investment agency for the Western Cape, South Africa. With over 20 years of experience in the business events industry, he has played a key role in positioning the region as a leading destination for international meetings, incentives, conferences, and exhibitions. With extensive experience in business tourism and stakeholder engagement, he works closely with international associations, event organisers, and local partners to secure and support major international business events. Adriaan is known for his strategic insight, collaborative approach, and strong understanding of the economic and legacy impacts of business events on destinations.
Milo Vergucht is International Association Expert at Flanders Convention Bureau (part of Visit Flanders), where he works with international associations and local stakeholders to design and deliver conferences that generate lasting value beyond the day of the event. In his role, Milo supports international associations in aligning their mission with local strengths and opportunities, connecting them with academic, sectoral, and community stakeholders, and helping organisations articulate and achieve meaningful outcomes from their events. His work emphasises cross-sector collaboration, inclusive engagement and measurable impact, to help integrate long-term objectives into event strategies.
Before joining the Convention Bureau, Milo spent nearly a decade at MCI, one of the world’s largest professional congress organisers, where he specialised in association and corporate events across the medical, scientific and professional sectors. He also led the Gent Convention Bureau and has a foundation in international hospitality, giving him both operational experience and strategic insight into how events can contribute to broader goals in research, policy, and regional development.
I have managed the Dublin Convention Bureau for five years and also have a responsibility for the Convention Bureau in Cork, Kerry, Shannon Region and Galway. My lucky day was in 2015 when I became Manager of Dublin Convention Bureau. I've worked in rural and urban DMOs since 1999, initially in leisure tourism but made the move to MICE in 2010 and haven't looked back. My early career involved welding equipment but left that after an incident involving nuclear submarines - ask me about that some day!
Lisa Nucci brings over 15 years of experience to Choose Chicago as the organization’s Chief Marketing Officer, with a background in sports, cultural, and non-profit organizations as well as creative agencies. Prior to joining Choose Chicago, Nucci served as Chief Creative Strategy Officer at the Chicago Architecture Center, where she built a new marketing team and established a digital strategy. Nucci was also the Executive Director of Marketing for the Chicago Bulls, where she directed marketing initiatives, youth engagement programs, retail marketing, and special events. As Chief Marketing Officer, Nucci is tasked with leading Choose Chicago’s strategic marketing initiatives across the organization to attract leisure and business visitors as well as meetings and events to Chicago.
Naomi Sargent Larrain serves as Executive Director of the OneSpartanburg, Inc. Foundation, a 501c3 launched by OneSpartanburg, Inc. to sustain and propel talent solutions, economic diversification, and quality of place efforts that elevate and evolve Spartanburg County, South Carolina.
A member of the OneSpartanburg, Inc. team since 2015, Naomi previously served as Chief Operating Officer/Chief Marketing Officer. In this role, she led Mission Support, a shared services team providing marketing, data, and operations support to our unified business, economic, and tourism development entity. She was responsible for developing place marketing efforts that attract investment, talent, visitors, and create community pride.
Naomi’s career has lived at the intersection of place marketing and talent solutions, including roles at Spartanburg’s College Town Consortium, the Columbia Chamber, Midlands Technical College, and the University of South Carolina.
Loren Christie brings more than 25 years of experience in Tourism & Hospitality to his role as Managing Director of the BestCities Global Alliance. In this role, he works with 13 premier destinations and their community of clients and partners as they collectively work to ensure that business events are a force for positive impact. Previously, he held various leadership positions with Starwood Hotels & Resorts during his 17-year career with them including Director of Sales for International Congress, Business Transient and Leisure Sales at the Toronto Metro Market. From 2017 to 2020, he moved to Destination Toronto, the Destination Management Organization for Canada's largest city, where he led the International Congress and Canadian sales teams.
For the last five years he has been running his own consulting and project management company working with a number of clients including IAPCO - as faculty, #Meet4IMpact and the Global Destination Sustainability Movement (GDS) teaching parts of their masterclass on Legacy and Impact, He recently wrapped up two years as the Vice-Chair of the Global Business Travel Association's Meetings & Events Committee for Canada. He also sat on the inaugural Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Committee for the Tourism Industry Association of Ontario. Currently he sits on the Technical Advisory Committee for the GDS and is a Director of the Board for Ontario's Regional Tourism Organization 9.
Jeff Hessel serves as Senior Vice President of Marketing and Destination Development at Tourism Calgary, responsible for stewarding Calgary’s place brand and leading its destination marketing and promotional strategy. With 28 years of experience, Jeff has delivered integrated campaigns spanning brand development, major events, and cultural marketing - including the Blue Sky City brand platform and Chinook Blast winter festival - reaching more than 8 million visitors annually. His work emphasizes brand consistency, narrative clarity, and promotion at scale to elevate Calgary’s destination profile. Jeff is a Certified Destination Management Executive with Destinations International.
Suzanne is a senior marketing and communications leader specializing in tourism and major events, including the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. At Destination Canada, she has led global communications and brand campaigns for key markets, all focused on promoting Canada for leisure travel and business events. She currently leads efforts to communicate the value of travel and tourism.
Joe Amati is the Senior Executive Director of Global Market and Brand Intelligence at Destination Canada, where he has led transformative initiatives since 2022 to position the organization as an insights-driven leader in tourism. With over two decades of senior leadership in research and analytics, Joe’s work advances Destination Canada’s mission to enhance the quality of life for Canadians and enrich the visitor experience.
As Director, Brand, Communications & Strategy, Jen is the strategic voice behind how Regina is positioned to the world. Jen oversees the organization’s corporate communications, media engagement, and brand strategy, ensuring alignment with EDR’s broader goals in investment attraction, talent growth, and community confidence.
Jen brings over 20 years of strategic marketing and leadership experience to her role and is passionate about building innovative marketing and business strategies that deliver on organizational objectives.
Prior to joining EDR, Jen held various marketing, communications, and market development roles in both the public and private sectors, including Agtech, Financial Services, Higher Education, Manufacturing, Public Utilities, and Workplace Safety. Outside the office you will spot Jen shuttling her family from the hockey rink to soccer pitch, and volunteering with several community groups.
For over three decades, David Goldstein has been dedicated to building bridges between the public and private sector to increase the global competitiveness of Canadian business.
Appointed CEO of Travel Alberta in 2021, David spearheaded the province’s post-pandemic tourism recovery strategy, achieving the fastest post-pandemic sector recovery in Canada and accelerating the long-term growth of the sector through the innovative Bootstrap Plan.
In 2023, he was named Deputy Minister, bringing private-sector and tourism expertise to the government of Alberta. He drove the development of Higher Ground: A Tourism Sector Strategy, with the ambitious goal to more than double annual visitor spend in the province to $25 billion by 2035. His leadership is central to unlocking the full potential of the $12.7 billion sector, which supports over 260,000 jobs across the province.
A respected strategist and collaborator, he is committed to advancing sustainable growth across Alberta’s tourism and sport sectors and growing the destination’s presence at home and around the world.
Prior to Travel Alberta, David held senior leadership roles across Canada’s tourism and media sectors. As President and CEO of Destination Canada (2014–2019), he led the development of the Federal Tourism Strategy, accelerated the modernization of aviation and visa policies, and launched the globally coordinated NorthStar 22 strategy. He previously served as President and CEO of the Tourism Industry Association of Canada (2010-2014), championing national tourism priorities and driving growth in the sector.
Fluently bilingual, David holds a Bachelor of Arts in History and Political Science from Glendon College. A graduate of the Institute for Corporate Governance (ICD), David is an acknowledged expert in Crown Agency governance and regularly guest lectures as part of the ICD program at the University of Calgary.
For his service to the sector and to the community, David has been honoured with the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal (2012), the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Medal (2023), and the King’s Coronation Medal (2025).
Jacquie is President of Invest Vancouver, where she leads the regional economic development service for Metro Vancouver. She is dedicated to attracting strategic investment, fostering collaboration across the region, and driving the economic growth essential to long-term prosperity.
As a founding member of Invest Vancouver, Jacquie served as Executive Vice President before becoming President, transforming the organization from concept to reality. Under her leadership, Invest Vancouver has expanded its global profile, forged strategic partnerships in sectors such as technology, life sciences, and clean transportation, and played a pivotal role in securing major multinational investments for the region. Jacquie is passionate about promoting the region and its incredible talent to a global audience.
Jacquie holds a Bachelor of Commerce from UBC’s Sauder School of Business and a Master of Arts, along with professional designations from the Institute of Corporate Directors (ICD.D) and the Chartered Professionals in Human Resources (CPHR). With over 20 years of leadership experience spanning mining, banking, education, and local government, she has been recognized as one of Business in Vancouver’s “40 Under Forty.” She currently serves as the vice-chair for CPHR BC & Yukon, as well as the chair of the Consider Canada City Alliance. Jacquie is also a member of the World Trade Center Advisory Committee through the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade.
Clare is the Founder and Director of City Nation Place, the global forum for the people and stories behind places.
City Nation Place creates connections and shares best practice between country brands, regional brands, and city brands around the world through articles, interviews, surveys, benchmarking reports, awards, the advisory group network, and conferences.
Clare’s interest in the complex area of place branding was sparked whilst working on a series of Nation Branding Masterclass events, led by Simon Anholt, one of the first thought-leaders to speak about and promote the concept of place branding. Having listened to Simon address audiences in Accra, Delhi, Dubai, London and Singapore on how policy, governance, and symbolic actions need to combine with branding and marketing to create a competitive identity and drive economic growth, she continued to follow the growth in this sector.
Clare launched the first City Nation Place Global conference in London in 2015. CityNationPlace.com has been steadily building followers and in 2017, the first City Nation Place Americas conference was launched and 2019 saw the first City Nation Place UK, specifically for towns, cities and regions across the UK. In 2025, the first Australasia conference was held in Sydney, and one-off events have been held in Singapore and Costa Rica.
Katie Shorey serves as the Director of Engagement for Live + Work in Maine (LWM), where she leads strategic initiatives to elevate Maine as a premier place to live, work, and grow a career. A proud boomerang, she returned to Maine after building experience across the political, nonprofit, and consulting sectors in Washington, D.C. and San Francisco. Her previous roles include Business and Community Liaison at People’s United Bank and contributing to innovation strategy on WEX’s New Business Ventures team.
Katie is a recognized leader in statewide economic development, with a focus on fostering innovation, entrepreneurship, and talent attraction. From 2018–2025, she served as president of Startup Maine, guiding the organization’s work as a central convener and champion of the entrepreneurial ecosystem. She also lends her expertise as a board member of the Portland Community Chamber. Her leadership has earned statewide recognition, including Mainebiz’s NEXT List, PROPEL’s Maine Ambassador of the Year, and Mainebiz 40 Under 40.
Katie is a frequent speaker on ecosystem-building and talent strategies, most recently delivering the Central Maine Community College commencement address and presenting at the RoleCall Talent Attraction Summit on the role of entrepreneurship in workforce growth.
She is a graduate of St. Lawrence University and Fryeburg Academy.
Carly McCrory-McKay is the Executive Director of Champaign County Economic Development Corporation. She has been with the organization for over 13 years and is responsible for business retention and attraction, marketing Champaign County as a Brilliant place to do business, and supporting the county’s economic development efforts in partnership with stakeholders. She works broadly across the region to support economic development initiatives, programs, and events, including Champaign-Urbana AgTech Week, Make It Champaign-Urbana, and the iFAB Tech Hub. She oversees all talent attraction efforts in collaboration with Experience Champaign-Urbana.
Terri Reifsteck is the Vice President of Destination Branding & Development for Experience Champaign-Urbana. She’s been with the organization for over 13 years and is responsible for promoting the greater Champaign-Urbana area as a brilliant destination. She oversees the overall brand, marketing & communications strategy and is responsible for community outreach and collaboration opportunities, and ensuring the story of our destination is consistent across all stakeholders. Terri oversees all talent attraction efforts in collaboration with the Champaign County Economic Development Corporation and has been instrumental in connecting industries outside of the tourism sphere to enhance the community as both a visitor destination and a desirable place to live. Additionally, she analyzes and shares visitor data to local municipalities and stakeholders to assist in economic development efforts.
Catriona began her career as a development economist with the UK government, specialising in global economic issues such as trade, investment, and energy. She served as the UK alternate director at the European Investment Bank, where she secured a significant change in the EIB’s overseas lending mandate.
As one of two deputies in Tony Blair’s Strategy Unit, she led strategy projects on energy, fisheries, sport, education, and innovation. Her most notable project, ‘Countries at Risk of Instability,’ resulted in the early warning system the UK government uses to identify and manage risk.
Catriona spent three years at the Ministry of Justice, establishing a new international unit and leading on international justice and human rights. In 2012, she transferred to the Foreign Office to lead the Helmand Provincial Reconstruction Team in Afghanistan, working alongside British and US military forces.
From 2014 to 2018, Catriona was the British Ambassador to Zimbabwe during the transition from President Mugabe. She then served as the British High Commissioner to Nigeria from 2018 to 2023, overseeing the merger between the FCO and DFID and managing the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. During this time, she was a member of the FCDO’s investment and delivery committee, overseeing major decisions on the allocation of British aid.
After her tenure in Nigeria, Catriona took a leave of absence to run the United Nations Mission in Somalia, one of the UN’s most complex and largest missions, with 4,000 personnel. She is now back in the UK, leading a project for the Foreign Secretary and the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, focusing on harnessing the UK’s soft power assets to support its foreign policy objectives.
Catriona was awarded the Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB) in the 2012 New Year Honours for her distinguished service, particularly in her role as the Director of Human Rights and International at the Ministry of Justice from 2009 to 2012.
She describes herself as “an economically grounded diplomat whose strength is breadth and versatility”
Lauren Bennett McGinty was appointed as the Executive Director of Explore Minnesota by Governor Tim Walz in November 2021. Recognized as one of Minnesota’s Top 100 People to Know in 2021 by Twin Cities Business Magazine and named to the Minneapolis St. Paul Business Journal 40 under 40 list in 2025, Lauren has developed considerable expertise as a strategic and dedicated advocate for Minnesota.
Throughout her career, Lauren has held various leadership positions in marketing, communications, project management, operations, and strategic planning. Prior to her current role, she served as the Executive Director of the Minnesota Craft Brewers Guild, where she successfully drove membership growth and contributed to the visibility of Minnesota’s craft beer industry.
Lauren possesses a profound appreciation for all that Minnesota has to offer, fueling her commitment to leading Explore Minnesota, promoting the state through a robust public relations strategy, unique storytelling, and community-driven, inclusive marketing initiatives. She and her team are resolute in their vision to position Minnesota as the premier state for travel, quality of life, and economic opportunity.
My name is Tom Cheesewright and I’m the Applied Futurist. I tell stories of tomorrow for the world’s biggest brands. I help leaders to see the future more clearly and tell their stories to the audiences that matter, whether that’s the board, their staff, or their customers and prospects.
I’m a trusted consultant, advisor and futurist speaker to more than 30 of the global 500, as well as major government bodies such as NASA. And I’m a regular broadcaster, recognised from thousands of media appearances, explaining tomorrow’s world across TV, radio, print and online. Currently I’m the resident expert on BBC Radio 4’s Dough, and contributing to The Daily Telegraph and The Independent, and have appeared across other channels and shows including BBC Breakfast and News, Channel 4’s Sunday Brunch, You and Yours, and The Big Questions.
I’m the author of three acclaimed books for adults and children, helping me to bring both fun and credibility to the stage, using my storytelling skills to teach your audience new skills, shift their thinking, and leave them inspired.
Maartje Verschure has worked in brand marketing for almost 20 years (at companies like The Swatch Group and Triumph), 10 of which in city marketing. She works as a senior strategist and brand director for City Marketing Tilburg and applies her experience working with brands to position the city of Tilburg. She lives in Tilburg's city center with her family.
Eleanor Pringle is an award-winning reporter at Fortune covering news, the economy, and personal finance. Eleanor previously worked as a business correspondent and news editor in regional news in the U.K. She completed her journalism training with the Press Association after earning a degree from the University of East Anglia.
A linguist and social scientist by background, Misa began her career in communication. She has then worked on EU affairs for more than fifteen years: at the European Commission, she has worked on social policies for youth and skills development, financial services and external relations before focusing on tourism. She has served in the Cabinet of two Italian Prime Ministers advising on EU affairs, and worked in academic research on her PhD in politics in Milan, IT, and Boston, USA.
Danny is a leading tourism strategist and marketing expert, with valued experience in tourism strategy, branding and marketing. A member of The Place Brand Observer, City Nation Place, and as a speaker at several international conferences including the World Travel Market, Arabian Travel Market and the eTourism Summit, Danny is an expert in destination strategy and positioning. Trove, based out of New York and London, is the leading strategy and marketing agency for the tourism sector, having worked with 25+ destinations.
Anna Cooban is a reporter covering global business, economic and financial news for CNN's digital and TV platforms. She is based in the network’s London bureau.
As Deputy Director of Global Marketing at VisitBritain, Emma leads the creation and delivery of innovative marketing programmes that drive value and spread benefits across the nations and regions of Great Britain delivering the story of a welcoming, dynamic, diverse Britain. This includes leading VisitBritain’s GREAT marketing programme to drive additional visitor spend into the country, build positive perceptions through a compelling brand and content strategy, and work in partnership with the private sector to provide platforms to reach the international visitor market. Emma has worked in destination marketing for more than 17 years and most recently, led the development of VisitBritain’s Starring Great Britain global campaign.
Anna Rudels is the Deputy Director-General of the Swedish Institute, where she also serves as Director of the Department for Sweden Communication and Promotion. She brings extensive leadership experience from both the public and private sectors, with a strong focus on strategic communication, public relations, positioning, and change management. At the Swedish Institute, she is responsible for leading the work on Brand Sweden, contributing to the global promotion of Sweden’s image and values.
Sally is a financial journalist and presenter who began covering business news in the mid-1990s when she worked for Bloomberg. She joined the BBC in 2002, presenting shows such as The Briefing,World Business Report and Business Live, and appearing on BBC Radio, including Wake Up to Money on BBC Radio 5 Live. Nowadays you will find her anchoring early weekday mornings on the BBC News channel. She has reported from the World Economic Forum, EU and G20 Summits and interviewed numerous global CEOs.
Julie is a Malaysian-Scottish chef, writer and broadcaster. Glasgow-born and London-based, she is a trusted voice in the culinary scene.
Some of her recent work includes presenting Discovering the World’s Table and regular appearances on Saturday Kitchen on the BBC and featuring on the hugely popular series Somebody Feed Phil on Netflix. Julie has also contributed to several publications including The Guardian and The Observer.
In 2024, Julie was named Food Influencer of the Year at the Golden Chopsticks Awards and won a Bib Gourmand at the 2025 Michelin Guide Awards for her menu at former restaurant GaGa.
Her debut cookbook Sama Sama was published by Ebury in May 2025.
Emma is an award-winning BBC commissioner and Executive, with a background as a Specialist Factual programme maker. She currently leads on commissioning global Travel & Culture 360 content for the BBC’s biggest global audiences. She has recently commissioned successful returning titles such as Discovering the World’s Table, TechXplore and World’s Greatest Train Journeys for the BBC News Channel; as well as leading on core BBC strands such as Talking Movies the BBC’s global cinema series. For more than a decade, Emma has commissioned some of the top reputational content for the BBC’s international audiences from Take Me to The Opera with Zeinab Badawi to Inside Museums with Janina Ramirez. Emma relishes working with both established BBC names, such as Tom Brook, together with new emerging talent, such as chef and food influencer Julie Lin.
Emma has been a particular champion at the BBC for gender equality, diversity, inclusion and for pioneering more sustainable ways of working in content creation. She is a keen traveller who loves an adventure.
Mirko Lalli is an entrepreneur, executive leader, and recognized expert in artificial intelligence, data intelligence, and tourism innovation. With over 15 years of experience at the intersection of technology, policy, and business strategy, he is known for transforming complex data into actionable insights that drive sustainable growth and informed decision-making.
He is the founder of The Data Appeal Company, an AI-powered analytics firm that he led from startup stage to international scale-up and successful acquisition. Under his guidance, the company pioneered solutions that combined alternative data, sentiment analysis, and geospatial intelligence to support destinations, businesses, and institutions in understanding markets and travelers in real time. His path from startup founder to scaling an international business has given him direct experience in fundraising, building and inspiring high-performing teams, driving strategic expansion, and managing integration after acquisition.
Alongside his entrepreneurial career, Mirko has worked as an advisor and independent expert to the European Commission, focusing on smart tourism, data governance, and AI regulation. Earlier, he served in a leadership position in public administration, which gave him a strong understanding of governance and institutional processes. This combination of private and public sector experience allows him to bridge innovation with policy and to foster collaboration between governments, academia, and industry.
He is a frequent keynote speaker at major international events including Phocuswright, ITB Berlin, and Web Summit, where he is recognized for his ability to make complex technological and policy issues engaging and accessible. He also lectures at universities such as Bocconi, Ca’ Foscari, and IULM, sharing his knowledge of AI, digital transformation, and tourism innovation with the next generation of leaders.
Ursula is responsible for the marketing activities of the GCB German Convention Bureau, which represents Germany’s meetings and conference sector both nationally and internationally, with offices in Frankfurt, New York, and Beijing. She studied business administration in Germany and completed coursework in hotel management at Cornell University. With an international background in the hospitality, travel trade, and meetings industry, Ursula has worked in Italy, the United Kingdom, and the United States before joining the GCB.
Dr. Leonard Ponzi is a Partner at Reputation Lab and one of the world’s leading authorities on corporate reputation measurement and analytics. A co-creator of the RepTrak™ System and architect of multiple global reputation models, he has transformed how companies measure corporate reputation and stakeholder impact. From designing and implementing Aramco’s award-winning global reputation program to advising leading multinational brands, his work sets benchmarks for the field. Today, at Reputation Lab, he equips the firm to advise clients with the most advanced analytics to turn reputation into a competitive edge.
Jamie Claudio is a seasoned travel and tourism marketing executive with over 15 years of industry experience encompassing leadership at both destination organizations and agencies. As Vice President of Marketing & Sales for Discover Long Island, she spearheaded marketing, meetings sales, and international travel trade efforts, and concurrently served on the Board of Directors for the New York State Tourism Industry Association from 2016 to 2020. Jamie also worked in strategic agency roles—first in public relations with Development Counsellors International and then at Madden Media, where she oversaw all East Coast client accounts. Based on Long Island, New York, Jamie enjoys life with her husband, their two daughters, and a pair of playful labradoodles.
Nina Amin is a Chartered Accountant who has worked in the Profession for over 30 years and a former KPMG Partner. She was head of KPMG's Asian Markets from 2013 to 2018 and was awarded an MBE for her services to the Asian Business community. She was the first female President of TIE London, a global organisation which promotes entrepreneurship. Currently she is the UK Country Head of Indiaspora Org, a not for profit organisation for leaders of Indian origin who want to be a force for good. Nina also acts as a Non Executive Director for Interpolitan Money Plc and sits on a number of advisory boards. She has a proven track record of building relationships with successful entrepreneurs, executives and high net worth individuals.
Nicola Lloyd is an experienced place-branding and economic development leader with a track record of positioning locations for global competitiveness. For nearly a decade as Director of Cornwall Trade & Investment, she led the promotion of Cornwall as a destination for inward investment and trade, delivering international marketing campaigns, securing business relocations, and building strong global networks.
Her expertise spans international relations, market entry strategy, sector development, and cross-border partnerships, with projects involving stakeholders from government, industry, academia, and the private sector across the UK and overseas. Nicola’s work blends commercial insight with a deep understanding of cultural identity, enabling her to shape compelling place propositions that resonate internationally.
Recognising the power of people in place-making, Nicola lead in the development of a pioneering strategy to engage the Cornish diaspora, exploring how global communities can deliver economic, philanthropic, cultural, tourism, knowledge, and network benefits, while building “soft power” influence.
In 2025, she began work to establish Global Cornish, a new organisation in its early stages of development that will connect and grow Cornwall’s worldwide diaspora as a force for sustainable development. Nicola holds an MBA from the University of Exeter and brings strategic vision, global perspective, and proven results to projects that bridge local strengths with international opportunity.
Rich brings over two decades of experience in economic development, having led efforts across the state of Colorado to attract investment, support small businesses, and build regional collaboration. Since 2015, he has guided projects creating over $2 billion in new investment and nearly 5,000 jobs across Weld County in Northern Colorado. These accomplishments earned Rich the 2022 Economic Development Achievement Award, the highest honor from the Economic Development Council of Colorado, recognizing his outstanding contributions to economic progress statewide. Rich has also overseen grant programs that have assisted hundreds of companies with disaster assistance recovery and initiated a workforce stipend program that has granted over $21 million in tuition assistance to area students.
After completing his higher education in business at SKEMA Lille, Lionel Flasseur began his career at MARS Alimentaire, where he gained significant experience over 9 years in various high-responsibility roles in business development and merchandising.
In 2001, he made a bold career shift by leaving MARS to join the tourism sector at lastminute.com, where he helped establish the company as the European leader in online travel sales at the time, serving as Marketing and Sales Director.
In 2004, he changed sectors again, joining Lyon Airports as Marketing and Sales Director, overseeing revenues and ambitious objectives for the airport. He continued his path in tourism by launching a travel website in 2009 and later taking over as General Manager of Thalasseo within voyage-prive.com.
His career took a new direction in 2011 when he was appointed Director of the international attractiveness and promotion program ONLYLYON, focused on territorial marketing and raising the profile of the Lyon metropolitan area. In this role, he initiated notable innovations and contributed to the internationalization of the Festival of Lights.
In 2017, he became CEO of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Tourisme, leading the merger of two regional tourism committees. His mission was to redefine the organization’s strategy and position the region among the Top 5 tourist destinations in Europe. His vision of “caring tourism” emphasizes sustainable development and a holistic approach that places people at the heart of the tourism industry.
In parallel, in 2020, he co-founded the endowment fund Essentiem, which he now chairs, to support major transitions in tourism by funding projects of general interest through donations from companies and individuals.
In 2023, Lionel Flasseur developed and took on the role of Managing Director of One Provence, the territorial marketing agency serving the visibility and influence of Aix-Marseille Provence and its 90 municipalities.
Lionel Flasseur is also a board member of Handicap International France and is a certified Independent Board Member by EMLyon Business School
Clare is the Founder and Director of City Nation Place, the global forum for the people and stories behind places.
City Nation Place creates connections and shares best practice between country brands, regional brands, and city brands around the world through articles, interviews, surveys, benchmarking reports, awards, the advisory group network, and conferences.
Clare’s interest in the complex area of place branding was sparked whilst working on a series of Nation Branding Masterclass events, led by Simon Anholt, one of the first thought-leaders to speak about and promote the concept of place branding. Having listened to Simon address audiences in Accra, Delhi, Dubai, London and Singapore on how policy, governance, and symbolic actions need to combine with branding and marketing to create a competitive identity and drive economic growth, she continued to follow the growth in this sector.
Clare launched the first City Nation Place Global conference in London in 2015. CityNationPlace.com has been steadily building followers and in 2017, the first City Nation Place Americas conference was launched and 2019 saw the first City Nation Place UK, specifically for towns, cities and regions across the UK. In 2025, the first Australasia conference was held in Sydney, and one-off events have been held in Singapore and Costa Rica.
A Greek living in Malmö, Sweden, and working in Copenhagen, Denmark, Maria is a strong advocate for international women in leadership. She is a passionate marketing leader specializing in place branding, international communication strategies, and integrated destination marketing.
As the Marketing Director at Copenhagen Capacity, Maria spearheads branding and marketing efforts to position the cross-border Greater Copenhagen Region as a premier destination for global investment and talent, and A State of Denmark as the ideal place for internationals to build a meaningful work-life balance. Under her leadership, the organization has completed several strategic branding initiatives and implemented impactful campaigns, earning six international awards (including a Cannes Lions) and thirteen nominations within just four years.
Prior to joining Copenhagen Capacity, Maria spent over 13 years in international marketing and communications roles across the tourism, sports, FMCG, life sciences, and advertising industries. The red thread throughout her career has been a focus on purpose-driven organizations that tackle societal challenges, embody sustainable practices, and uphold human rights—particularly in championing women’s empowerment.
Maria holds a BSc in Economics and an MSc in Marketing.
Rhiannon Hiles is Chief Executive of Beamish, The Living Museum of the North, leading the innovative, world-renowned open air museum, which was recently named Art Fund Museum of the Year 2025.
With over 30 years’ experience in the culture and independent museum sector, Rhiannon has extensive expertise, including curatorial, engagement, project and partnerships management, commercial, operations and development. Rhiannon has a great passion for museums, heritage and the North East, championing the region and its growth, including through learning and skills, health and wellbeing, and inclusion. Beamish is an anchor cultural institution that has been described as a “beating heart of the North East”, and works closely with communities and partners. The museum is among the nation’s most visited paid-for attractions, with its talented team of staff and volunteers welcoming almost 839,000 visitors last year.
Working with national and international museum colleagues, Rhiannon is at the forefront of leading open air and independent museum practice, focused on sharing ideas, knowledge and supporting talent and progression across the sector.
Rhiannon contributes her wide-ranging expertise to networks regionally, nationally and internationally, with her professional experience including the Oxford Cultural Leaders (OCL) Programme, Vice President of the Association of European Open Air Museums (AEOM), Board Member of Visit County Durham (VCD), North East Chamber of Commerce (NECC) Council member, Executive Member of the National Museum Directors’ Council (NMDC), Associate Member of the Museums Association (MA), Council Member of the Association of Leading Visitor Attractions (ALVA), Member of the Association of Independent Museums (AIM), Member of the Women Leaders in Museums Network, and the SPARK Association Independent Museums (AIM) Programme.
Rhiannon has a background in architectural and design history and an MA in Museum Studies specialising in social, rural and folk life studies and in previous roles worked as an antique dealer and museum volunteer.
Rhiannon is a higher education college governor, a former school governor and Director of an Academy Trust, Museums Association mentor and committee member of a local cricket club.
Robin Presswood is Executive Director of City Development at Dundee City Council, leading the £1.6bn waterfront regeneration project, Climate Change, Economic Development, Sustainable Transport and Roads, Property, Engineering and Planning and Building Standards.
After spells in Tayside Region Industrial Office and Angus Council, and various elected, voluntary, and non-executive posts, he joined Fife Council in 2004, becoming Head of Economy, Planning and Protective Services. He was chairman of Dundee Contemporary Arts from 2003 to 2016.
Monica Enqvist brings extensive and diverse experience in press and communication. She is currently the Director of Communications at Stockholm Business Region, the city of Stockholm’s Business and Destination Agency, where she works to position Stockholm on the global stage. In her role, she leads a team focused on communication, branding, marketing, public relations, press and digital development initiatives.
Previously, Monica served as a Press Secretary for a Swedish minister for five years and then as a diplomat in Washington, D.C., where she held the position of Press Counselor and led the department responsible for communication, cultural promotion, and public diplomacy at the Swedish Embassy. She also served in Berlin as Press Counselor and Head of the Communication, Business, and Cultural Affairs Department at the Swedish Embassy in Germany.
After returning to Sweden in 2022, Monica took on the role of Head of Communication, Nordics at Spotify. She has an exam in Journalism and worked in the field for almost ten years and has also worked at a PR agency prior to her time at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs – all experiences that provide her with a unique, comprehensive perspective on communication strategies.
Marc Meeuwis is the Director of City Marketing Tilburg and a passionate advocate for place branding that is rooted in identity, collaboration, and creativity. A graduate of Tilburg University, Marc has led the city’s brand transformation with a bold, inclusive approach—helping Tilburg evolve from its industrial legacy into a socially driven, experimental, and creative city.
As chair of the Dutch City Marketing Network and winner of the 2023 City Marketing Trophy, Marc has earned national recognition for redefining how cities tell their stories. Under his leadership, Tilburg’s brand strategy has become a platform for reinvention—shaped around core values, built from the inside out, and designed to empower citizens to take ownership of their city’s narrative. Marc’s team has established a strong local network of universities, SMEs, artists, cultural institutions, and changemakers to co-create an authentic and forward-looking story of Tilburg. With a strong focus on measuring impact—both within the community and beyond—Marc demonstrates how place branding can drive meaningful transformation.
At the Global City Nation Place Congress, Marc will present The Story of Tilburg—a compelling example of how a place brand strategy can support a city in reinventing itself. Once best known as a modern industrial hub, Tilburg is reshaping its purpose and character by digging into the evolving spirit of the city. Marc will share how the brand team has shaped the strategy around core values like social connection, creativity, and experimentation; how they’ve built the narrative from the inside out by trusting citizens to tell their own story; and how they’ve implemented clear measurement tools to track the impact of their branding efforts—both within the community and beyond.
Jill has worked at SCC for more than a decade in various roles, supporting the city’s ambitious regeneration. Responsible for leading the council’s marketing; communications and corporate partnerships activity, Jill plays a key role in connecting the organisation and city to residents, partners and government.
Jill has worked in both the public and private sector and has experience across various marketing disciplines but with a real interest in reputation, brand and public affairs. Jill is passionate about improving opportunities for all in the city and, alongside the communications and engagement teams, she oversees corporate strategy, social cohesion, learning and skills, tourism, area arrangements and performance management teams for SCC.
Outside of her day job, Jill has held non-exec roles including for Together for Children, the first ever children’s services to go from inadequate to outstanding, and is currently a trustee for the Customs House theatre in South Tyneside. She has two young children and holds an MBA from Durham University.
- Working for the City of Glasgow, led the development, implementation and ongoing management of destination marketing strategies for the award-winning city brand PEOPLE MAKE GLASGOW, the 2014 Commonwealth Games and the city’s partnership with Higher and Further Education institutions to increase Glasgow’s profile as a global education destination.
- Director of Marketing and Communications at University of Glasgow, leads the External Relations team responsible for the presentation of the University’s recruitment, research and reputation story to audiences internal and external alike.
- Chair of Glasgow Economic Leadership Higher and Further Education Marketing Group.
- Chair of Universities Scotland Brand Group, leading on a new sectoral campaign with the Scottish Government to showcase Scotland as a destination of choice for study.
As the strategic lead for Glasgow Life’s Culture, Tourism and Events portfolio, and previously Director of Sport, Billy is responsible for the promotion of Glasgow as a leading cultural and major events centre with an unrivalled leisure and business tourism offer.
A key part of Billy’s remit includes directing Glasgow’s Major Events Strategy; working with local and national agencies, major cultural bodies, and UK and global sports federations to attract world-class events to the city. Billy has been involved in the delivery of some of Glasgow’s highest-profile events and their associated cultural programmes; most recently the city’s hosting of the UCI World Cycling Championships (August 2023) and the World Athletics Indoor Championships (March 1-3 2024).
In his role, Billy leads the work of the Glasgow Convention Bureau, which coordinates the city’s bids for more than 100 prestigious conferences and business events annually. He also provides leadership across Glasgow Life’s arts, music and cultural venues, including Glasgow Royal Concert Hall and Tramway, as well as the city’s world-renowned museums and civic collections. Billy’s role underpins Glasgow Life’s commitment to improving the mental, physical and economic wellbeing of Glasgow’s communities through the power of culture and sport.
Dom Stevens is Head of Destination Chesterfield, a partnership which promotes Chesterfield as a place to invest, work live and visit.
The partnership, which has been operating for 15 years, works with over 230 partners known as ‘Chesterfield Champions’ to raise the profile of Chesterfield and support the local economy.
Dom is an experienced place manager and marketeer who has worked across the UK, building strong place brands to attract visitors, support businesses to grow and secure inward investment.
Jessica Dyer is the Cultural Manager at Brixton BID. Jessica has a BA in Fine Art Sculpture from Brighton University and MA in Critical Writing in Art & Design from the Royal College of Art. She is passionate about art, creativity and culture and looks to instil these values at the heart of her practice. Before joining the BID, she worked as a freelance creative and workshop lead, supporting people of all ages to connect with their innate creativity.
In her six years at Brixton Business Improvement District, Jessica has led on the new brand for the organisation, the seminal Brixton X Harlem twinning and subsequent prize-winning festival. In addition, she has created a robust year-round activation programme and grown the marketing of members, through the production of engaging content across diverse business sectors.
Having grown up in Brixton, Jessica is enthusiastic about place-based activations that speak to the local community and heritage, while championing the incredible local businesses in her hometown.
Jessica co-chairs The BID Foundation (TBF) Place Marketing Group, part of the Association of Town and City Management (ATCM).
Sarah Volberg is the Executive Director, Growth Marketing and Brand Intelligence at Destination Canada, with over two decades of marketing and communications experience. She leads the strategic use of data and insights to guide domestic and global marketing. A passionate advocate for evidence-based decision-making, Sarah champions a test-and-learn culture, rigorous performance systems, and centralized market intelligence. She also spearheaded Destination Canada’s Brand and Marketing Measurement Framework—adopted by Team Canada partners—to position brand equity as a national driver of wealth and well-being.
Eveline Vincke is the Place Brand Manager at the City of Ghent and is dedicated to strengthening Ghent's image. She creates awareness for the Ghent brand and supports stakeholders in implementing the brand values into their projects.
Eveline began her career in the advertising sector, where she worked at renowned agencies such as Duval Guillaume and McCann Erickson. She holds a PhD in Communication Sciences (Ghent University), with a focus on communication through behavior.
Today, Eveline focuses her expertise – and love for Ghent – on making the brand tangible throughout the city. Her work contributes to creating an attractive and competitive city and has a positive impact on the well-being and pride of its residents.
Nur Özkan Erbay, the Founder-Coordinator of Türkiye Brand Office of the Communications Directorate of Turkish Presidency. She has more than 20 years of experience as the media executive, bureau chief, representative, correspondent, analyst, researcher and columnist in diplomacy, security, economy circles and media industry in İstanbul, Ankara, New York and Washington, DC. She completed her undergraduate degree at Istanbul University's Faculty of Communications Journalism Department. She received her master's in Political and International Journalism from Georgetown University.
Erbay also took courses and seminars in Foreign Policy, Political Communication and Journalism at Johns Hopkins University, ABC Television, and the White House in Washington, DC. She completed her second master's degree at the Police Academy Of Türkiye, Institute of Security Sciences. Currently, she is a doctoral candidate in International Relations.
She has many exclusive reports, interviews, and analyses and three books written in English and Turkish. Occasionally appeared on various national and international media outlets about International Relations, Diplomacy, International Security, Social Media, and Terrorism where she shared her insights at international outlets such as Al Jazeera, Al Jazeera English, BBC World. She also hosted a weekly TV program titled “Küresel Oyun” (Global Game) on 24 TV between 2022 and 2023. In 2014-2016 she produced and hosted TV programs at TRT Türk titled “Bakış Açısı” (Point of View) and “Siyasetin Seyri”.
As of May 2022, she has been serving as the Founder-Coordinator of the Türkiye Nation Brand Office, Directorate of Communications of the Presidency of the Republic of Türkiye. As the head of Türkiye Brand Office, she coordinates nation-branding efforts with stakeholders from defense, tourism, academia, media, and public sectors nationwide.
During her first year of tenure, Erbay organized the Türkiye Nation Brand Forum in İstanbul, the country’s very first nation branding event that hosted prominent experts and scholars in the field of nation branding from all around the world. Many projects have been carried out since then under her leadership such as the “Türkiye-Qatar Nation Branding Panel” and “Türkiye Pavilion” at the margin of FIFA World Cup 2022 in Qatar; “Century of Türkiye” panel series and events held in several cities in Germany; nation branding event in Kuwait and projects that aim to promote the usage of “Türkiye” as the country name around the world.
Türkiye Brand Office leads initiatives that can reflect the country’s global scale potential with a strategic, encompassing, and 360-degree approach to strengthen the Türkiye brand in the world.
Leahann is Engagement and Stakeholder Manager, tasked with creating passionate Ambassadors for the area and engaging with 200+ Bondholder companies in promoting the Humber region on the national and international stage, as well as delivering various senior PR, marketing activity, campaigns, media visits and high-profile events in Westminster and the region. Leahann has led on the development, launch and embedding of the Humber Place Brand values and galvanising an ‘army of place ambassadors’.
Diana is Managing Director of Future Humber, a dynamic and influential business-led organisation championing collaboration across the Humber to drive economic growth, accelerate investment, raise aspirations, and attract and retain talent. She leads the executive team that powers the region’s place leadership agenda.
With over 28 years’ experience working in the Humber, including two decades in a global blue-chip petrochemical company, Diana brings commercial insight, strategic vision, and an unwavering commitment to place. She is a passionate advocate for the Humber’s role as a pioneering, and remarkable powerhouse – championing the region on regional, national and international platforms.
Under Diana’s leadership, Future Humber convenes public and private sector partners to amplify the Humber’s voice and strengthen its position as the UK’s energy and innovation estuary. As the go-to place partner, Diana steers collective action across business, civic and education sectors to shape a confident, forward-looking narrative and promote the Humber as a place of opportunity, transformation and constant evolution.
Wayne Hemingway MBE is a British designer with an international reputation for projects encompassing a strong community/social content through multi-disciplinary designers, HemingwayDesign, a medium sized family-owned business focused on place, people and positive social impact set up with his wife Gerardine who also received an MBE for their award-winning work.
In 2023 Wayne co-Founded www.CharitySuperMkt.com arguably the UK’s hottest retail concept taking the stigma out of pre-loved clothing and raising millions for charity as well as revitalising town and shopping centres
To understand Wayne’s drive for good design and good business it is worth going back to understand how it all started. Wayne and Gerardine as 20-year-olds set up a market stalls in Camden, Kensington Market and Affleck’s Palace in Manchester selling second hand clothes, Gerardine’s handmade designs and Dr Martens (yes they were behind the Dr Marten brand explosion) The story of a buyer from Macy’s New York turning up out of nowhere and putting in a large order is one in its own right! With family members and a few second-hand sewing machines they fulfilled the order and started the infamous and multi award winning Red or Dead fashion brand with 23 shops worldwide employing over 300 staff. Red or Dead was a groundbreaking global brand winning StreetStyle Designer of The Year awards for an unprecedented three consecutive years. They sold the brand in 1999.
Over the last 25 years, HemingwayDesign has worked with a variety of clients on projects that traverse most disciplines and sectors; including Shelter, Girl Guiding, Social Work England, The National Archive, The National Trust, TFL, St. Modwen, Taylor Wimpey, Argent, Landsec, Southbank Centre and Media City. The business has also advised over 40 local authorities across the UK.
Always believing that good house building design should never be compromised and can be achieved within budget, Wayne advised the House of Lords select committees, publicly shamed the house building industry then demonstrated (by master planning and designing a multi award-winning housing scheme in Gateshead).
Highlight projects include:
Leading the coastal regeneration (master-planning), place-making branding for many towns and cities in the UK (think coastal Margate, Weymouth, Lowestoft, Morecambe, Boscombe, Cleethorpes and others from York to Southend)
Re-imagining of Dreamland, Margate, Europe’s first ever pleasure park (shortlisted for Design Museum’s ‘Design of the Year’ in 2017).
Uniform Designs of many large national institutions including the National Portrait Gallery, Natural History Museum and Royal Museums Greenwich. Collaborated on uniform design with TFL where it co-designed its new uniform with the input of 16,000 staff and for the Girl Guiding movement with the largest co-design project known where 53,000 girls and women have contributed
Established several highly successful place making festivals including Vintage Festival (Morecambe), Festival of Thrift (Teesside), Festival of Making (Blackburn), First Light (Lowestoft), Classic Car Boot Sale (Kings Cross) , Urban Village Fete ( London ) and We Invented the Weekend (MediaCity, Manchester).
Co-Founded www.CharitySuperMkt.com arguably the UK’s hottest retail concept taking the stigma out of pre-loved clothing and raising millions for charity.
HemingwayDesign has tried and tested methodologies but are not restricted by a house style, or by process but have a subjective point of view that is considerate of diverse and divergent perspectives. They pride themselves on being plugged into the zeitgeist; understand cultural context and social issues that affect, and shape people’s lives every day.
The multidimensional way HemingwayDesign look at all projects comes from years of design experience and a highly motivated team that share their expertise and learnings.
Wayne has an extensive TV and radio background (from being a weekly presenter on the Big Breakfast, to a regular on Newsnight)
As a result, Wayne is a frequent keynote speaker on town centre and retail futures, entrepreneurship, purposeful business, housing and regeneration, brand, and more at corporate events and award ceremonies worldwide.
Ashley Dunlop is the Director of Talent & Workforce Development at Economic Development Winnipeg, where she leads innovative strategies to attract, relocate, and retain skilled jobseekers—enhancing the province’s workforce and global competitiveness. Under her leadership, EDW’s talent program earned the inaugural Technology Trailblazer MAPLE (Magnet Awards for Pioneering Leadership in the Ecosystem) Award in 2024 for its impact in connecting employers with talent through WorkinManitoba.ca
Ashley has more than a decade of leadership experience at The University of Winnipeg within the International Education, Immigration and Student Recruitment sectors, and as a board member for the Manitoba Council for International Education. Her passion for people and places has led her to promote Manitoba in more than 30 countries, helping others see it as a place to grow, thrive, and stay.
Ashley’s perspective on talent attraction is rooted in data, driven by experience, and fueled by a deep belief in community.
Clare Tidby is an accomplished marketing executive with over 20 years of experience in consultancy and leadership roles, specializing in tourism marketing. She currently serves as the Vice President of Marketing and Visitor Experience at Discover Halifax, where she leads initiatives to showcase Halifax as a premier travel destination.
Clare combines her expertise with a deep commitment to community well-being and sustainable tourism practices. In her current role she has rebuilt the strategic marketing direction, re-imagined the brand, and expanded the reach significantly. The brand is now ranked as one of the top 100 in Canada by Strategy Magazine.
Steven Haemmerle is the Executive Vice President of Hunden Partners. He joins the Hunden executive leadership team as a senior real estate professional with over 30 years of public, private, and not-for-profit real estate experience, including strategic planning, the development of high-profile mixed-use projects, large-scale project management, architecture, and real estate operations. Steve has a unique understanding of real estate strategy, is skilled at organizing and completing complex projects, leading experienced teams of professionals, and developing projects in the public, private, and not-for-profit sectors.
Steve is the former Managing Principal of Strategic Redevelopment Advisors, a company that he formed in 2019 to provide advisory services to public sector, commercial, and not-for-profit clients enabling them to conceptualize and realize their real estate development objectives. Services include strategic planning, project implementation, program management, and design and project management.
Steve served as Executive Vice President of Navy Pier, Inc. from 2011 to 2019, and was responsible for all real estate development at Navy Pier. During Steve’s tenure there, he worked with the Urban Land Institute to gather recommendations for the redevelopment of Navy Pier; helped form the not-for-profit, Navy Pier, Inc.; directed the creation of the Centennial Vision, the framework plan for the redevelopment of Navy Pier; and hosted an international design competition that resulted in the hiring of James Corner Field Operations, who gave shape to Navy Pier’s Pierscape. Much of the transformation of Navy Pier has been completed, including its exterior public spaces and the retail portions of the interior. Steve negotiated agreements with the architects, consultants, and contractors for the project as well as leases with Chicago Children’s Museum and Chicago Shakespeare Theater that allowed them both to expand their presence at the Pier. Steve sourced and negotiated a complex air-rights lease with a private entity for the development and operation of a hotel and rooftop venue at the Pier’s historic East End. All told, nearly $375M has been invested in Navy Pier since 2010.
From 2003 to 2008, Steve served as Vice President of Strategic Planning at the St. Joe Company (NYSE:JOE), a publicly traded real estate company and the largest private landowner in Florida. JOE was engaged in town and resort development, commercial and industrial development, and rural land sales. At JOE, Steve was responsible for directing high-profile corporate initiatives, including the development of a mixed-use gulf-front commercial project, the negotiation a resort management and branding agreement, and providing advisory services for relocating a commercial airport in northwest Florida. He was also responsible for implementing strategic initiatives that increased the underlying value of JOE’s landholdings. After working for the St. Joe Company, Steve provided real estate consulting services to a variety of private and public sector clients.
Between 1990 and 2003, Steve held senior development positions at the MPEA, which at the time was the owner and operator of Navy Pier and McCormick Place. He was a key member of the team responsible for the initial redevelopment of Navy Pier and oversaw its business operations after it opened to the public. At McCormick Place, Steve was responsible for all pre-construction activities for the $1.1B McCormick Place West Expansion, which included land acquisition, entitlements, planning, design, and construction, including the negotiation of an $850M design-build agreement. Early in his career, Steve worked as an architect and for a private developer.
Steve graduated magna cum laude from the University of Notre Dame with a Bachelor of Architecture degree and holds an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.
As City Manager for Surrey, B.C, one of the fastest-growing municipalities in Canada and soon to be the largest City in British Columbia, Rob Costanzo leads a dynamic senior management team that drives the city’s strategic priorities and modernizes development processes. Under his leadership, Surrey is delivering two major entertainment districts that include a 10,000-seat arena and an interactive art museum, constructing a $300 million state-of-the-art recreation and community center, significantly expanding its transportation and rapid transit infrastructure, and partnering with Simon Fraser University to establish a new Medical School in the heart of Surrey’s city centre.
With over 30 years of service at the City of Surrey, Rob has held key roles such as General Manager of Corporate Services and Director of Engineering, overseeing pivotal initiatives including the award-winning Surrey Rethink Waste System and the Organic Waste Biofuel Facility. Through his commitment to innovation, sustainability, and community-building, Rob continues to shape Surrey into a thriving, inclusive, and forward-thinking city. He holds an MBA from Oxford Brookes University.
John Pulomena is the County Administrator of Middlesex County, New Jersey. He has held this position for over 15 years. Mr. Pulomena spearheads the management of overall operations at the County Government, which includes seven departments: Administration; Economic Development; Community Services; Finance; Infrastructure Management; Transportation; and Public Safety & Health. Prior to becoming the County Administrator, he served as a Freeholder for 10 years in the Middlesex County Board of Chosen Freeholders now named the Middlesex County Board of County Commissioners. Additionally, he was the Council President for the Borough of South Plainfield for 9 years, as well as the Chair of the Middlesex County Planning Board for 5 years.
With a deep passion for technology, John Pulomena led a technological transformation in the County, introducing new high-tech platforms and business applications to modernize the way the County conducts business. To that end, he is credited for bolstering the County’s fiscal health by helping to garner AAA bond ratings from S&P Global Ratings and Moody’s Investor Service – one of his greatest achievements. His sharp business acumen has positioned Middlesex County as an economic beacon in New Jersey, enabling game-changing investments in transportation, education, community services, to arts and culture. Pulomena’s leadership is exemplified in the County’s most acclaimed capital investment – the Community, Innovation, and Opportunity (CIO) Strategic Investment Plan. This project underway at Middlesex College will make the County a vibrant regional destination for sports, arts, entertainment, and community events. Finally, Mr. Pulomena is the visionary behind the brand journey that the County embarked on over eight years ago and continues to lead the region’s movement to make Middlesex County the best place to live, work, and play for generations.
Before joining the County government, Mr. Pulomena worked in the private sector for 22 years, having a distinguished career at AT&T Bell Labs. His experience there was dynamic, spanning many areas such as software development, marketing & sales, government affairs, and financial planning supporting businesses and customers – holding titles from Director of Customer Network Operations to Chief Financial Officer of Network Services.
John Pulomena is a graduate of the City University of New York with a B.S. degree in Computer Science and a minor in Mathematics. Throughout the years he has received numerous industry accolades, most recently and notably, New Jersey’s County Administrator Lifetime Achievement Award (2024); State Theatre New Jersey Arts Advocate Award (2024); the Paige D. L’Hommedieu Outstanding Citizenship Award (2007); Prodigal Foundation Distinguished Community Service Award (2005); and the Albert Hudanish Leadership Award (2003).
As Vice President, Americas at Tourism Economics—a leading authority in travel research and analysis—Zeek Coleman applies more than a decade of expertise in data-driven strategy to help destination marketing organizations, associations, and corporations thrive in a competitive tourism landscape. Prior to joining Tourism Economics, he guided product adoption and retention as the Head of Marketing for Tourism & Hospitality at ADARA, and led Visit Savannah’s data intelligence efforts, where he transformed raw numbers into actionable insights that informed economic impact, forecasting, and budget optimization.
Recognized as a trusted thought leader, Zeek frequently takes the stage at industry conferences to share his innovative approaches to leveraging travel analytics. He has a unique talent for bridging the gap between complex data and meaningful narratives that inspire more informed business decisions. Away from the data, you might find him on the basketball court—he once suited up against NBA legends Alonzo Mourning, Robert Horry, and Antoine Walker on the reality show “Pros vs. Joes.”
Nicole’s top-tier media relations experience has included the crafting of creative editorial pitch angles and researching and strategizing highly successful thought leadership campaigns on behalf of her clients. This work has helped her clients garner market visibility through earned coverage in media outlets such as The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, CNBC, CNN, Forbes, TechCrunch, and CBS News. She has represented economic development organizations in Switzerland, Denver, Cincinnati, North Carolina, to name a few. Nicole holds a B.A. in Mass Communications, from Louisiana State University and an MBA from the University of New Orleans.
With nearly 30 years of experience marketing places, April founded Violet PR in 2010. Her passion is working with clients dedicated to improving their communities. She has managed PR campaigns for destinations including Kansas City, Pittsburgh, Buffalo, North Carolina, Lehigh Valley, Oklahoma and New Jersey. April has arranged hundreds of media interviews for governors, mayors, CEOs and industry experts – promoting cities, states and regions across the world. April holds an M.A. in journalism/marketing communications from the University of Kansas.
Luke Norris serves as the vice president of platform strategy & digital transformation for Granicus — a global leader in government experience technologies and services. He leads the company's AIML portfolio and go-to market strategies. Luke is a thought leader in government technology and has spoken frequently at the U.S. Conference of Mayors, ICMA, National Association of Counties, and other events on topics ranging from digital transformation to smart cities and community engagement. Luke lives in Kansas City, Missouri, and is an incredibly active member of the community. He serves in a variety of nonprofit leadership roles and has been recognized with a “Rising Star of Philanthropy Award” and a “Distinguished Citizen Award” in Kansas City.
John is currently the Mayor of the Town of Newmarket. He has represented Newmarket on both Town Council and York Region Council for 19 years, serving as Mayor for the past seven years.
John sits on all Town of Newmarket Committees as well as the Newmarket Economic Development Advisory Committee and the Board of NT Power. John also sits on a variety of Regional committees including the York Regional Police Service Board, Human Services Planning Board of York Region, and is the Chair of Housing York Inc.
Previously John worked as an independent investment consultant and was a partner in a logistics and transportation company. He also worked for the Minister of Community and Social Services at Queen’s Park and in the field of education at the secondary and post-secondary levels. John worked, taught, and published in the field of Indigenous education.
John was born and raised in Newmarket and attended high school locally. While attending Trent University, The University of Toronto, and The University of British Columbia, John earned bachelor’s degrees in English and Education, a Master’s degree in Canadian Studies, and a Ph.D. in Education.
John is a former tennis Line judge, a national croquet champion, and an avid Scrabble player.
With over 15 years expertise in communications and award-winning marketing projects, Aoife is the place brand and marketing lead for Limerick, Ireland’s third largest city. Aoife has responsibility for promotion and key messaging around the new Limerick narrative and heads up the Brand Limerick project, having worked with M&C Saatchi to create a new revitalized, ambitious and international identity for Limerick. Her current focus across investment, tourism, education and living is driving brand awareness and improving perceptions of Limerick as a desirable destination.
Aoife’s career has spanned tourism capital development and consultancy to third level lecturing. She holds a research Masters in Tourism Marketing and Semiotics and a Post Graduate Diploma in Marketing Management.
As Project Director at Entro, Nima leads with a strategic and design-focused approach to creating meaningful user experiences within the built environment. Her passion for design is rooted in her understanding of psychology and her ability to connect with the end user. With a background in architecture and design, she bridges creative vision with practical execution. Her expertise in wayfinding and spatial design ensures seamless, user-centred solutions that integrate thoughtfully into their surroundings. Nima specializes in designing programs for municipalities, healthcare facilities, and airports.
Vedran's work sits at the intersection of cognitive neuroscience and experiential design. Through the use of innovative techniques and technologies such as virtual reality, computer vision and machine learning, he explores how the physical environment shapes how we think, feel, and behave. His expertise ranges from the study of visual complexity within urban environments to biophilic design to the role of emerging technologies in shaping how we think about our surroundings. Vedran has conducted research and developed strategies for municipalities, transit systems, workplace, healthcare facilities, and academic campuses.
Emily Lessard pioneers an ecological approach to brand revitalization that transforms how organizations connect with their audiences. Drawing inspiration from native plant ecosystems, she helps legacy brands maintain their authentic roots while adapting organically to changing environments. She challenges the exhausting cycle of perpetual rebranding by treating brands as living systems—thriving in harmony with their surroundings rather than requiring constant reinvention. Through her work founding Bellweather and The Plant Native, Emily demonstrates that when brands respect the natural rhythms of their communities and respond cinematically to their environments, they create deeper, more sustainable connections—evolving naturally over time, just as native plants flourish in balance with their ecosystems.
David is a Senior Associate Principal with the Coraggio group where he works with travel industry clients and other public sector organizations. David brings 25 years of experience in organization development and the travel industry and a passion for sustainability, urban development, social justice, inclusion, and economic development. His experience with whole systems change informs Coraggio’s work and includes approaches like process consultation, Appreciative Inquiry, leadership development, team building and organizational design. He is also an expert in community engagement and works with DMOs, cities, civic organizations, and others to help them connect with their larger community and integrate them into planning processes.
Prior to his time at Coraggio, David launched 4 businesses in both the for-profit & non-profit world and consulted with senior leaders in multiple sectors and industries on strategy and change. His ventures include founding a tour company, WeVenture, in NYC that he then scaled to 10 cities nationwide serving 75,000 guests per year. David currently serves on the Board of Directors for Travel Unity, an organization dedicated to making travel more welcoming and inclusive for all.
Rachel Brown is the Destination Stewardship Director for North America for Destination Wayfinder, a cutting-edge platform powered by Miles Partnership dedicated to advancing stewardship and strategic planning for destination organizations. In this role, she drives growth strategy, builds industry partnerships, and helps tourism organizations strengthen their role in destination management.
With over 20 years of experience in the marketing industry, Rachel previously led Visit Durango through a ground-breaking transformation, establishing one of the first dedicated destination management and stewardship departments in the U.S. She has held key leadership roles at Visit Fisherman’s Wharf, San Francisco, and Visit Oakland. She also served on the Board of Directors and chaired the Marketing Committee for the Colorado Tourism Office.
Rachel is a Certified Destination Management Executive (CDME) and holds a professional certification in sustainable tourism from the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC).
A passionate traveler, Rachel has explored 45 countries, bringing a global perspective to her work in shaping sustainable tourism strategies.
University of Southern Maine; 30 years of experience
Matthew Kruchko is the Head of Global Operations for Gravity Global. Over a 30-year career, Matthew has progressed from owning and leading brand marketing agencies for 20 years to serving as a CEO and EVP of Global Strategy and Marketing for a publicly traded company. His expertise, honed in Silicon Valley's challenging environment, combines strategic growth initiatives with a disciplined, collaborative approach to sales, marketing, brand, and operations. He has partnered with clients such as Qualcomm, Warner Bros., Lexus, Smithsonian Institute, Sony PlayStation, the Toledo Region, the City of Detroit, the City of Calgary, UPS, Amway, Detroit Auto Show, and RSA.
B.A. Wheaton University; M.A. Georgetown; 36 years of experience
Bill brings a wealth of senior executive and leadership experience as C.E.O. and C.M.O. for leading companies in the technology, government, and gaming industries over a 34-year career. His experiences include serving as C.E.O. for B.M.M. Compliance, Senior Vice President of Worldwide Marketing and Corporate Affairs for VeriSign, Vice President of Global Communications at Compaq Computers, Managing Director and Chairman of the Technology Practice of Burson-Marsteller/Young & Rubicam, and Global Government Affairs and Communications Director at Apple. Bill has spearheaded multiple award-winning marketing campaigns, including VeriSign's award-winning "Value of Trust" campaign. As a result of the campaign, Bill was named "Marketer of the Year" by Adweek for building the year's best cross-discipline, multi-agency integrated marketing campaign — and the campaign was also recognized as the Online Campaign of the Year by B2B magazine.
Nicolas Dessureault is the Head of Sales and a partner at Propulso, a trailblazing company specializing in ethical location intelligence. Joining Propulso in its early stages, Nicolas brought over 15 years of experience as a senior sales executive in advertising, technology, and business solutions within Canada’s leading media and telecom companies. Over the past three years, he has built and led Propulso’s sales team, driving its rapid growth and achieving an impressive triple revenue increase year over year for two consecutive years.
A true advocate for the power of data, Nicolas is dedicated to enabling organizations and sectors of all sizes to access and utilize data effectively. His mission goes beyond immediate sales success—he aims to transform how location intelligence is harnessed across various sectors to drive informed, impactful decisions.
As the Commissioner of Community Services with the City of Kingston, Jennifer Campbell oversees a diverse portfolio of City departments that includes Recreation and Leisure Services, Arts and Culture Services, Heritage Services, Community Development and Wellbeing & IIDEA, Housing and Social Services and Longterm Care. She joined the City of Kingston in 2016, first as a Manager of Cultural Heritage, then as a Director of Heritage Service, before becoming the Commissioner of Community Services in fall 2024 and joining the City’s Senior Leadership team.
Jennifer has led numerous City projects, including the City’s Engage for Change Project which began as a community engagement “focused on reconciliation” and created in response to the Calls to Action of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada, which has expanded to become a systems-based approach to Indigenous engagement, anchored by relationship-based partnerships. This work led to her leadership on the City’s Your Stories, Our Histories Project a subsection of which focused on the life and legacy of Sir John A. Macdonald and navigated the role of Kingston as Macdonald’s hometown in the National discussion of his role in Canadian history. Since becoming a City Commissioner, Jennifer has become increasingly involved in guiding the City’s responses some of the major crises of our time; housing, homelessness, addictions and mental health, food insecurity, and the social systems that underpin community vitality and sustainability. This work is deeply rooted in commitments to place making, backed by collaboration and investment to unlock the potential of Kingston’s creative industries.
Prior to joining the City of Kingston, Jennifer was an Assistant Professor within the State University of New York – Potsdam. Her academic research focused on the intersection of heritage, culture, and tourism and explored how national identity campaigns and collective memory formation can drive economic investment in cultural heritage and tourism infrastructure – especially where these creative industries drive and/or uphold dominant or populist historic narratives.
Jennifer was raised in Newfoundland and holds a BA, MA, and PHD in Anthropology.
As Director of Destination Strategy, Tim has shaped the future of destinations across the globe for the past decade—from countries to urban centres.
An expert placemaker, Tim leads the strategic planning and destination development practice at Resonance and holds a Master’s degree in Urban Planning and Sustainable Development from the University of Bordeaux, and a BSc in Civil & Environmental Engineering from the University of Cardiff Engineering School.
Over the past 10 years at Resonance, he has worked with clients ranging from Destination Canada to the Republic of Ireland, and many places in between. As the project leader for Destination Canada, Tim has led the development of Canada’s 2030 World of Opportunity strategy—working closely with leaders of destinations across the country.
Lisa Barrett is Destination Canada’s Director of Strategic Planning. Lisa plays a key role as the organization embarks on a transformative journey to deliver smart growth for Canada’s tourism sector that strengthens prosperity, while enhancing long-term resilience.
Lisa's current focus is on leading the development of a comprehensive measurement framework, the Wealth & Wellbeing Index. This strategic benchmarking tool will provide the industry with a new way to track progress in economic, social, and environmental sustainability and resilience at all levels—from national to provincial and territorial. This Index provides a yardstick to measure the ripple effects of tourism beyond traditional metrics.
In her role, Lisa contributes significantly to Destination Canada's mission, ensuring a measured and holistic approach that ultimately helps the organization realize its aspiration that tourism generates wealth and wellbeing for all of Canada while enriching the lives of its guests.
Prior to her current role, Lisa worked as part of Destination Canada’s Partnerships team, fostering alignment and connections with Provincial and Territorial Tourism Marketing Organizations from coast to coast to coast.
Shelley Hirstwood, Director of Business Development at the Kingston Economic Development Corporation, specializes in Investment Attraction and Business Growth. Her core responsibilities encompass the identification of prospective business opportunities and the facilitation of foreign direct investment to encourage enterprises to establish a presence in Kingston. In her capacity, she engages various stakeholders, including all levels of government, real estate professionals, site selection experts, and key industry partners, to streamline the investment opportunities.
With a career spanning 18 years in the field of economic development, Shelley brings a wealth of experience to her role. Prior to joining the Kingston team, she served as an Economic Development Manager in Gananoque, ON and Gravelbourg, SK. Throughout her career, her focus has remained centered on investment attraction, business retention and expansion, entrepreneurship and community development.
Shelley's academic background includes a Bachelor of Science degree from Trent University, complemented by the EDAC Economic Development Certificate from the University of Waterloo. Furthermore, she has honed her expertise through Training for Small Business Counsellors at Acadia University and completed the Queen's Executive Program at Queen's University, Smith School of Business.
In addition to her professional commitments, Shelley is actively engaged in the industry as the Treasurer for the Economic Development Association of Canada. She has also served as the past president of the Ontario East Economic Development Commission.
Joel Walton is the Senior Director of Strategic Initiatives for Business Events at Destination Canada, where he leads efforts to position Canada as a premier destination for business events. With a background in tourism marketing, including a tenure at Northwest Territories Tourism as Chief Marketing Officer, he brings deep expertise in destination marketing, development and strategic planning. His work focuses on fostering connections between people and places, driving economic growth through business events, and elevating Canada’s global profile in the tourism sector.
Alison Migneault, Chief Marketing Officer with Tourism Kingston (Ontario, Canada), is responsible for developing and guiding the Destination Management and Marketing Organization’s leisure marketing; stewarding the city’s place brand and integrating it across portfolios and partner programs; managing the organization’s agencies of record and in-house team; and developing and leading special projects.
Since joining the organization in 2019, Alison has expanded adoption of the place brand to community partners; skillfully guided marketing programs through the COVID-19 pandemic; prioritized inclusive communication practices; developed and led a growing in-house marketing team; and established a comprehensive research insights program. Under her leadership, Tourism Kingston’s work has been recognized with 20+ national and international awards.
With more than 20 years of experience in marketing and communications, Alison’s strengths include market research, strategic planning, creative development, and brand management, which together create compelling brand-building and place-making programs. She has an innate understanding of authentic marketing and grounds her work in a deep knowledge of the audience. Alison’s experience spans the tourism, post-secondary education, not-for-profit, and charitable sectors. She holds a master’s degree in Canadian Studies and an honours bachelor of arts degree in communication studies and has also completed executive leadership training.
Prior to joining Tourism Kingston, Alison held a senior marketing role with Queen’s University for a decade and worked with a range of portfolios including recruitment, research, alumni relations, and health sciences. Alison was also Festival Director for the Kingston Canadian Film Festival for eight years, securing government funding, expanding programming, and raising awareness of Canadian film and filmmakers. In 2010, Alison co-founded Kingston Animal Rescue, a registered charity dedicated to rescuing, rehabilitating, and rehoming animals in need. She donates countless hours as a board member, volunteer, and foster for animals.
Megan Knott, CEO of Tourism Kingston, and proud mom of two daughters, has more than 25 years of experience in leadership and development, strategic marketing, media and public relations, and business and fiscal management. She holds an MBA in community economic development and is pursuing credentials as a Certified Destination Management Executive.
Megan led city partners in the creation and funding framework for its now established tourism organizations: a hotel association and the destination management organization. Kingston Accommodation Partners’ mission is to advocate for the industry. Tourism Kingston’s mission is to create economic return and visitor experience supports through sales, marketing, the creative industries, and visitor services. Under Megan’s stewardship, these organizations work collaboratively, along with other municipal and community partners, to deliver on the destination’s Integrated Destination Strategy.
Megan also led negotiations for instituting the Municipal Accommodation Tax in Kingston, in which all funds collected from overnight stays are reinvested into the city’s tourism efforts. Her proven capabilities in stakeholder engagement, ideation, and consensus-building have led to the development and implementation of many community investment partnerships and major infrastructure projects.
An active member of the Kingston community, Megan has participated on several boards of directors, including for Regional Tourism Organization 9, Kingston Economic Development Corporation, Downtown Kingston BIA, and the Greater Kingston Chamber of Commerce.
Under Megan's leadership, the Kingston brand has been recognized with more than 30 national and international awards since its inception in 2018.
Gerda-Marie is Head of Copenhagen Legacy Lab; an award-winning, strategic initiative in Wonderful Copenhagen which helps associations and local capacities in working with broader value creation.
Gerda-Marie is a pharmacist by education and has worked for many years in life-science, spending +15 years in the pharmaceutical industry where she initially worked with drug development and later with project & programme management and strategy. She has also worked with public-private collaborations and international branding of Danish life science and healthcare. Since 2023, her work has focused on legacy, primarily within three strongholds of Copenhagen; life-science, green transition, and information & communications technology.
Gerda-Marie is heading a small team that delivers 3 congress legacy cases and 2 major event legacy cases per year.
Alex Sarian is the author of the critically acclaimed book, The Audacity of Relevance: Critical Conversations on the Future of Arts and Culture (ECW Press, 2024), and President & CEO of Arts Commons (soon to be Werklund Centre), where he is responsible for leading the $660 million Arts Commons Transformation (ACT) project—the largest cultural infrastructure project in Canadian history. Prior to moving to Calgary in 2020, he spent 18 years in New York City, where he served as a senior executive at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts. A proud member of the 2022 class of Calgary’s Top 40 Under 40, he holds undergraduate and graduate degrees from New York University, is a graduate of the CommunityShift program at Western University's Ivey School of Business, and was an inaugural graduate of the Impact Program for Arts Leaders at Stanford University's Graduate School of Business.
Nicole Vilalte is a seasoned advertising professional with a strong skill set spanning account management, strategic planning, creative development, broadcast and digital media, brand content production, and brand experience activations.
She brings over two decades of experience working with some of the world’s most recognized brands, including Fortune 500 companies such as IBM, Unilever, E*Trade, and Target. Her career includes roles at top award-winning agencies such as Ogilvy & Mather in New York and Wieden + Kennedy in Portland.
Currently, Nicole serves as Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) at Invest Puerto Rico, where she leads all marketing initiatives to position the island as a competitive and compelling business destination.
Known for her passion for brand building and a proven track record of delivering impactful work, Nicole is a respected leader within the advertising industry. She is a graduate of Universidad del Sagrado Corazón in Puerto Rico, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in Communications and Advertising.
Matt Pivarnik is CEO of the Greater Topeka Partnership. The Partnership is a collaborative organization that houses the Greater Topeka Chamber of Commerce, GO Topeka Economic Development Organization, Visit Topeka, Downtown Topeka Inc., the Riverfront Board, Topeka Area Sports Commission, FORGE Young Professionals and several other community and economic development organizations. Matt joined the Topeka team in January 2016.
He is the Past-Chair of the Chamber of Commerce Executives of Kansas, Past-Chair of the US Chamber Institute for Organization Management’s National Board of Trustees, Past-Chair of the Board of Regents for the US Chamber’s Institute for Organization Management at the University of Arizona, a graduate of the US Chamber’s Institute for Organization Management, completed the program at the Center for Creative Leadership, a Certified Chamber Executive, Past-Commissioner for the Certified Chamber Executive Program, serves on the American Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors and past Executive Committee member, a member of the US Chamber’s Committee of 100, served on the President’s Advisory Council for Northeastern State University, is on the advisory board for the Washburn University School of Business, recently recognized as “Honorary Ichabod” by the Washburn University Alumni Foundation, Past-Chair of the Board for Oklahoma Chamber of Commerce Executives, appointed by the Governor as current chair for the Kansas Department of Commerce’s Team Kansas, and on the board of the Topeka Community Foundation. He recently completed a program through the Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative in New York. Matt was the founder of MAKO, a regional educational conference for economic development and chamber executives from Missouri, Arkansas, Kansas and Oklahoma.
Matt moved to Topeka from Tulsa, OK, where he was with the Tulsa Regional Chamber which also housed the Tulsa’s Future Economic Development Organization, Visit Tulsa, Tulsa’s Young Professionals, Tulsa Sports Commission, Tulsa Film and Music Commission, MOSAIC and the Tulsa Small Business Connection.
Matt has a Bachelor of Science in Business Management from Northeastern State University in Oklahoma.
Kelly Groff has led Visit Montgomery for over 25 years. She has spent her entire professional career in the hospitality industry. Prior to joining Visit Montgomery, Groff served as a Business Development Manager at the Baltimore County Office of Economic Development; Business Development Officer with the Baltimore City Office of Promotion and Tourism; and held several directors of sales positions with hotels in Baltimore.
Kelly is a Certified Destination Management Executive, a designation sanctioned by Destinations International. She most recently received the 2024 Distinguished Service Award, from Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS). And in 2021 was named business advocate of the year by the Montgomery County Chamber of Commerce for her leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Kelly has immersed herself in the hospitality industry working as a founder and board member of the Foundation for Hospitality and Restaurant Management (FHRM). The Foundation works with Montgomery County Public Schools to encourage students to explore careers and post-secondary opportunities in the hospitality industry.
Kelly has taught third- and fourth-year hospitality and restaurant management students at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES) Shady Grove Campus and first- and second-year college students at the Montgomery College Hospitality Program.
She is a Leadership Montgomery and Leadership Maryland graduate.
Kelly is a native Marylander with a passion for travel and the outdoors. Her biggest accomplishment—raising her two sons Matthew and Stephen White.
Susan Amey joined Discover Durham in 2016 as Chief Marketing Officer and was named President & CEO in 2019. Under her leadership the organization has evolved into a digital-first agency, underwent rebranding and renaming, led the community-wide celebration of Durham’s 150th birthday, weathered a pandemic-driven 57% drop in revenue, and emerged to develop a destination master plan defining a 20-year vision for the community. That work led to a successful legislative campaign to expand the organization’s funding and mission and the launch of a new subsidiary in 2024, Durham Next, a visionary community partnership for the advancement of Durham as the best place to live, work and visit.
Discover Durham also operates the Durham Sports Commission, which creates economic and social impact in the community through sports.
Susan’s 30-year marketing and business background spans B2B and B2C programs for organizations as varied as Black & Decker, Steelcase, and UNC’s Kenan-Flagler Business School MBA program. Prior to Discover Durham, she was most recently VP of Marketing for a subsidiary of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, overseeing a $50M ecommerce enterprise.
Susan has a BA in journalism and an MBA in advertising and product management, both from New York University.
Sonya Shorey, President and CEO, for Invest Ottawa, Bayview Yards, and Area X.O, is a strategy executive and management consultant with more than 22 years of leadership experience with private and public organizations. With expertise in regional, national, and global technology, entrepreneurial, economic development, and innovation-based organizations, she specializes in corporate and communications strategy development and execution. This includes investment strategies that secure new cash and in-kind contributions from public and private sources. Since 2005, Sonya has led, strategized, authored and/or made a significant contribution to successful multi-year funding proposals and initiatives valued at more than $203 million from municipal, provincial, federal, and international governments.
Within her executive leadership role with Invest Ottawa, Bayview Yards and Area X.O, Sonya plays a pivotal role in developing, leading, and executing strategy for all three organizations. This includes:
- Area X.O, the futureplex of innovation and collaboration for next-generation smart mobility, connectivity and autonomy technologies;
- The Women Founders and Owners Strategy and Action Plan. This includes co-founding SheBoot, the investment-ready bootcamp for women tech founders designed and delivered by women entrepreneurs and investors, and founding International Women’s Week in Canada’s Capital; and International Women’s Week.
- The first Pan-Ontario Scale-Up Platform of its kind aimed at enabling and accelerating the growth, scaleup and commercial success of more $100 million revenue-generating tech companies in Canada.
Sonya launched her career as the Manager of Communications and Member of the Vice-Presidential Cabinet with the 10G Organization of Optical Networks for Nortel from 1999 to 2002, and then served as the Director of Marketing Communications for CMC Microsystems until 2007. Building on a decade of experience, Sonya launched her own strategy company in 2008, addressing the needs of S&T organizations, innovation, entrepreneurship and economic development agencies across Canada, and their partners around the world. She currently serves Vice President of Strategy, Marketing and Communications for Invest Ottawa, lead economic development agency for knowledge-based industries in Canada’s Capital.
Sonya is a Director of the Institute of Mental Health Research of the Royal Ottawa Hospital, Elevate International, and Mindtrust Leadership. She also serves as mentor and pitch coach with Women in Cloud, AI North America, and Technovation. She holds a Combined Honours in English and Political Science from Carleton University and has won 10+ international awards for communications, leadership, and women’s economic empowerment.
Her Worship the Mayor of Rotorua, Tania Tapsell, is from Te Arawa tribe and is the first Māori woman to be elected as Mayor of Rotorua. She leads a Council responsible for over $2 billion of community assets and in 2023 was recognised as one of the most influential women in today’s society by The New Zealand Herald in their feature marking the 130th anniversary of Women’s Suffrage.
Restoring Rotorua’s reputation and brand as a world-class destination has been a top priority for Tania. Under her leadership Rotorua Lakes Council has delivered significant investment into major projects such as rebuilding the Rotorua Museum, completing development of the Rotorua Lakefront precinct and Aquatic Centre, and incorporating the unique Māori culture of Rotorua into these significant projects.
Tania has served 11 years in local government after being first elected to Council at 21 years old. She has also worked in tourism and top finance firms, BNZ Business Partners and Deloitte, helping businesses to invest and grow. Tania is a qualified Resource Management Commissioner, has a Bachelor of Management Studies from the University of Waikato, and Diplomas in Business and Marketing. Prior to becoming Mayor she was the Deputy Chairperson of the NZ Community Board Executive Committee which represents 110 boards across the country.
Cecelia Thompson serves as Executive Director of Action Greensboro. Action Greensboro, together with the Chamber of Commerce, serves as the city’s primary economic and community development agency. Formed in 2001, Action Greensboro is a collaborative effort of eight local charitable foundations working to leverage local philanthropic impact. In collaboration with business, higher education, and municipal government, Action Greensboro works to strengthen Greensboro's economy and ensure the continuation of its excellent quality of life. In her role, Thompson leads a variety of efforts from talent and workforce development, K-20 education, urban livability, advocacy campaigns and city marketing efforts.
In addition to her role at Action Greensboro, Thompson serves on the boards of the Guilford Education Alliance, the North Carolina Early Childhood Foundation, Union Square Campus, and is a gubernatorial appointee to the North Carolina Humanities Council. Originally from Gainesville, Florida, Thompson holds a B.A. in Political Science, Public Administration and Sociology from Elon University.
Miriam Lawley is a highly experienced Senior Marketing Manager with over 15 years of expertise in strategic marketing, brand management, and communications. Currently serving at the Adelaide Economic Development Agency (AEDA), she leverages her extensive background in leading integrated marketing strategies to support the agency’s mission of driving economic growth and enhancing the city’s reputation.
Throughout her career, Miriam has successfully managed cross-functional teams to execute marketing initiatives that align with organizational objectives, enhance brand visibility, and deliver measurable results. Her experience spans across various areas, including destination marketing, media buying, brand strategy, and event promotions. She has a strong ability to craft data-driven marketing campaigns, utilizing consumer insights and analytics to optimize performance and achieve key business outcomes.
With her deep understanding of marketing dynamics and her commitment to delivering impactful solutions, Miriam supports AEDA in advancing its vision and promoting Adelaide as a vibrant and dynamic destination for business, investment, and tourism.
Mat is currently the Chief Executive at Destination Queenstown (DQ). Prior to joining DQ, Mat was head of sales & services at Cardrona Alpine Resort (CARL) and Treble Cone and was involved in the acquisition of Treble Cone, securing the rights to develop into the SOHO Basin. Mat moved from CARL to join the parent company RealNZ as GM of Experience Whakatipu to oversee the Queenstown operation of the TSS Earnslaw, Walter Peak, Jet Boating and Water Taxis.
Mat has a strong background in governance, He is currently a Director at Regional Tourism NZ and Racers Edge in Wānaka. Recently he was on the board of Snow Sports NZ and the Chair of Lake Wānaka Tourism.
Before joining the tourism industry, Mat had extensive experience in outdoor adventure sports retail, he was the managing director of R&R Sport before selling to The Warehouse Group, merging R&R Sport with Torpedo 7.
Casey Ressler has been with the Mat-Su Convention & Visitors Bureau for 18 years, serving as the Marketing Manager for 16 years and now as the President & CEO for the last two years. His team promotes the Mat-Su Valley, which is just north of Anchorage, Alaska and encompasses 23,000 square miles, an area the size of Ireland. He leads a staff of four people but firmly believes that you can accomplish big things with a small staff if they are the right people – and in his case, that is definitely true! He loves sharing Alaska and all its beauty with visitors from around the world.
Justine is Cúpla's Creative Director. She leads the team to develop brands that put the audience's needs and client's objectives at the core of every piece of work. Her passion for creating meaningful brands has been honed through over 15 years of experience working on projects that span the globe, across a diverse range of industries. She is at the heart of Cúpla's place branding expertise, having designed, and overseen, place and destination brand and communications for many regions throughout Victoria and NSW, as well as national tourism campaigns. At home in Victoria's beautiful Beechworth, she is passionate about regional storytelling and growing local economies in the right way.
As Cúpla's lead strategist, Lyndal is a champion of the audience perspective - challenging traditional demographics to focus on the behaviours, wants, needs and motivations of the people a brand serves. She believe this is essential in building a strong place brand, starting with the communities that call the place home. In her 22 years of experience, she has developed an approach to brand strategy that is simple, highly effective and anchored in audience insights, which has been honed through place branding projects throughout Victoria and NSW, as well as broader sectors in Australia, Singapore, Europe and the US. She is particularly experienced in regional and rural place branding, and how to activate local communities to own, advocate and promote on behalf of their shared place brand.
Karen Kühl serves as the Executive Director of Tour Cayuga, where she is dedicated to showcasing the beauty and vibrant culture of Cayuga County in New York’s Finger Lakes region. Her work centers on building community connections, supporting local businesses, and leading tourism initiatives that drive economic vitality while celebrating the unique character of the region.
Karen’s career includes impactful work in Nicaragua, where she developed a deep appreciation for sustainable tourism and cultural exchange. At Selva Negra, a renowned eco-lodge and coffee estate, she contributed to sustainable tourism practices focused on environmental stewardship and community support. Through her work with Tastefully Nicaragua, she highlighted the country’s culinary traditions, creating immersive travel experiences rooted in local culture and cuisine.
A passionate storyteller, Karen emphasizes the human and emotional impact of tourism, looking beyond traditional ROI to focus on values like community, support, and opportunity. Her vision is to foster a future where the Cayuga community thrives, residents feel supported, and visitors feel at home.
Callum Wood is an accomplished marketing professional who leads BEDA’s Marketing team and champions the Brisbane destination brand globally.
With a focus on driving economic growth, Callum leads a diverse team of marketing and place activation professionals to develop and execute impactful marketing strategies across diverse sectors and audiences.
From tourism, business and major events, to business growth, trade, and investment, Callum manages the Brisbane destination brand holistically, both domestically and internationally.
Prior to joining BEDA, Callum held several destination and event marketing roles across Melbourne and regional Victoria, including City Marketing Manager for the City of Melbourne. Callum has completed an MBA with a focus on marketing and brand management. He is also admitted as an Australian Lawyer.
Recognised as a ‘Queensland Great’ in 2013, Anthony is a well-respected and self-confessed sport loving local who is known for the passion and entrepreneurial spirit that he brings to all professional endeavours.
An inspiring leader with a proven track record in delivering strategic business outcomes and strong partnerships, Anthony is responsible for leading BEDA to drive sustainable economic growth for the City.
As Brisbane’s champion, BEDA works with stakeholders to enhance the City’s reputation globally, drive visitation and attract investment and talent, whilst looking ahead at emerging opportunities for the Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Previously CEO of Youngcare, Anthony pioneered the transformation of the national not-for-profit organisation into an innovative and entrepreneurial company that provides meaningful solutions and choices for young people with high physical care needs.
Ken Morrison is an experienced chief executive and non-executive director of for-purpose organisations operating within complex environments. He is passionate about the future of our cities and has helped shape public policy and industry outcomes for two decades.
Mr Morrison is the CEO of the Bradfield Development Authority, responsible for delivering the new Bradfield City and attracting investment to the Western Sydney Aerotropolis, a role he commenced in August 2024. The Western Sydney Aerotropolis and the 114-hectare Bradfield City are the largest urban renewal project in Australia and leverage the $20 billion of investment now underway into the new Western Sydney International Airport and surrounding infrastructure.
Mr Morrison is also currently the Chair of the inaugural Board of Metropolitan Memorial Parks, a newly merged NSW Government social infrastructure and services entity. This appointment in 2023 followed his six-month term as the organisation’s Ministerial-appointed Administrator leading it through a merger and a governance, organisational and strategic transition.
Prior to these roles Mr Morrison was the chief executive of the Property Council of Australia, one of the nation’s most respected business groups, and a member of a range of industry and government boards and advisory bodies. He was a director of the Green Building Council of Australia and the Australian Sustainable Built Environment Council, a member of the National Affordable Housing Alliance, deputy chair of the Business Coalition for Tax Reform and he co-founded the Property Champions of Change to promote gender diversity across the property industry. Before this he was the CEO of the Tourism and Transport Forum, a CEO forum and the peak body for Australia’s tourism, aviation and transport sectors.
He holds an MBA, is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, has completed the Advanced Management Program with INSEAD and has undertaken an executive course in organisational renewal at Harvard Business School.
Amanda is an accomplished strategist and designer who transforms cities, precincts, and organizations through an innovative 'inside-out' approach. Her work seamlessly integrates strategy, design, and change management to create lasting impact across public and commercial sectors. By drawing on her multidisciplinary expertise, she develops solutions that strengthen organizations internally while enhancing their external presence and influence. This unique methodology has consistently delivered measurable results, whether revitalizing urban districts, reimagining corporate spaces, or fostering positive organizational change. Her deep understanding of both human-centered design and strategic planning enables her to create solutions that resonate at every level - from internal operations to citywide initiatives.
Annabelle defines her careers purpose as leveraging tourism as a force for good. Her diverse tourism experience spans 25 years in wholesale, retail, trade, marketing, and destination development, providing her with a well-rounded industry perspective, gained in different contexts around the world and Australia. During her work for a Destination Marketing Organization in Sydney, Annabelle had a key realization that success in tourism centred on growth and promotion, with little emphasis on managing it sustainably. This insight fuelled her passion for sustainable tourism, which deepened during an 18-month stay on a remote island in the Solomon Islands from 2018. There, she led the development of a tourism master plan for the Central Province Government, while completing a Masters in Sustainable Tourism Management. This pivotal experience reinforced her commitment to fostering tourism that benefits both the environment and local community. Before relocating to Western Australia, Annabelle spearheaded the award-winning rebrand of South Australia’s Eyre Peninsula, “Eyre the Wild Side,” which earned gold at the 2023 South Australian Tourism Awards. Since moving to Esperance in early 2024, she has continued to champion sustainable tourism, leading initiatives like the “Esperance. In Your Element” brand and the creation of the “Esperance Promise” to support the thoughtful management of the region’s tourism sector.
Nicky loves turning strategy into reality. With a background in financial communications and designing customer-centric learning experiences for senior teams, Nicky has worked with organisations to implement strategies across North America, UK and Europe, Japan, China and Australasia.
Nicky currently leads New Zealand Story’s strategic partnerships with a focus on the private sector. She believes in the power of collective branding and scaling individual impact through bold collaboration. Nicky is responsible for developing growth pathways for New Zealand exporters, based on authentically leveraging the brand of New Zealand for tangible commercial results.
Carl thrives on people, partnerships and the friendships that grow from great collaboration. Having worked across community, business and government sectors globally, including with the United Nations, he brings a truly international perspective to destination and place strategy.
Carl has led award-winning brand strategies and practical visitor economy roadmaps that translate big ideas into grounded action. When not snorkelling, his happy place is unpacking the ‘who’ and the ‘what’ that makes a place remarkable.
Charlotte is a leading destination specialist who loves working with destinations and places that refuse to play it safe. Known for her sharp strategic mind, quick wit, and unfiltered honesty, she helps regions cut through the noise and uncover the piece of gold that make them truly stand out.
A self-confessed tourism nerd, she blends data with design thinking, brand psychology, and a healthy dose of creative audacity. Is it time for a wine?
Erin Marvin is the Director of Communications at Miles Partnership, a global marketing consultancy focused exclusively on travel and tourism.
Drawing on more than two decades of content marketing experience, Erin oversees the development and execution of Miles Partnership’s corporate communications and marketing initiatives to foster brand awareness, build strong relationships with key stakeholders and drive new business growth
With a keen eye for emerging trends and a deep understanding of the travel landscape, Erin also collaborates with account teams to identify innovative opportunities for client brand engagement and amplification. Her expertise in crafting compelling narratives and leveraging data-driven insights helps ensure that Miles Partnership and its clients remain at the forefront of the travel industry.
Simon Moriarty is MMGY's VP of Research & Analytics, responsible for syndicated research across the Travel Intelligence portfolio globally. He has worked as a trend and consumer expert for nearly twenty years, and has led teams of researchers in Brazil, China, India, and the UK. As a keynote speaker he has presented at events all across the world, from Sao Paulo to Sunderland, and has been featured in publications including the Guardian and the New York Times.
Natalia Arenzana has an extensive background in scientific research and marketing. After several years in institutions such as CSIC (Madrid) and Columbia University (New York), in 2001 she joined the Marketing Department of Lilly in Spain, where she supported the launch of new products in Spain. She then worked at the advertising agency Tandem DDB in strategic planning, contributing to award-winning campaigns and the repositioning of IBEX 35 brands.
In 2004, Natalia joined Havas Media as Director of Strategic Projects, where she developed methodologies to innovate in the touch points between brands and consumers. Subsequently, at Havas Media Consulting, she led management and reorganisation projects in the communications areas of large companies in different sectors of activity. Between 2008 and 2014, she was managing partner at TheBigPic and Brandfusion, agencies focused on building strong brands and regular collaborators of Reputation Institute in branding and reputation measurement projects.
In 2017, she co-founded Reputation Intelligence, which was absorbed by Reputation Institute in 2018. In 2020, together with former colleagues, she founded Reputation Lab to continue advising corporations and institutions on brand and reputation management.
Natalia holds an MBA from the IE Business School, a PhD in Biological Sciences from the Complutense University of Madrid and a BS in the same discipline.
Eamon’s career has spanned the social, economic and urban needs of Sydney.
He started his career working side-by-side with people experiencing long-term homelessness in Penrith and Blacktown to understand their challenges, and undertook the first Homelessness Street Count in the Western Parkland City.
Prior to joining the Committee as CEO, Eamon was the Chief Strategy Officer of the Department of Enterprise, Investment and Trade, sitting on the Executive of the Department and leading strategic projects across the Investment, Industry and Trade, Arts and Culture, Sport, Tourism and Hospitality and Racing sectors.
Before this, Eamon was Deputy CEO and Policy Director at the Committee for Sydney, Director of Policy for Youth Action NSW, the peak body for young people and the services that support them across NSW, and worked in social services including UnitingCare and Marist Youth Care.
As the Committee’s Policy Director, Eamon delivered more than 40 reports, including work on Density Done Well, Benchmarking Sydney’s Performance, the Sandstone Mega-Region and Safety After Dark.
Eamon is also engaged in broader Sydney society as a member of the Monkey Baa Theatre Company board, and previously served as a Board Director of the NSW Council of Social Services (NCOSS), Sydney Community Foundation, and Sydney Alliance.
Joy heads up the fDi Strategies consulting team and is a legally-trained FDI and economic development expert, with 10 years experience advising a diverse range of organisations from national and sub-national investment promoting authorities to development institutions and banks worldwide.
Joy has significant experience working on investment promotion strategies, business retention and expansion engagements, and best practice investment facilitation approaches for sustainable FDI projects.
Anu is currently serving as Senior Manager of Global Brand and Marketing at Helsinki Partners, a company owned by the city of Helsinki, attracting international visitors, talent and investments to Finland’s capital. She has an extensive experience in international destination marketing, including roles at the national level. At Helsinki Partners Anu is responsible for developing and implementing Helsinki city’s brand strategy to enhance its global reputation as a exceptional destination for visiting, working, and living. She is also passionate about promoting diversity and the value of international cities, both as destinations and within workplace environments.
Film maker and multimedia communication consultant by profession, Beryl Koltz has been working since 2020 as the Head of the Luxembourg image brand promotion, better known as the LuXembourg - Let's make it happen initiative. Within the Ministry of the Economy, the operational LuXembourg - Let's make it happen cell is a team of eight people responsible for inspiring, coordinating stakeholders and promoting Luxembourg's brand image abroad.
Qasa Alom presents the iconic “Today at Wimbledon” BBC Tennis programme and is on ‘The Travel Show”. He is an established broadcaster who has worked on various landmark events such as the Commonwealth Games, the London Marathon and several General Elections.
Qasa has a keen passion for environmental conservation and hosts the BBC Green Sport Awards as well as presenting programmes for The Climate Question, Costing the Earth and chairing panels for the UN at COP 26 & COP 27.
During his career Qasa has made an award winning investigative series on the illegal sex trade in Stoke-on-Trent and regularly presents on BBC 5 Live, BBC Radio 4 and The World Service.
- With Ernst & Young LLP for more than 12 years
- With STB for more than 10 years
- Chartered Accountant by profession
- Certified Train the Trainer
- Responsible to initiate and develop Sabah Rural and Community Based Tourism since 2014
Toby has worked in the travel and tourism sector for 13 years, having been plucked from the world of sports broadcasting sales on the promise that it was “more fun honestly”. During that time he has held senior commercial roles at Expedia, Adara, and Epsilon before joining Tiki in June 2025 to spearhead their growth outside the US. He lives in Bath, UK with his wife and two teenage sons.
Newest member of the team, and has so far worked on projects for Presence Switzerland, Austrade, Invest Moldova, New Zealand Story, and Enterprise Estonia.
Master's from UCL in International Relations of the Americas - Dissertation tile: Nation Branding: An evolving concept and under-explored industry. What should be considered as a successful Nation Brand? Using Costa Rica as a case study.
Previous experience at The Place Brand Observer - Research and Editorial Trainee
Boyd Sleator is a dedicated advocate for human rights, equality and freedom of expression. His work as coordinator of Northern Ireland Humanists and as co-founder of Free The Night has led to significant steps forward for many marginalised voices in Northern Ireland.
Boyd has immersed himself in the music industry for over a decade as a DJ, record store manager and promoter of electronic events across Northern Ireland and Manchester. His passion for music led him to pursue formal education in Music Production & Development at Spirit Studios in Manchester (formerly The School of Sound Recording), with his abilities soon being recognised by Fergie on BBC Radio 1. With nationwide radio play and residencies across Northern Ireland, England and Ibiza, Boyd was hailed as one of Mixmag's Future Heroes in 2003. Today, he continues to produce electronic music as a dedicated enthusiast in his personal home studio, inspired by the intricate and experimental sounds of Chris Clarke, Com Truise and Max Cooper.
This deep connection to the dancefloor led him to found Free The Night with local DJ Holly Lester in early 2021; a charity committed to progressing nightlife in Northern Ireland following a lack of change to archaic licensing policy that affects dancefloors across the country. The pair has been working tirelessly on issues affecting the nighttime landscape, and they have had several major accomplishments since forming, most notably the publication of the first comprehensive study on Northern Irish nightlife in their 2022 research paper Transforming Nightlife in Northern Ireland.
Outside of his work for Free The Night, Boyd is recognised for his achievements in advocacy for human rights and equality and has contributed to several legal and societal advancements in Northern Ireland. His efforts have been pivotal in a Supreme Court case that marked a substantial legal victory for bodily autonomy in Northern Ireland and he championed the cause for legal recognition and equality for non-religious humanist ceremonies, advocating for inclusive practices across various sectors. His contributions to education reform are noteworthy, stressing the importance of inclusive and diverse schools that respect and reflect a broad spectrum of beliefs and values.
With a wealth of experience in policy development, community building and advocacy, Boyd maintains a profound commitment to instigating positive changes in Northern Ireland and beyond.
Luca Romozzi, Commercial Director at Sojern, manages the international sales team focused on Destinations & Corporate clients across Europe. He has almost 18 years of experience in the world of tourism, digital technology and destination marketing. Before joining Sojern, he worked for more than 10 years during the Expedia Media Solutions team's expansion into EMEA. He holds a degree in Business Administration from Bocconi University and completed a Master in Tourism Economics and Management from Ciset Ca' Foscari in Venice.
Mark’s role as CEO of Explore Seattle Southside enables him to interact with an engaged team of experienced destination marketers in a region south of the Seattle Washington metro core. Mark’s background includes managing hotels and multi-hotel portfolios for 35+ years prior to transitioning into destination marketing.
Explore Seattle Southside is a unique destination marketing organization. The organization’s public funding via a lodging assessment provides stability for the organization to plan multi-year marketing campaigns. The region it markets experiences over 50 million visitors a year, surpassing many other larger and more well-known destinations. The organization has been recognized as one of the best workplaces in the State of Washinton for the past several years – unheard of for a governmental authority.
Kristin Dunne is the Director of Destination Wayfinder, where she leads efforts to transform destination management through community engagement, sustainable tourism practices, and inclusive local economies. Previously, she was the CEO of Tourism Bay of Plenty, New Zealand, where she pioneered one of the world’s first destination stewardship strategies, integrating Indigenous wisdom and regenerative tourism. Kristin brings empathy for the challenges and practicalities of leading, transforming and marketing within a destination stewardship worldview with practical, hands-on knowledge of the challenges at each stage of evolution. Kristin is also a Strategist at Miles Partnership, deputy co-chair of Tourism Industry Aotearoa, Director on the Destination Southern Lakes Board and a fellow of the Chartered Institute of Marketing, with extensive experience in crisis management and stakeholder collaboration.
Roland Kleve is the brand-new Managing Director of City Marketing and Public Events in Eindhoven. He brings a broad career background with a strong focus on well-being.
Roland's journey in well-being—spanning hospitality, leisure, and customer experience—began in 1991 at EuroDisney France, a year before the park’s opening. This formative experience deeply influenced his career, driving him to executive positions at Stage Entertainment, Race Circuit Zandvoort, and Bobbejaanland. In 2018, he became the Dean of the Academy of Leisure & Events at Breda University. Now, back in his hometown of Eindhoven, everything has come full circle for him.
Today, Eindhoven is facing one of the largest expansion plans for the next 10 years. The city is experiencing enormous economic growth, leading to a significant demand for additional labor. But what about housing and infrastructure? How do we turn a house into a home? And what about the softer aspects—leisure, sports, culture, and recreation? How are we connecting with our communities and residents?
From these questions, our connection project, Open Eindhoven, was born.
Wiktoria Herun - Deputy Director for Academic Affairs and Economic Promotion, Lublin City Office, Strategy and Entrepreneurship Department.
Coordinator of Study in Lublin program in cooperation with 9 local universities.
One of the many co-authors of the Lublin 2030 Strategy: The process of developing the Lublin 2030 Strategy involved a large team and required the use of carefully selected working methods and tools. Using innovative research methods, thousands of opinions and ideas were gathered, which have been poured into the city's policies for 2030. Focusing on the inhabitants and actively involving them at the stage of planning the future of the city made it possible to assign to them the role of co-authors of the Lublin 2030 Strategy.
Coordinator of the EuniverCities network. The aim of the cooperation is mutual learning how to create the most attractive conditions for studying, as well as the promotion of the existing scientific and didactic potential in a given city;
Patrick Torrent is graduated in Industrial Psychology for the Organizations by the University of Barcelona and Bachelor in Law by the UNED, he has formation in Marketing Management from ESADE, and in Systems Management Information by Master Associates
From 2005 to 2009, he was Deputy Director General of Consorci Turisme de Catalunya and Deputy Director of the Catalan Tourist Board from 2010 when it was create until 2013. He is currently Executive Director of the Catalan Tourist Board.
He has participated actively in the creation of the new Catalan Tourist Board and stimulated the definition of three Strategic Plans of Tourism in Catalonia. He has also coordinated the two Tourism Marketing Plans of Catalonia.
He has been Associate Teacher at different universities and speaker and organizer of several symposiums, seminars, workshops and forums focused on tourism and its marketing.
Since 2015, Mr. Torrent has represented Catalonia at NECSTouR. From 2015 to 2021, he has held the Presidency and currently holds the Vice-Presidency of this network that brings together 41 Regional Tourism Authorities and 39 partner organisations.
Journalist from the University of Chile, she has a broad background in the field of Communications and extensive experience in Communication Management, Corporate Affairs, and Political Communication, where she has built a career as an advisor to political authorities.
She has held positions such as Communications Director for the Chilean Chamber of Deputies, Communications Chief at the Ministry of Cultures, Arts, and Heritage, Communications Advisor to three Presidents of the Chilean Chamber of Deputies, and advisor to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Chile for the national and international communications campaign on the implementation of the Chilean Vote Abroad. For over 10 years, she was a press advisor to former President Ricardo Lagos.
She is also a writer and published her first novel, “Pasajeros en Tránsito,” in 2012, and the second, "Honorables,” in 2020. Since January 2023, is the Executive Director of Imagen de Chile Foundation.
Lord Darroch is a retired UK civil servant and life peer in the House of Lords. His diplomatic career spanned over 40 years, primarily focusing on national security issues and European policy.
Most recently, Lord Darroch served as the British Ambassador to the United States (2016-2019). Prior to Washington, he was National Security Adviser to Prime Minister David Cameron (2012-2015), and in that role, oversaw issues such as the rise of Daesh in Iraq and Syria, Russian aggression in Ukraine, and the collapse of government authority in Libya. In addition, he worked in senior roles on UK-EU policy and multilateral negotiations, including spells as Permanent Representative to the European Union (2007-2011) and as EU Adviser to Prime Minister Tony Blair (2004-2007).
Earlier in his career, Lord Darroch worked in a wide range of positions and policy specialties, including Private Secretary to Minister of State for the Middle East, Head of the Adriatic Department during the Dayton Accord negotiations, and as Head of the News Department at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
In addition to his two ambassadorial postings, Lord Darroch completed tours in Brussels, Rome, and Tokyo.
In 1997, he was appointed a Companion of the Order of St. Michael and St. George (CMG), and as a Knight Commander (KCMG) in 2008. In 2019, he was made a life peer in the House of Lords.
He was born in 1954 in the village of South Stanley, County Durham in the North of England. He attended Durham University, where he read Zoology, and joined the Diplomatic Service in 1977. He married his wife, Vanessa, in 1978. They have two adult children, Simon and Georgina
Miriam was one of the first people to join the the Delivery Team for Bradford 2025, working with Dan Bates, Executive Director and Shanaz Gulzar, Creative Director, to build a team to build the delivery team, create the programme and ensure that Bradford 2025 is the most incredible year for everyone in Bradford and across the world. Bradford 2025 is the largest City of Culture to date and includes the whole of Bradford District from the Victorian city centre to the moors that inspired Emily Bronte, and the market towns of Ilkley, Shipley and Bingley.
Miriam has 30 years of experience in arts, broadcast media, talent development, grant-making and charity administration. She led the BBC Performing Arts Fund for 13 years, awarding £5.5m in bursaries and grants to the music, dance and theatre sector. She has been an external assessor for the Clore Fellowship, PRS for Music Foundation and the Radio Academy.
Her role at Bradford 2025 includes Guest Services and she is working closely with colleagues in the Bradford Council, WYCA and the LVEP to welcome three million extra visitors to the district in 2025.
Melanie De Vocht is place brand manager at the City of Ghent (Belgium). She has a PhD in communication sciences and works since 2016 at the City of Ghent where she started working on city marketing and strategic communication. In 2019 she took up the project lead in the development of the place brand strategy of Ghent.
Melanie is co-chair of the Flemish Network for Place Branding, founded in 2023 by the City of Ghent and the City of Roeselare.
Ben is Head of Strategic Communications at the Travel Foundation, a global sustainable tourism NGO which works with businesses and destinations to improve tourism’s impacts. He has been at the Travel Foundation for 12 years and has led the development of its influential industry research reports such as Destinations at Risk: The Invisible Burden of Tourism with Cornell in 2019, Towards Destination Stewardship published by the World Travel and Tourism Council in 2021, and 2023’s Envisioning Tourism in 2030 & Beyond in partnership with a Dutch university collaborative. This year he will bring us two new reports: “Climate Justice in Tourism: An Introductory Guide”, and the findings of a research project looking at delivering a more equitable distribution of value for destinations, which he will present at City Nation Place Global. He also chairs the communications working group for the Future of Tourism Coalition and is also part of the team that developed and supports the Glasgow Declaration on Climate Action in Tourism, launched by the UN World Tourism Organisation at COP26 in Glasgow, which is supporting destinations and businesses to halve tourism’s global carbon footprint by 2030.
As global head of PR at the Netherlands Board of Tourism & Conventions (NBTC), Janneke Hendrikx plays a crucial role in enhancing the competitive position of the Netherlands and bolstering the NL brand’s reputation.
She thrives on moving projects and people forward, always bringing a positive attitude and a touch of humour to drive meaningful change.
NBTC is the Netherlands' national destination management organization, working for and with partners on positioning, development, and marketing to make the Netherlands a liveable, popular, and valuable destination for residents, visitors, and businesses.
Ian has worked in the tourism industry since 2001, starting at Northumbria Tourist Board as research assistant. Since then, he has held a range of roles at One North East and NewcastleGateshead Initiative.
Over the 20 years Ian has worked in tourism, he has supported destinations across the country to develop destination management plans, strategize, implement change, and conduct large scale research projects. For the last 10 years Ian has been the regional research lead for tourism in the North East, and he sits on the VisitEngland Research Group. He also sits on the board of Beamish Museum.
Neil Frauenglass has over 25 years of marketing experience with McCann Worldgroup, Ann Taylor Stores and most currently, VISIT PHILADELPHIA. Over the course of his marketing career, he’s led integrated, multi-channel teams across agencies and countries to yield award winning campaigns for his clients. His experience spans a broad variety of categories, including travel, retail, consumer package goods and financial services. He is adept at building partnerships, understanding the demands of businesses that run at retail speed, and the power of branding to rise above deals and promotions. His clients over the years have included Qualcomm, OppenheimerFunds, HomeGoods, Coca Cola, Johnson & Johnson, Verizon, Kohl’s, and MasterCard.
At VISIT PHILADELPHIA, Neil leads advertising, social, web and paid media, and is currently leading efforts to build programming and marketing for America’s semi-quincentennial in Philadelphia throughout 2026.
Neil currently resides in Old City, Philadelphia on Elfreth’s Alley, the nation’s oldest continuously residential street. He oversees the preservation and programming for this National Historic Landmark as president emeritus of the Elfreth’s Alley Association.
Daniel Hengeveld is the Vice President of Investment Attraction at Toronto Global, Toronto's Investment Promotion Agency. Toronto Global plays a crucial role in providing multinational firms considering international expansion with the strategic advice, guidance, and data necessary to advance their growth objectives. Daniel focuses on attracting high-impact investments from leading innovators and forward-thinking organizations that enhance Toronto's standing on the global stage. His work is pivotal in aligning innovation and economic growth, ensuring that Toronto remains at the forefront of a rapidly evolving global economy. In addition to his work at Toronto Global, he serves on the board of Impact Zero, an accelerator focused on the circular economy.
Barry Rogers is the Director of Destination Strategy with TOPOSOPHY with responsibility for Strategy and Research Projects across the UK, Ireland, and the EU. Barry has previously worked with Dublin City Council as the Head of the Dublin City Tourism Unit. He has an extensive background in destination development, tourism strategy and policy, smart tourism and tourism insights and analytics. He has a BA in Tourism from Munster Technological University and an MA in Tourism Economics and Policy from the National Centre for Tourism Policy Studies at the University of Limerick.
Barry has previously held roles in Tourism Ireland, Ireland’s overseas tourism marketing organisation. Barry is also a Director on the Board of the European Cultural Tourism Network.
Kirsty McLean is the Executive Director for Public Sector Innovation at Liverpool City Region Combined Authority and leads work with Government on the Combined Authority’s devolution ambitions. She is leading work on a new programme to establish a new Office of Public Service Innovation, transforming how people in the city region are supported by local services through an innovative use of data and a community based approach to early intervention. Kirsty is also responsible the city region’s overall International agenda, including leading on establishing our new Local Visitor Economy Partnership, developing and delivering the city region’s new tourism destination management strategy.
Prior to taking on this role, Kirsty was the Executive Director Policy, Strategy and Government Relations for Liverpool City Region Combined Authority where she was responsible for ensuring the CA’s work was underpinned by a strong evidence base, robust economic analysis and timely engagement of stakeholders. She was also responsible for developing our overall strategy and policy priorities and engaging Government to influence national policy and secure opportunities for the city region.
Kirsty was previously Area Director for the North West in the Cities and Local Growth Unit, a joint unit between the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government and the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, leading work with places on local growth and devolution. Kirsty was also responsible for delivering the Government’s Northern Powerhouse agenda.
Prior to that Kirsty was an Executive Director in the Shareholder Executive with responsibility for the strategy of the Public Data Group; a non-Executive Director position on the Land Registry Board; and the digital transformation of the Business, Innovation and Skills Department and its partner organisations. Kirsty previously led on a range of skills and education policies in the Business and Education Departments. Kirsty was also Private Secretary to two Education Secretaries.
Fiona Macdonald is the Head of Strategy at VisitBritain/VisitEngland, guiding the strategy for the national tourist board. Working there for 8+ years, she previously lead the international marketing for Britain and England’s business events sector as part of the GREAT campaign. Fiona has seen many global place brands, having started her career in New Zealand’s tourism sector at the then Ministry of Tourism, and also during her time at Reed Exhibitions (headquartered in London, UK) where she guided the strategy and growth of the global travel events including World Travel Market, International Luxury Travel Market and IBTM World.
Jessica has been recognized nationally for her work overseeing all marketing and communications at Visit Fort Worth and as a leader moving Fort Worth forward. Her team includes specialists in public relations, social media, video, content and digital strategies, research, brand activations, B2C, B2B, film, television and music marketing.
Jessica and her team established the Fort Worth Film Commission in 2015 with the goal of attracting film and television business to Fort Worth, driving economic impact and creating jobs for the region. The Film Commission has worked with hundreds of projects, driven over $655 million in economic impact and helped support over 20,000 local jobs. Prjoect highlights include Taylor Sheridan's TV shows 1883 and Lawman: Bass Reeves and films A Ghost Story, The Old Man & the Gun, Never Goin’ Back, No Future, Miss Juneteenth, 12 Mighty Orphans, The Senior.
Jessica was instrumental in developing the Fort Worth Film Collaborative, a film workforce development certification program developed by the Fort Worth Film Commission, Tarrant County College and 101 Studios. The program will address the growing need for trained film industry crew in the greater Fort Worth area.
Jessica joined Visit Fort Worth in 2011 from FOX Broadcasting Company in Los Angeles, where she worked on marketing campaigns for Prison Break, 24, Glee and The X-Factor.
She earned a Lone Star Emmy for her work as a producer with FOX Broadcasting in Texas.
Dan was appointed the Executive Director of Bradford City of Culture 2025 in December 2022. It marked a return to West Yorkshire, following 13 years as the Chief Executive of Sheffield Theatres, the UK’s largest regional theatre complex, with 2,500 seats across three theatres, producing extraordinary theatre in Sheffield and across the UK.
After his formal training at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, he worked across a number of organisations including Theatre Royal in Windsor, Leeds Playhouse and York Theatre Royal before joining Sheffield Theatres in 2009.
At Sheffield he led the organisation to many accolades, such as the UK’s Regional Theatre of the Year for 4 years, with work transferred to London, New York and touring the UK. Work that he produced in Sheffield includes the World Premiere of Everybody’s Talking About Jamie, Life of Pi (now touring the UK ) and, most recently, Standing at the Sky’s Edge, which will open next year in London after a sell out run at the National Theatre. In 2022, he was ranked #16 in the Stage 100 list of most influential people in theatre.
He is well connected across the industry and was until recently a Board member of English Touring Theatre, a Director of the Sheffield BID Company, Sheffield’s Culture Consortium and Sheffield’s Culture Collective. He has recently been appointed to the Board of the Bradford BID.
Dan is the Executive Director of Bradford 2025, and works alongside Shanaz Gulzar, Creative Director, as they build the delivery team, create the programme and ensure that Bradford 2025 is the most incredible year for everyone in Bradford and across the world.
Adam joined Medway Council on 14 August 2023, becoming the Director of Place, having been the Chief Executive at the South East Local Enterprise Partnership, overseeing significant regeneration projects across the region.
Adam has previous experience working in regional development and in Local Government, having held a number of roles at Essex County Council, including the Head of Place Partnership Integration.
Adam studied a degree in German at University of Nottingham, has a Masters in Management from the Nottingham Business School and is a committed Nottingham Forest fan. Adam also enjoys cricket and exploring the UK on family holidays with their dog.
As Director of Place, Adam Bryan has responsibility for Frontline Services, Culture and Community and Regeneration.
- The Frontline Services division provides essential services for our customers and residents, such as Waste, Safer Communities, Highways and Transport
- The Culture and Community division is responsible for a variety of service areas including Medway’s cultural offer, libraries and community hubs, planning, housing, sport, leisure, tourism, heritage and building control
- Regeneration this division is responsible for leading our ambitious programme of physical regeneration across Medway as well as our developing our 5 main town centres into vibrant hubs for our communities. Our Skills agenda also falls within this division, including our Adult Education offer and our established skills hub based in Gillingham Town Centre.
The Directorate’s aim is to establish Medway as a great place to live, to work, to learn and to visit, drawing on our rich heritage to deliver a great future for Medway.
Adam is a Board Member for Locate in Kent, Visit Kent, Kent Chamber of Commerce and Medway Place Board.
Kata Varblane is a dedicated brand envoy of Estonia. She leads the Country Promotion Department at Enterprise Estonia, a government agency under the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications. The Country Promotion Department is responsible for developing the Estonian country brand and boosting the cooperation between Enterprise Estonia’s international marketing and PR units (tourism, investments, trade, talent, startup, and e-residency). Her previous experiences are with the Estonian Investment Agency, the unicorn company Bolt, the design agency Velvet, and the NASDAQ Tallinn stock exchange. She continuously pioneers digital tools and solutions that redefine the client journey, embodying the essence of creative and efficient e-Estonia. She is dedicated to helping innovative businesses and people benefit from Estonian digital society by spreading the word about Estonian developments and telling Estonian stories.
Amy is the Director of Marketing and Communications for New Zealand Story, whose purpose is to protect, enhance and promote Brand New Zealand to expand Aotearoa New Zealand’s reputation and value internationally. Amy is also a member of the Board of Trustees for the Starship Foundation, which fundraises for New Zealand’s national children’s hospital. Amy is an advocate of using insights, storytelling and world-class creative to shift perceptions and enhance consideration.
Jenell Fairman is the Director of Economic Development for Westfield, Indiana. She is passionate about building better communities by fostering the delivery of quality economic development initiatives. With over 25 years of experience in commercial real estate projects up to $500 million, Jenell focuses on quality, value, sustainability, and community connectivity. A professional engineer and graduate of Purdue University, Jenell is a creative problem solver who brings curiosity, collaboration and efficiency into project designs, deal structures and processes, optimizing the benefits of public private partnerships to stakeholders.
Jenell currently serves Urban Land Institute as the national Placemaking Council Membership Chair and the ULI Indiana Chair of Community Impact. Jenell formerly served on the IndyCREW Board of Directors and is a founding member of the Indiana Structural Engineers Association. She is a member of Leadership Indianapolis Stanley K. Lacy Leadership Series Class XXXIX and Hamilton County Leadership Academy Class of 2024. Her awards and recognitions include the Junior Achievement Best and Brightest Award, Indy CREW's Donna Hovey Award, CREW Network Impact Award, College Mentors for Kids Inspire Award, and the Urban Land Institute WLI Prologis Scholarship.
In her free time, Jenell is an amateur painter and also enjoys cooking, yoga, reading, and traveling with her husband and their four children.
Karen has worked for Hamilton County Tourism, Inc. as its chief marketing and sales strategist for over 20 years. In her work, she successfully built tourism markets for golf, weddings, youth sports, weekend leisure, and small meetings. She led the organization through a 10-year vision and strategic planning effort, built a $2M marketing and advertising program that consistently achieves higher than industry average ROI, developed the strategic partnerships and research that led to building Grand Park Sports Campus—the nation’s most visited multi-sports venue—and most recently led the county’s effort to build a tourism capital fund that will influence new tourism development for the county in years to come. Currently she oversees the marketing, sports, sales, and visitor services departments for Hamilton County Tourism and informs strategic direction on special projects and long-range plans. Karen lives in Westfield, Indiana and enjoys yoga, hiking, live music, summer Jeep rides, and travel and adventure with her two sons.
Kate is Director of the GREAT Programme, the UK government's flagship marketing campaign, designed to encourage an international audience to visit, study, trade, invest, live and work in the UK. In FY22/23, the GREAT programme returned on average £15 to the UK economy for every £1 spent.
Kate joined government in 2020 and within 6 months led the successful refresh of the GREAT brand, which has since been rolled out to over 150 markets, promoting everything from UK science and technology to the arts and values.
Prior to joining Government Kate held a variety of marketing and leadership roles in the private sector, developing award-winning marketing for Heinz, Mars, Sainsbury’s, House of Fraser and The Metropolitan Police Service among others.
Maria recently took up the position of Chief Executive at Cambridge BID after nine years in Watford, seven of those as Chief Executive of Watford BID. Before returning to the south Maria worked for Newcastle City as a Senior Regeneration Manager and in Northumberland as a Head of Service responsible for Tourism, Economic Development, Town Centre regeneration, Arts & Culture and Sports Development. She led on and managed a number of capital and revenue projects, including managing a regeneration programme across the rural coalfield, development of a long distance walk route, a new build Tourist Information Centre, car park and toilet block and the restoration on ancient listed monument.
In between Northumberland and Newcastle Maria worked in Italy renovating a villa and as a business development consultant, where she identified a site and managed the development of a Youth Hostel in Alnwick, securing £500,000 grant funding for it’s development. The YH was opened by HRH Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip.
In her spare time Maria enjoys swimming, cooking (and eating), trips to the theatre, travelling and painting (very badly).
Maria recently took up the position of Chief Executive at Cambridge BID after nine years in Watford, seven of those as Chief Executive of Watford BID. Before returning to the south Maria worked for Newcastle City as a Senior Regeneration Manager and in Northumberland as a Head of Service responsible for Tourism, Economic Development, Town Centre regeneration, Arts & Culture and Sports Development. She led on and managed a number of capital and revenue projects, including managing a regeneration programme across the rural coalfield, development of a long distance walk route, a new build Tourist Information Centre, car park and toilet block and the restoration on ancient listed monument.
In between Northumberland and Newcastle Maria worked in Italy renovating a villa and as a business development consultant, where she identified a site and managed the development of a Youth Hostel in Alnwick, securing £500,000 grant funding for it’s development. The YH was opened by HRH Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip.
In her spare time Maria enjoys swimming, cooking (and eating), trips to the theatre, travelling and painting (very badly).
Fernando Prado is one of the most recognised international experts in reputation and brand management. He is co-creator of cutting-edge reputation measurement tools such as RepTrak® and RepCore®. His branding and communication strategies, as well as his research projects on reputation and sustainability have won several national and international awards for their effectiveness and innovation.
Fernando has helped many of the largest companies in Spain and Latin America, as well as relevant multinational companies, in their reputation management. He is also an expert in the reputation of nations and has helped different governments in the management of their country brand.
Before joining Reputation Lab, he headed Reputation Institute (a world leader in corporate reputation measurement and management) in Spain and Latin America for 13 years. During his time at Reputation Institute, Fernando also led the company's global place reputation practice.
Previously, he worked for 10 years at WPP Group in positions related to brand strategy: CEO of Kantya Brand Strategies (Spain), Head of Strategic Planning at JWT Spain, Global BRANDZ Coordinator at Millward Brown Chicago and Strategic Planner at Ogilvy New York.
Fernando Prado holds a BA (Hons.) in International Business Management from ICADE (Madrid) and Middlesex University (London), and an MBA from IESE (Barcelona).
Nathan Reigner, Ph.D., is Pennsylvania’s first Director of Outdoor Recreation. He was instrumental in the establishment of Pennsylvania's Office of Outdoor Recreation.
Prior to beginning his service with the Commonwealth in 2021, Nathan was a member of Penn State’s research faculty and Principal of Recreation Tourism Science, an applied outdoor recreation consultancy.
Throughout his career, Nathan has focused on helping communities, parks, trails, and tourism destinations deliver outstanding experiences while protecting their essential character.
Reigner has worked in and with more than 100 national and state parks, forests, trails, historic sites, and heritage areas in more than half the states and territories in the union and overseas in Europe, Asia, the Arctic, and the Middle East.
A native of Pennsylvania, Reigner has a bachelor’s degree in anthropology and sociology from Gettysburg College, a Master of Science in Forestry from Virginia Tech, and a Doctorate in Natural Resource Management from the University of Vermont.
Jordan Cooley is an experienced economic development consultant. She leans into her background in design thinking and research to develop human-centered strategies that help propel communities towards economic resiliency and growth.
During projects, Jordan works with both the internal team and client to design a research and stakeholder engagement plan that can achieve the overall goal of the project. She has led over 100 hours of stakeholder engagement, conducted and visualized numerous economic analyses, and written strategies for statewide, regional, and local government clients. These strategies have varied in their focus including traditional CEDS, workforce development, tech transfers, and federal grant implementation (IIJA, IRA, CHIPS, etc.), among others.
Communities she has advised in her career include Austin, TX; Pflugerville, TX; Cincinnati, OH; several regions in New York, including Western, Central, Southern Tier, and Long Island; and Chattanooga, TN.
Prior to Resonance, Jordan was an economic development consultant and researcher at Ernst & Young, LLP.
Based in Washington, DC, Mark leads Gensler’s Cities and Urban Design practice in the firm’s Southeast Region. A graduate of Cornell University, Mark is an architect and urban planner with 30 years of experience. He leads large scaled urban development projects in the U.S. and around the globe, including the Mid Atlantic, Middle East, India, and China. Whether designing new cities or reimagining aging malls, his work helps communities address the significant challenges ahead around livability, mobility, environment, and technology. Working with both cities and developers, much of Mark’s focus is on repositioning aging assets for success by creating dynamic mixed use environments and inclusive, innovative public realm to optimize value and human experience. As the world’s largest design firm, Gensler creates a better world through design by reimagining cities and places that make a difference in people’s lives.
Sean Washington is a results-oriented business professional who excels in attracting, retaining, deepening and developing business relationships in the Hampton Roads community. As Interim Director of Economic Development for the City of Norfolk, Sean provides leadership, innovative ideas and insight on new and/or emerging industries while managing complex real estate development transactions. Previously, Sean served as Assistant Director of Economic Development from November of 2020 to August of 2022.
Before joining the City of Norfolk’s Department of Economic Development in 2017, Sean helped small businesses grow as an Assistant Vice President with Truist (formerly BB&T) Bank. During his seven-year tenure at Truist (formerly BB&T), he managed a $34.5 million deposit portfolio and a $15 million lending portfolio.
Sean balances his passion for helping small businesses thrive while giving countless hours of his time to the community. Currently, Sean serves on the board for Volunteer Hampton Roads and Parents Against Bullying VA. He is the past president of the Urban League of Hampton Roads Young Professionals and past co-chair of Truist (formerly BB&T) Multicultural Committee. Sean has also volunteered with the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, Roc Solid Organization, THRive, Toastmasters International, and Norfolk’s Bank-on Your Success Program.
Sean holds a Bachelor of Science in business administration from Hampton University. He spends his downtime reading, exercising, and traveling with his wife of 8 years, Jessica Larché Washington.
Combining her passion for marketing and expertise in leveraging data strategies to drive destination growth, Andria leads data-driven initiatives and guides implementation of future-focused analytics at Miles Partnership. Prior to joining Miles, Andria led the Travel and Tourism team at Epsilon, developing global advertising and data management platforms to support the travel industry. Throughout her career Andria has focused on developing data solutions and bringing them to the global industry to promote travel and economic development across destinations.
Andria has held senior positions with Longwoods International, ADARA, the Georgia Department of Economic Development and Travel Texas. In addition to her role at Miles, she is currently an adjunct professor at the University of Southern California where she teaches applied research and finance.
David Cowan is the Chief Public Spaces Officer for the Downtown Detroit Partnership (DDP). He planned and launched the opening of Beacon Park, one of Detroit’s most contemporary public spaces and plans over 2,000 events and programs annually for Downtown Detroit’s internationally recognized and award-winning public space portfolio, including: Campus Martius Park, Beacon Park, Capitol Park, Cadillac Square, Grand Circus Park, Paradise Valley, and The Woodward Esplanade.
David was named Crain’s Detroit Business 20 in their 20’s honoree, was the winner of the 2020 International Downtown Association Award for Place Management and recognized with the 2022 Arts Achievement Award by Wayne State University. He is an advocate for placemaking, the arts, and urban planning in American cities and is the recipient of a Spirit of Detroit Award for service to his community. For three years in a row, Campus Martius Park was named top public square by USA Today.
David works to create lasting memories and one-of-a-kind experiences for
Downtown’s wide-ranging demographics, hosting over 6 million visitors annually. His dedicated and incredible staff designs experiences and venues that are flexible and versatile enabling over 250+ community partners and 500+ artists to present and produce programming free to the public.
In addition to public spaces, David also oversees DDP’s public space earned revenue activity, events, marketing, and corporate partnerships, which includes oversight of the markets at Cadillac Square, an annual fleet of 75 food trucks, two award winning restaurants, the Rink at Campus Martius Park, temporary public art program, major international festivals, headline concerts, and more.
He also collaborates with Visit Detroit and the Detroit Sports Commission to attract large-scale experiences to Detroit, like the NFL Draft coming in April 2024 and NCAA Final Four in 2027.
He earned his BFA from Wayne State University in Detroit and went on to American University in Washington D.C where he earned his MA in Arts Management.
Above all else, David is a proud father and husband. He grew up in the Green Acres and Midtown neighborhoods of Detroit and on Grosse Ile, an island in the Detroit River near the Canadian border.
Natalie is passionate about the unique opportunities and challenges destinations face in an increasingly data-driven world. Prior to joining Zartico, Natalie spent six years at Visit Baltimore, most recently as their Director of Destination & Business Intelligence, where she led with a data-first approach. While jobs, taxes, and the total economic impact of tourism remain critical to monitor, Natalie believes destinations need to shift their focus from monitoring to optimizing their unique data sources.
Nick describes his work as designing better spaces for humans. With a robust roster of public art, placemaking, and tech-enabled experiences—as well as a Masters in Integrated Design, Business, and Technology—he specializes in immersive spaces that foster deeper appreciation of community, environment, and each other. His ventures have garnered press from The New York Times, Scientific American, Vox, and University of Southern California, among others.
After an early career as a writer and brand strategist, Jamie shifted her storytelling energy into multidimensional experience design, preferring to bring narratives to life in the built environment, through sensory and human touchpoints. Her work connects audiences through experiences that are empathetic, evocative, and emotionally resonant. She has created narrative solutions for municipalities as well as brands like Nike, Disney, and Google. She was also creative director of globally acclaimed “pop-up with a purpose”, That Lady Thing.
Steve Kean is President and CEO of the Greater Houston Partnership, the Houston region’s principal business organization. The Partnership focuses on attracting investment and trade to Houston, building a strong workforce, advocating for sound public policy, and convening a diverse set of Houstonians when major issues arise.
Prior to joining the Partnership in 2023, Steve was Chief Executive Officer of Kinder Morgan, one of the largest energy infrastructure companies in North America.
Steve has worked in the energy industry since 1985 in various commercial, operational and legal positions, primarily in the wholesale energy and energy transportation and storage sectors.
Steve is Chairman of the Board of the Saint Constantine School, a classical Christian school in Houston. Steve also serves on the Advisory Board of the Collaborative for Children. Steve has been an active supporter of the Saint Constantine School, Cristo Rey Jesuit College Preparatory School, KIPP Houston, the Collaborative for Children and the Houston Area Urban League.
Steve holds a bachelor's degree from Iowa State University and a law degree from the University of Iowa.
As the Senior Vice President of Innovation at MMGY NextFactor, Greg leads destination management and tourism strategy, and development of NextFactor’s destination master plans. He focuses on the convergence of global trends driving tourism, community, and economic development, and specializes in sustainable tourism strategy and equitable community growth, aligning public and private sector mandates to ensure the long-term social, economic and environmental viability of destinations worldwide. He also oversees the ongoing evolution of Destination International’s industry-leading DestinationNEXT framework. Prior to joining MMGY NextFactor, Greg led tourism research and brand partnerships at Skift, leveraging the industry shifts to reshape the global visitor economy. During his career, he has collaborated with many destination organizations of all sizes and budgets to help position them as thought leaders in their communities.
Andrea is a serial entrepreneur with experience launching and scaling companies in energy, sustainability, and corporate social responsibility. Originally from California, she relocated to Oslo in 2017 and has had various roles focused on building Oslo’s innovation ecosystem. As City Innovation Lead at Oslo Business Region, the city’s business development agency, she helps technology startups scale through innovative pilot projects, talent attraction and retention initiatives, and international brand building.
Prior to joining Oslo Business Region, Andrea was Special Advisor, International Brand Management at Oslo Region Alliance, representing 65 municipalities in the Greater Oslo Region. She developed programs and tools for attracting and retaining international talent and investment in close collaboration with municipalities, industry clusters, incubators, corporates, and academic institutions.
She co-developed Oslo's brand guide, "Branding Oslo," a joint project by Oslo Region Alliance, VisitOSLO and Oslo Business Region. The guide is a digital summary of Oslo’s Brand Management Strategy, first conceived in 2015 and still in use today.
Mincke has been working for Leiden&Partners over 8 years now and is responsible for the city marketing of the city of Leiden. The goal, in addition to being the host of the city, is to put the Leiden brand on the map, aiming to achieve a qualitative growth in the number of visitors, conferences, students and investments. Additionally, the objective is to establish a connection between the vital city and its residents. Leiden&Partners fulfills this mission through its divisions city branding, regional marketing, Leiden Convention Bureau, International Centre Leiden and the Tourist Office. As the Head of Marketing & Strategy, Mincke supports the positioning of Leiden and ensures it is supported by the numerous partners in and round the city. One of the projects was 2022, the year where Leiden was European City of Science.
Alexandre Lemieux is a founding member of Creos, a leading agency for interactive installations that puts its know-how at the service of public space managers and promoters to offer original and powerful interactive installations that transform public spaces into must-see events and destinations. Alex’s work and mission is all about creating opportunities.
A master in the art of finding the best fit for each space, Alex has enabled the implementation of over 300 interactive digital projects in public spaces around the world.
In the past years, Alex shared his expertise in several conferences and expert panels worldwide such as IDA (International Downtown Association), GCDN (Global Cultural Districts Network), CODAworx, HUB Montréal, Guangzhou ILE (International Lighting Exhibition), to demonstrate the positive impacts of interactive art in the public realm. Within the scope of these interventions, he invites each individual to reflect on the links that exist between art, public spaces, community and economy.
Segun is a proud product of the Boston Public Schools. Following his graduation from Boston Latin Academy, he earned his Bachelor of Arts in History at Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia and honors from the Phi Beta Kappa and Golden Key Societies.
A lifelong advocate, Segun organized the Boston Police Camera Action Team (BPCAT) with his colleague, Shekia Scott, which fulfilled its mission by securing the permanent use of body-worn cameras by Boston Police. From 2018 to 2021, he also served as the first President and CEO of the Black Economic Council of Massachusetts, Inc. (BECMA), the chief advocacy organization for Black businesses across the Commonwealth. In this role, he helped transform the organization by growing its budget, membership, and staff exponentially; expanding the footprint of the organization across the Commonwealth; establishing dozens of partnerships with key stakeholders; and advancing key pieces of state legislation that secured millions more in contracts as well as grants for Black businesses.
Every year since 2021, Segun has been recognized by Boston Magazine as one of the “100 Most Influential People in the City of Boston.” In 2020, the Boston Globe recognized him on the front page of their Sunday edition as a “Man of the Moment” and as a “Bostonian of the Year.”
Segun stepped down from his role as BECMA’s CEO in December 2021 in order to join the Administration of Mayor Michelle Wu as the Chief of Economic Opportunity and Inclusion. In this position, he manages five city departments and over 100 full time employees who are focused on making Boston a resilient, economically equitable, and vibrant city that centers people and creates opportunities to build generational wealth.
As the President and CEO of the Fort Worth Hispanic Chamber of Commerce (FWHCC), Anette Landeros provides valuable programming to businesses, championing the importance of workforce development, and creating opportunities for economic mobility for all chamber members. Under Anette’s leadership over the last two years, the Chamber experienced tremendous membership growth despite the pandemic as her team works diligently to provide valuable business resources for their members. Through strategic partnerships and new programming, the Fort Worth Hispanic Chamber of Commerce is making tremendous strides to support the economic trajectory of our city while highlighting the diverse talent within our business community. Anette also serves on various local boards including the North Texas Community Foundation, Fort Worth Museum of Science and History, Visit Fort Worth, Carter Bloodcare, and the Planned Parenthood of Greater Texas.
Anette holds a bachelor’s degree in public policy analysis from Indiana University and a master’s degree in public affairs from the LBJ School at the University of Texas at Austin. She was recognized by Telemundo as a “Heroe Hispana” and selected as one of HWNT’s Estrellas de Tejas in 2014. She was featured as one of 2015 Women to Watch and 2016 Forty Under Forty by the Fort Worth Business Press, and as a 2017 Woman of Distinction by the Girls Scouts of Texas Oklahoma Plains. Most recently, Anette received the 2021 Bold Woman Award by Girls Inc. of Tarrant County and the 2022 regional “Rising Star” by the North Texas Commission.
Cathy Cartier is Chief Marketing Officer for Visit SLO CAL, the destination marketing and management organization for San Luis Obispo County, California. In her role, Cathy oversees all the organization’s marketing, advertising and public relations efforts. Prior to joining the organization in 2021, Cathy was President of Cartier Global Strategies, an international marketing firm affiliated with global firms in the US, Canada and Europe and the former Chief Marketing Officer for Las Vegas. Cathy has extensive experience in brand building, audience engagement, crisis communication and marketing strategy.
In her role with the LVCVA, the destination marketing organization for Las Vegas and Southern Nevada, Cathy oversaw all the organization’s marketing, advertising, and sales efforts with a budget of over $140 million annually. As a consultant, she has worked with a diverse client roster including the Consumer Technology Association, the Cruise Line International Association, Visit Boston and Destinations International.
Cathy has spoken on the international stage from London to Dubai to Lima, Peru on topics ranging from engaging four generations of consumers to managing a worldwide brand through a crisis. She has experience building cult like brands and believes in being courageous and challenging the status quo to strategically build customer engagement.
Rickey L. Thigpen joined Visit Jackson (formally the Jackson Convention & Visitors Bureau) in 1987 as the Information Systems Manager. For the past 34 years, Thigpen has served in multiple management positions within the administrative and marketing disciplines. In October of 2018, the Visit Jackson Board of Directors named Thigpen the Interim President of Visit Jackson. Before being named the Interim President, Thigpen served as the official destination marketing organization’s Executive Vice President. He was responsible for governmental & community engagement, stakeholder relationships, signature event management, and new & untraditional market initiatives. On February 1, 2019, the Visit Jackson Board voted to remove “Interim” from Thigpen’s title and make him the official President & CEO.
Thigpen’s leadership has included implementing a strategy resulting in an internal organizational cultural shift and an external relationship and community positioning.
Thigpen is a member of numerous professional organizations, including Destination International. He serves as an Association Executive Board Member and a member of the Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Committee, where he is co-chair of the CEO sub-committee. He is also a member of the U.S. Travel Association Board of Directors, the Mississippi Tourism Association’s Executive Board, an officer of the Capital Area Tourism Association, the Downtown Jackson Partners Advisory Board, and the Greater Jackson Chamber Partnership Board. He is an ex-officio member of the Capital City Convention Center Commission.
In 2019 Thigpen was named Mississippi Tourism Association’s Member of the Year. Thigpen has appeared in Black Meetings & Tourism magazine as one of the most influential African Americans in the tourism industry multiple times and, in 2020, received its coveted APEX Award and was recognized by the Events Industry Council, receiving its Social Impact Award lauding his work to bring attention to the tourism industry and its lack of diversity. In 2021 Thigpen appeared on the cover of Black Meetings & Tourism with a feature story entitled “A Conversation with Rickey Thigpen.” Under Thigpen’s leadership, in 2022, Visit Jackson was recognized by the Greater Jackson Chamber Partnership as the 2021 Business of the Year. Visit Jackson has also been named by the Mississippi Tourism Association as the Destination Marketing Organization of the Year ($3,000,000 and over budget) for four consecutive years. In 2023, he was chosen by the Mississippi Business Journal among Mississippi’s Top CEOs. In February of 2024, Our Mississippi Magazine named him one of Mississippi’s Most Influential African Americans in the state.
Thigpen is a native of Jackson, Mississippi. He holds a baccalaureate degree in Computer Science from Mississippi Valley State University, a master’s degree in Leadership from Belhaven University, and a Ph.D. in Organizational Leadership from the Chicago School of Professional Psychology, where his dissertation title was: Fraternity Member’ Affiliation with a National Pan-Hellenic Council Alumni Chapter after Leaving College.
Thigpen is engaged civically, including Rotary International – Jackson Chapter, 100 Black Men of Jackson, Inc., Mississippi Valley State University National Alumni Association (Life Member), Greater Leadership Jackson Alumni Association, Alpha Foundation, Inc. (Vice-Chairman), and Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., where he served as the 10th Mississippi District Director and National Chairman of Life Membership. In 2023 he was inducted into the Mississippi – District of Mississippi Hall of Fame.
Thigpen is a member of Cade Chapel Missionary Baptist Church, where he serves as a member of the Music and Public Relations Ministry. Dr. Thigpen’s life mission is “to be a lifelong learner dedicated to imparting knowledge to, uplifting, and empowering those he is so fortunate to influence."
Christian Biller is a Brand Strategist at the Swedish Institute (SI), based in Stockholm. With a career at SI that spans over fifteen years since 2007, he has been working with the marketing and communication of Sweden through a variety of strategic initiatives. One of Christian's contributions includes the communication concept, "Pioneer the Possible," aimed at bolstering Sweden's position in export and investment promotion.
Currently, he is part of the Unit for the Image of Sweden Analysis, where he holds a specialized responsibility for the business sector, Sweden’s overall brand strategy and Sweden’s visual identity.
Łukasz Wysocki has been leading Gdansk Tourism Organization for last 10 years. GTO associates over 170 entities which are closely connected to regional tourism. It also engages in wide-spread promotion of Gdansk and successfully brings more tourist and events to the city every year.
He regularly receives nomination and awards for his many activities on the field of tourism development. He’s been a part of the most influential people in tourism industry of Poland for many years and takes great pride in his work.
Privately a local patriot, a husband and father of two kids. Łukasz is also known for his passion for sport.
Patience Fairbrother is Senior Vice President, Talent Attraction at Development Counsellors International (DCI), where she oversees the place-marketing agency’s Talent Attraction practice area, helping cities, regions, and countries to attract and retain a talented workforce through custom research and targeted marketing campaigns. Patience’s work has been recognized in the Summit Creative Awards, AVA Digital Awards, Horizon Interactive Awards, International Economic Development Council (IEDC) Excellence in Economic Development Awards, and MarCom Awards. Most recently, Patience was selected as one of PRSA NY’s 15 Under 35, celebrating excellence in the public relations and communications space.
Patience has been a featured speaker on place marketing research and best practices at conferences including Young Smart & Local, Destinations International, IEDC’s Annual Conference, ECONOMIX, the Society of American Travel Writers (SATW) Annual Conference, and City Nation Place Americas, and in communities from Buffalo to Birmingham. She also hosts the podcast “Talent Wars,” which goes inside the global battle for talent and what destinations are doing to attract and retain the workforce they need.
Based in Brooklyn, Patience is a graduate of Kenyon College and a native of the Berkshires in Western Massachusetts.
Michael is a recognized leader in travel and tourism in Canada. In his current role, he leads Ottawa’s official destination organization, which spearheads sales and marketing initiatives for attracting visitors to Canada’s capital, while also making investments in the long-term stewardship and development of the destination.
Prior to joining Ottawa Tourism, Michael served as Senior Vice President with InterVISTAS Consulting, where he was responsible for the firm’s airline, air service development, and tourism practices in Canada. Michael has over 15 years experience at the management level with two of Canada’s major airports, the Winnipeg Airports Authority and the Ottawa International Airport Authority.
Michael is very active within the tourism industry and other business groups. He is a Board member with Destinations International, the Ottawa Convention Centre, the Ottawa International Hockey Festival, and the Tourism Industry Association of Ontario (TIAO). He is the Co-Chair of the Canadian Destination Leadership Council. He is a volunteer member of the Advisory Council for Meeting Professionals Against Human Trafficking and the Advisory Committee for the Hospitality & Tourism Management Degree Program at Algonquin College.
Michael is a Fellow of the Royal Canadian Geographical Society, he is a recipient of the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal, and he is an inductee to the Order of Ottawa.
Michael has a Master’s degree in Geography from the University of Manitoba, and he is a Certified Barbecue Judge.
Stefan, an experienced professional in both brand and digital marketing, has led a remarkable career across multiple continents, working in renowned digital and ad agencies in Vancouver, San Francisco, Amsterdam, and Shanghai. This global experience has not only sharpened Stefan's skills in the marketing arena but also broadened his understanding of diverse market dynamics. In mid-2022, Stefan took a new direction, taking on the role as the Vice President of Global Marketing at Destination Vancouver. This position represents a synergy of professional expertise and personal passion, as it involves promoting Vancouver — Stefan's hometown and a city he loves.
Stefan's approach to marketing is characterized by a passion for creativity, innovation and adaptability, with a particular focus on integrating advanced technologies to revolutionize how brands connect with people. In his current role, Stefan is working to tell the Vancouver brand story whilst utilizing AI to create better, unique, personalized travel experiences. His insights into the use of AI in tourism are rooted in a deep understanding of both technology and the evolving needs of modern travelers, making him a valuable contributor to discussions on the future of tourism and destination marketing
Santiago C. Corrada officially began his position as President and Chief Executive Officer of Visit Tampa Bay in May of 2013 where he is responsible for providing oversight of all agency activities, managing day-to-day operations, and assuring a smoothly functioning, efficient organization. He serves as main spokesperson for the tourism and hospitality industry; ensures stakeholders coordinated efforts in collaboratively increasing visitation to the destination while maintaining open lines of communication with all industry stakeholders. A recipient of HSMAI’s Top 25 Award for Extraordinary Minds and recognized as Hillsborough County’s Hispanic Man of the Year, Corrada serves on numerous industry and attraction boards, including Destinations International and as current Chair of Destinations Florida. During his tenure Visit Tampa Bay has won dozens of marketing awards for cutting-edge campaigns and innovative ideas including platinum and gold HSMAI Adrian Awards, Henry Awards at Visit Florida’s Flagler Award Ceremony, Tellys, Emmys and more.
Jen Valencic, who joined Destination Cleveland in 2013, oversees the organization’s community and stakeholder engagements. Her team manages relationships with local hospitality businesses, corporate partners and local government and economic development partners. The team also leads efforts to welcome locals and visitors at the Cleveland Visitors Center. Jen takes pride in knowing the work the organization does is changing perceptions of the city. She has served on the Local Organizing Committees for the 2016 Republican National Convention, the 2019 MLB All-Star Game, the 2021 NFL Draft and the 2022 NBA All-Star Game. In 2019, she also helped lead the effort to host ABC’s “The Bachelor” for a Cleveland-based episode, which put the city in front of a global audience. Jen holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism and communications from Ohio University. Prior to Destination Cleveland, Jen worked for five years at Junior Achievement of Greater Cleveland. She gives back to the community as a member of the Northern Ohio Advisory Board of Make-A-Wish Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana. Jen and her husband love exploring the Cleveland area through the eyes of their three children, whether it’s spending a day on the water or visiting the animals at the zoo. The family finds any excuse they can to visit Downtown Cleveland and appreciates that they are just a short drive from so many other cities and experiences.
Caroline Beteta serves as president & CEO of the industry-led Visit California, a nonprofit organization created to market California as a premier travel destination to increase the state’s share of tourism-related revenues. She simultaneously serves as a strategic advisor for the Governor’s Office of Business & Economic Development (GO-Biz). She is responsible for implementing Visit California’s global marketing program on behalf of the organization’s more than 18,000 investors and serves as the lead spokesperson for California’s travel industry. In her tenure, she has overseen a decade of growth for California’s travel industry, peaking in 2019 with a record $144.9 billion in economic benefit to the state. She has shepherded the growth of Visit California into a global marketing franchise and helped restore travel and tourism following numerous natural and economic crises.
She has previously served as Chair of the Board, as well as Acting CEO for Brand USA, where she provided strategic direction for the $200 million global program, interfacing with national congressional leaders and the administration. During a two-year term as National Chair of the U.S. Travel Association, she guided the successful merger of the Travel Industry Association with the Travel Business Roundtable and the creation of Brand USA. Caroline was recently elected to the U.S. Travel Association Executive Committee and serves as Vice Chair. Caroline also serves on the Executive Committee of the World Travel and Tourism Council — Visit California was the first destination marketing organization invited to join the WTTC.
Caroline has received numerous awards for her creative work and leadership in the travel industry, including induction into the U.S. Travel Association’s Hall of Leaders.
Caroline holds a bachelor’s degree in International Relations from the University of California, Los Angeles and a master’s degree in Public Administration/ Intergovernmental Affairs from the University of Southern California. She also completed the Stanford Graduate School of Business Executive Marketing Management Program.
Jillian MacKinnon is the VP Marketing Communications & Strategic Initiatives at Envision Saint John: The Regional Growth Agency with a mandate to attract people, visitors, business, and investment. With over 25 years of marketing experience, Jillian is a versatile leader recognized for driving results in a collaborative and inclusive manner. Her team recently launched the inaugural place brand for The Saint John Region - Always Moving Forward. And in 2018, she won a Seatrade Global Cruise Award for Marketing Initiative of the Year for the creation of a tidal mural in the heart of the city depicting the world’s highest tides produced by well-known street artist Sean Yoro (Hula) shared millions of times worldwide.
In his leadership role with the CRDA, David works closely with the region’s top business, academic and political leaders to shape and execute a comprehensive regional economic development strategy. He also leads the organization’s day-to-day efforts, and is directly involved with global business development and global marketing initiatives.
David has been with the CRDA since its inception, serving as the organization’s executive vice president and project director before being named President and CEO in 2000. A Certified Economic Development professional, he maintains a comprehensive awareness of current issues in economic development, thanks in part to affiliations with the International Economic Development Council and as past president of the S.C. Economic Developers Association. He has also held professional economic development and industrial marketing positions in Atlanta and Savannah.
David grew up in the Atlanta area, and holds a degree in economics and international business from the University of Southern Mississippi. He also studied abroad at the London School of Economics. He and his wife, Jean, live in Mount Pleasant with their two children.
Master in Marketing with a mention in Information Technology from ESAN University, Master in Marketing Science from ESIC Business & Marketing School (Madrid, Spain). Currently she works in the Commission for the Promotion of Peru for Exports and Tourism - PROMPERÚ, managing the Peru country brand and sector brands with the aim of positioning the country at a national and international level, articulating with public-private actors. She has more than 10 years of experience in communication and advertising campaigns, branding and customer loyalty, achieving institutional objectives.
Teerasil Tapen has been with the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) since 1992. His current position is Deputy Governor for Digitalisation, Research and Development. His experience includes digital marketing, overseas tourism, tourism policy and planning, and human resource management. Teerasil has an M. Phil. Development Study from Massey University, New Zealand, and B.A. Hons. in Political Science from Chulalongkorn University, Thailand.
How to engage citizens in our marketing campaigns and events is something we do more and more often. The authenticity of the message helps others to see The Hague as the brand it is. After a master’s degree Business Management at the Erasmus University, I joined multinationals like Nestle, Unilever and Mars Inc. Nowadays I am working as Head of Development at the Hague & Partners responsible amongst other things for partners, branding and events.
Alex Beard lives content. A content strategist with over 12 years experience in broadcast, marketing and social media, she has led on multi-media campaigns for big brands across the world, for example Hyundai, Blancpain and Brand Scotland. She has a specific love of travel and tourism campaigns, finding the niche wonders of destinations and translating them for global audiences. Alex has a wealth of storytelling experience, from presenting charting podcasts to building successful social campaigns. Alex has extensive experience working across all content mediums, including her own social following @TheAlexBeard.
Caroline Boccarosse is Director, Advertising Sales, Western Europe for BBC Studios, the international commercial arm of the BBC.
Caroline joined the BBC’s London team in 2022 after 3 years working at the BBC in the U.S., where she led partnerships for clients based in the Midwest region. In her current role, Caroline oversees partnerships across multiple categories, including travel and tourism.
Prior to joining the BBC, Caroline worked at some of the world’s leading news media brands including the New York Times and the Washington Post, , developing experience across branded content, digital, programmatic, audio, TV, and print media.
Kash Miah is the VP Marketing at CrowdRiff, where he leads a team focused on positioning CrowdRiff as the go-to visual content source for campaign ideas, social media marketing as well as UGC and custom short form video for destination marketers.
HE Nouf Mohamed Al-Boushelaibi is delivering transformative marketing and communications projects for Abu Dhabi.
As the Executive Director of Strategic Marketing and Communications at the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi (DCT Abu Dhabi), Al-Boushelaibi’s mandate is to share Abu Dhabi with the world, delivering and enabling excellence in integrated communications and unified storytelling for DCT and its stakeholders.
To deliver on this mandate, Al-Boushelaibi continues to transform DCT’s marketing and communications across local and global markets, through innovative and cutting-edge campaigns. She is committed to equipping the next generation of Emirati’s with the skills and expertise they need, creating a diverse, high-performing team.
Under her leadership, she has guided the organisation and destination rebrand, unifying culture and tourism marketing and communications in the emirate, and successfully launched Experience Abu Dhabi brand, positioning the emirate globally as a unique and enriching cultural and entertainment destination.
Before joining DCT Abu Dhabi, Al-Boushelaibi was a board member of Experience Hub, and Director of the Destination & Marketing Management Department at Miral where she shaped the corporate narrative and culture, drove the global destination strategy and oversaw the overall Visitor Experience strategy for Yas Island. Previously she was Head of Corporate Communications for Abu Dhabi’s Water & Electricity Regulation and Supervision Bureau where she pioneered a consumer centric approach to the organisations strategy and communications. Al Boushelaibi also worked with Mubadala under the Aerospace Division.
She has a master’s degree in Business Information Technology from DePaul University in Chicago and also completed the Global Change Agents and Women in Leadership Executive Course at Harvard Business School. She also has a bachelor’s in Business Administration, with a concentration in Information Systems from Boston University.
Steve Duncan is Managing Director of C Studios (www.c-studios.com), the marketing communications agency for places. With over two decades of expertise in place marketing, Steve has collaborated with cities, regions, countries, research parks, and real estate developments across virtually every major world region to reach executives and skilled talents.
A vocal advocate for digital place promotion, Steve has authored multiple studies on investment promotion, talent attraction and digital marketing. Those include "What Talent Wants: Capturing What Europe's Workforce Seeks in Jobs & Locations," “Winning Strategies in Investment Promotion Marketing,” and "The State of Digital Advertising in Economic Development." His speaking roles on these core topics have featured at City Nation Place Global, FDI Leaders Network, IEDC Annual & Leadership Conferences, MIPIM and various client stakeholder events.
At C Studios, Steve leads a team specializing in elevating place brands globally, focusing on strategy and implementation for international talent attraction, investment promotion, and trade promotion initiatives. Previously, he spent 19 years with Development Counsellors International (DCI), the New York-based leader in marketing places. His strategic approach and innovative thinking have made him a trusted advisor to organizations like Costa Rica's CINDE, Austrian Business Agency, Netherlands Foreign Investment Agency, Luxembourg Let's Make It Happen, EDB Singapore, Invest Alberta, and Invest Puerto Rico.
A journalism graduate from Pennsylvania State University, Steve has dedicated his entire career to place marketing, continuously adapting strategies to meet the evolving digital landscape. His experience spans lead generation, public relations and advertising, all aimed at enhancing a destination's findability, credibility and lovability among decision-makers in an increasingly online world.
When not working to put places on the map, Steve is usually trying to put himself somewhere on it. He has cycled some of the world's most famous passes and mountain roads, is a wine enthusiast that has tasted grapes on four continents, and is known to get up before dawn to capture the perfect sunrise photo.
Daniel joined Amadeus in 2022, bringing over 20 years of experience working with governments on foreign direct investment and tourism demand generation projects. He has a wealth of media and data experience, having worked in publishing, radio, TV and data/digital/online media. Daniel’s specialty is data informed media executions and business intelligence, and he currently leads Amadeus’ relationships with governments and tourism boards across Northern Europe, the UK & Ireland, Benelux, and France.
As the lead contact for governments and tourism boards in the region, Daniel manages Amadeus’ public tender applications and day-to-day relationships with DMOs. He evaluates tender calls and brings internal teams together to respond to calls that are relevant to Amadeus’ strategic business objectives. During executions, Daniel ensures the agreed level of service criteria are met and solutions delivered throughout the partnership. As he is the point of contact for our partners, he regularly participates in meetings with project teams.
Global Communications Manager at Slovenian Tourist Board
With over 15 years of expertise in media, TV production, PR, and acclaimed marketing projects, she thrives on creativity and remains attuned to emerging trends in communication strategies. At the Slovenian Tourist Board, she's deeply engaged in promoting Slovenia as a premier tourist destination, collaborating with international journalists, preparing press trips, and contributing to numerous creative projects, making her role nothing short of a dream job.
Luuk works for the municipality of The Hague as City Branding Program Manager. His background is in the field of public administration and urban development. In his current job, Luuk and his colleagues, help to apply The Hague’s brand values in initiatives coming from inside and outside City Hall. They also carry out projects to strengthen the image of The Hague and city pride. They work closely with our destination marketing organization: The Hague & Partners.
Mr Per Grankvist is the Chief Storyteller of Sweden's biggest government-funded innovation program, Viable Cities, with the mission to help 23 cities achieve climate neutrality. The program is recognized as one of the world's most innovative and influential initiatives of its kind and has inspired the EU to set the goal of making 100 cities climate neutral.
In an age where discussions around climate transition have become polarized, and factual arguments no longer matter as much, Mr. Grankvist is developing a method for explaining what quality of life will look like in a climate neutral city. His work has been featured on BBC, in the Times, Bloomberg BusinessWeek, Süddeutsche Zeitung among others. In 2022 he was invited to present his work at the UN Stockholm+50 conference as well as in the British Parliament.
Experienced Director of Sales adept at orchestrating high-performing teams to exceed revenue goals. With a passion for both leadership and exploration, I blend my strategic acumen with a love for travel, channeling diverse experiences into innovative sales approaches. Ready to inspire marketers with my proven track record and global perspective.
Sam is a leader specialising in the travel and tourism sector. Sam has spent the last 16 years developing and implementing strategies to drive and grow tourism globally. Within that, Sam has been responsible for identifying key global source markets for destinations, developing overarching strategies and overseeing the tactical delivery to drive incremental visitation. Sam has significant experience in nurturing and developing successful integrated teams across PR, trade, social media, creative, digital media and media planning all geared towards delivering stakeholder value and sustainable growth through innovative, integrated programming. During Sam’s career he has worked with some of the biggest and most diverse DMO’s and tourist boards such as Brand USA, European Travel Commission, Saudi Tourism Authority and South Africa Tourism.
Siw is the CEO of Oslo Business Region and board member of Oslo Architecture Triennale. Oslo Business Region builds the startup ecosystem to create more startups and scaleups that solve local and global challenges. OBR attracts investments, talent and provides insight about the ecosystem in Oslo.
Siw is passionate about startups, place branding, city development, leadership, design, patterns and art. Prior to Oslo Business Region she had various roles in the fashion and media industry from Norwegian Fashion Hub to Katachi Magazine. Born in South Korea, raised in Norway, and educated in Oslo, Singapore and London.
Susan is an award winning professional and key member of the team behind Liverpool’s 2008 European Capital of Culture celebrations.
Susan is a place-making professional, developing and driving destination strategy, creativity and innovation, identifying untapped growth markets and securing global strategic brand partnerships to accelerate Liverpool’s destination positioning and economic growth through the visitor economy.
Formerly an events management professional, organising events for audiences up to 300,000, Susan has over 23 years’ experience working with over 200 high profile brands, global artists, musicians and athletes, forming successful commercial partnerships and generating over £8m for public sector.
In 2017, during an overseas visit to Sweden to secure the Tall Ships Regatta for the city’s 10 year European Capital of Culture Ceremony, Susan developed the relationship with the Grand Conseil du Vin de Bordeaux and French Government, securing Liverpool’s place as UK host of the Bordeaux Fete le Vin alongside sister cities of Bordeaux, Brussels, Quebec and Hong Kong.
This relationship has gone from strength to strength evolving into Taste Liverpool. Drink Bordeaux, profiling the venues and people behind the plates – and celebrating a sector revolution. This new model has been created to directly support the hard-hit hospitality sector in its post-pandemic recovery while supporting Bordeaux Wine Growers to tap into new markets, discover new trade opportunities and sustain & grow export of the world’s finest wine – Bordeaux.
Tapping into the growing trend of gastronomy tourism, Liverpool’s hospitality sector is now attracting the attention of visitors, investors and media – and with support from the public and private sector, Susan has worked to develop a sustainable model and strong foundations for future growth, spearheading Taste Liverpool. Drink Bordeaux in her position as Chair of the festival steering group. This new model is driven by the private sector, powered by the private sector and strategically and politically supported by the public sector – solid foundations to be built upon.
Susan is committed to ensuring Liverpool City Region is recognised as a UK gastronomic destination in the next five years, attracting new domestic and international visitors motivated by food tourism.
Following Liverpool’s successful Eurovision Song Contest Host City bid, Susan acts as Chair of the Eurovision Host City Visitor Experience Group, working hand-in-hand with the private sector to ensure that the visitor experience from the moment visitors arrive in the city, to the moment they leave is second to none.
Working with the hotels, venues, visitor attractions, transport operators, major gateways and tourism/estate stakeholders, Susan and her team will ensure visitors will be immersed in an experiential Eurovision city playground. Additionally, Susan and the team are strategically supporting the hospitality sector to recruit to the 2,000 + current vacancies in preparation for Eurovision and beyond, showcasing the sector as an attractive career choice.
The visitor economy makes up almost 50% of Liverpool’s economy (47% business rates) and therefore it is strategically, critically important to support this thriving sector, maximising the opportunity Eurovision and other major international events present.
Inward investment is a further opportunity Susan and her team work to unlock and capitalise to re-balance the economy, showcasing the city’s other competitive value propositions, highlighting Liverpool as a great place to work, live, visit and study.
- KEY ACHIEVEMENTS
- Deputy Event Manager for the Liverpool’s 2008 Capital of Culture Opening Ceremony
- Producing Liverpool’s first digital mapping projections celebrating the 100 Anniversary of the iconic Royal Liver Building attracting 60,000 visitors.
- Managing all areas of commercial activity for Culture Liverpool – the team behind Liverpool’s 2008 Capital of Culture Celebrations
- Head of Commercial & Marketing for Liverpool 2018 - 10 year anniversary celebrations since European Capital of Culture 2008
- Head of Commercial & Marketing for the city's largest, high profile events and festivals attracting over 4m visitor including Royal de Luxe Giant Spectacular 2014, Liverpool International Music Festival, Cunard's 175 Anniversary Celebrations 'The 3 Queens', River of Light - UNESCO world heritage waterfront fireworks and many other world class major events.
- Event and Commercial Manager for HUB Festival; UK’s Largest Free Action Sports and Music Festival (2007-2012)
- Chair, Eurovision Host City Visitor Experience Group
Social communicator with more than 20 years of experience in newsrooms and communication strategic, focused on public relations in the public and private sectors, as well as marketing strategies for the promotion of Peru.
With experience in content editing, creation and execution of communication strategies, content management for social media and crisis management, especially in issues related to tourism, exports of non-traditional products, investment, and the Peru country brand since its creation.
Steve heads up the Redcliffe & Temple Business Improvement District (BID) in Bristol, now in its 3rd year. The BID has a strong focus on sustainability and environmental initiatives and projects and working closely with city wide stakeholders to implement positive change. Steve previously managed the Broadmead Bristol BID and prior to that spent much of his career in senior roles in retail and consumer goods. The three city centre BIDs in Bristol are delivered by Visit West, the LVEP , enabling a powerful partnership that benefits, workers , visitors, and residents of Bristol.
Simon Ryan is the Investment Director with Locate in Kent. His role is building relationships with businesses around the world and showcasing all that the region has to offer. With nearly 30 years sales, marketing and consultancy experience in the real estate industry; Simon has played a pivotal role in driving investment and jobs in Kent and Medway. He is a non-executive director, a trustee for a homeless charity, a school governor and recently awarded 2021 Coach of the Year by the Kent Football Association.
Isabel leads the visitor and inward investment marketing activity for Norwich, as part of Norwich Business Improvement District.
Norwich launched its city rebrand in 2019, unveiling ‘Norwich, the City of Stories’ across VisitNorwich and Norwich BID brands, just before the Covid-19 pandemic. By 2021, the new brand had been shortlisted for City Nation Place’s ‘International Place Brand of the Year’ award, and VisitNorwich had seen record-breaking results across all digital channels and PR.
By 2022, work was underway to add another brand to the City of Stories family: Work in Norwich. Funded by the Town Deal, and with objectives spanning cluster growth, staff recruitment and retention, as well as attracting investment into the city, this was a project with big ambitions. Following extensive stakeholder research, and a year-long creative process, the brand launched in October 2022. In 2023, Work in Norwich was awarded ‘Best Branding and Marketing Scheme’ at the Town and Centre Management Industry Awards.
From 1999 Mr Lubi has worked for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs holding various positions. He started at the Press and Information Department and later worked at the Foreign Economic Policy Department. He was an Economic Adviser at the Estonian Embassy in London 2002-2006. After returning from London he worked as a Director of the General Affairs Division in the EU Department. In August 2009 Mr Lubi took up the position of Economic Adviser at the Estonian Embassy in Washington, DC. In 2011 he was seconded to the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications in Estonia. In 2013 Mr Lubi took up office in New Delhi as the first residing Estonian Ambassador to India. His co-accreditations also included Myanmar and Sri Lanka. After 3 years he was seconded to the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications as a Vice Minister for Economic Development. Since 2021 Mr Lubi has been the Ambassador of Estonia to the United Kingdom.
Meaghan Ferrigno is Destination Canada’s CFO & Chief Data and Analytics Officer (CDAO), a role which positions Destination Canada as an Insight Driven Organization, curating industry data to optimize both supply- and demand-side decisions.
She leads Destination Canada’s data strategy to help maximize the competitiveness and resilience of the Canadian tourism sector, making good information and analysis broadly available to tourism partners, businesses, local communities and government.
From her past roles, Meaghan brings an exceptional range of expertise in data-enabled competitive strategies and business agility. She is a certified CPA, CMA who holds an MBA in Management Technology from SFU’s Beedie School of Business as well as PMP and agile designations.
One of her most important and current priorities at Destination Canada is to build and launch the Canadian Tourism Data Collective, in partnership with Statistics Canada, other major data providers, and many industry businesses. This national platform harnesses the power of tourism data, to generate a source of long-term collaborative advantage, drive innovation for Canada's hosting economy, empowering decision-makers across public and private sectors.
Meaghan joined as the Crown corporation’s CDAO in August of 2021.
Paul is a chartered town planner with 35 years’ experience gained as a practitioner in both public and private sectors and established his own planning practice in Sheffield last year.
A founder and former Chair of Sheffield Civic Trust, Paul was elected as a Trustee at Civic Voice from 2015 until 2021 and served as Vice Chair, helping launch both the Civic Voice Design Awards and the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Civic Societies.
Paul is a member of the Sheffield Property Association (S-PA) and represents the S-PA both in its Shaping the City Priority Group and as a Trustee for the Sheffield Design Awards, which celebrate excellent buildings, places and public art in our great city.
Claire Hamilton has over 27 years’ experience of working in the public sector; leading high performing teams and developing positive and productive partnerships to deliver complex regeneration initiatives. She is Chief Executive of Dacorum Borough Council which covers the towns of Hemel Hempstead, Berkhamsted and Tring, having joined the Council in October 2020. The Council is delivering an exciting transformation agenda – both internally and externally, and is currently focussing on Economic Growth and Inward Investment, Customer Services and Digital transformation, as well as Placeshaping to ensure that residents and local businesses and communities are supported and thrive.
Robert Govers is the managing research partner of www.good.country, chairman of the International Place Branding Association and an independent advisor, researcher, speaker and author on the reputation of cities, regions and countries. He has also been an adjunct or visiting scholar in Dubai, Leuven, London and Milan and teaches Place Branding on the UNESCO World Heritage at Work Master programme in Torino and Trento, Italy. In addition, he is co-editor of the quarterly journal, Place Branding and Public Diplomacy and, with Prof. Dr. Frank Go, co-author of Place Branding (2009) and editor of the International Place Branding Yearbook Series (2010, 2011 and 2012) all with Palgrave Macmillan. He also co-authored over fifty journal articles, book chapters and conference papers and has delivered numerous public speeches and business publications.
Juan Carlos Belloso is a renowned international expert in the place branding, development and promotion field, based in Barcelona.
He has been, for many years, advisor of the City Council of Barcelona and other Barcelona public and private city organizations and institutions in the areas of city strategy, economic development, city image and promotion and is a founding member and member of the board of ‘Barcelona Global’.
Juan Carlos also currently advises different countries, regions, cities and destinations having worked for many places and organizations in Spain, Western and Eastern Europe, the Russian Federation, Latin America, Northern Africa and the Middle East and collaborates with different panels, forums and programmes from different international organizations and institutions, including the EU, the UN or the Inter-American Development Bank.
Juan Carlos graduated in Economics and Business Administration at the University of Barcelona with specialization studies in international marketing at New York University, and has been Director for Spain and Latin America at Placebrands, Brand Strategy Services Director at FutureBrand in Madrid, Director of Strategy Consulting Services at Coopers & Lybrand and KPMG, Director of the Catalan International Promotion Agency in New York and responsible for international marketing projects at the Barcelona’92 Organizing Olympic Committee.
Frequent speaker in different international seminars and forums, Juan Carlos is author of many corporate and place branding articles for different journals and magazines and collaborates as visiting professor and expert with different international universities and schools.
Global African Branding and Reputation Architect, Advisor and Author.
Thebe Ikalafeng is arguably the foremost global African brand and reputation architect, advisor and author. Named one of the 100 Most Influential Africans by New African Magazine, he has been to over 50 countries across Africa and the world and worked on over 100 diverse brands including Brand Ghana and Brand South Africa, Transnet in South Africa, University of South Africa and University of Botswana, Zanaco Bank in Zambia, Mail&Guardian Africa in Kenya, Africa Green Revolution Forum in Tanzania and Ethiopia, and the successful political branding and campaigns for the late Presidents Atta Mills and John Mahama of Ghanain 2008 and 2012 respectively. He is the founder of the award-winning brand and reputation firm, Brand Leadership Group, and a non-executive director of the JSE listed Car Track Holdings, Mercantile Bank Holdings, Brand South Africa, WorldWideFund for Nature (WWF) and South African Tourism, and a member of the Henley Africa Business School Advisory Board. He is founder of the Brand Africa, Brand Africa 100: Africa’s Best Brands and Public Sector Excellence initiatives. Ikalafeng holds BSc and MBA degrees from Marquette University (USA), completed executive education at Wits Business School and Harvard Business School, and is a Chartered Marketer (SA). Ikalafeng is widely recognized and respected in Africa and the world. He has been featured in global and Africa media such as CNN, BBC, CNBC Africa, FT, African Business and New African. He writes, speaks and advices on branding, reputation and related matters in Africa and the world.
www.ikalafeng.com.
Nicholas John Cull is professor of public diplomacy at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles where he directs a masters program in public diplomacy. He is editor of the Journal of Place Branding and Public Diplomacy and has published extensively on the history and practice of national reputation management. His works include The Cold War and the United States Information Agency: American propaganda and public diplomacy, 1945-1989. He is a regular speaker at foreign ministries and diplomatic academies around the world including the Foreign Service Institute of the US Department of State. He is originally from the UK.
Malcolm Allan is the founder and managing director of Placematters Limited (established 2012) a consultancy specialising in place and destination brand strategy. Malcolm qualified and practised as a town planner, urban designer and development economist and, since 2002, when he established the world’s first specialist place brand agency – “Placebrands”, has specialised in developing brand strategies for tourist destinations and attractions, retail-led mixed use developments, and for town and city centre regeneration initiatives, and brand strategies for development agencies.
Since 2012 Malcolm has worked on tourism, city, city region and city centre brand strategies in Canada, Ireland, the UK, and real estate strategies in the UK, Ireland and Slovakia. He recently co-created the brand proposition for the “Wild Atlantic Way”, the world’s longest tourism driving route (2500km) along the west coast of Ireland. Currently he is working with Jose Torrres to develop Marca Pais Paraguay, the national brand strategy for Paraguay.
Malcolm regularly blogs for City Nation Place and the Place Brand Observer and is a regular speaker on place brand strategy at conferences around the world.
Malcolm Allan is the founder and managing director of Placematters Limited (established 2012) a consultancy specialising in place and destination brand strategy. Malcolm qualified and practised as a town planner, urban designer and development economist and, since 2002, when he established the world’s first specialist place brand agency – “Placebrands”, has specialised in developing brand strategies for tourist destinations and attractions, retail-led mixed use developments, and for town and city centre regeneration initiatives, and brand strategies for development agencies.
Since 2012 Malcolm has worked on tourism, city, city region and city centre brand strategies in Canada, Ireland, the UK, and real estate strategies in the UK, Ireland and Slovakia. He recently co-created the brand proposition for the “Wild Atlantic Way”, the world’s longest tourism driving route (2500km) along the west coast of Ireland. Currently he is working with Jose Torrres to develop Marca Pais Paraguay, the national brand strategy for Paraguay.
Malcolm regularly blogs for City Nation Place and the Place Brand Observer and is a regular speaker on place brand strategy at conferences around the world.
Ms Aparna Dutt Sharma is a Brand Strategist and Communications Expert. Recognised amongst leading experts internationally on nation branding. she has been the Founding Member and Chief Executive Officer, India Brand Equity Foundation (IBEF), a Trust established by the Ministry of Commerce, Government of India, to promote the Made in India label in markets overseas.
Presently consulting with Ernst & Young LLP, India, as a Senior Advisor for Branding and Communications, Ms Sharma is enabling various state governments in India articulate their brand management and positioning strategy with a particular focus on investment promotion campaigns and perception management, both within India and overseas markets.
Ms Sharma has about 25 years of rich work experience in leadership roles in dynamic environments across national, international and corporate institutions of repute. She has been the Vice President of World Association of Investment Promotion Agencies (WAIPA) headquartered in Geneva.
Dr. Keith Dinnie is a renowned authority in the field of Place Branding, with an extensive track record of academic and practical experience. He is the author of “Nation Branding: Concepts, Issues, Practice,” the first textbook on Nation Branding and a seminal work in the sector, now in its third edition (Routledge, 2022), and editor of “City Branding: Theory and Cases” (Palgrave Macmillan, 2010).
As a global speaker, Keith has presented his work on City, Region, and Nation Branding in numerous countries across Europe, Asia, North America, and Africa. His research focuses on applying strategic brand management to drive tourism, attract investment, promote exports, and strengthen public diplomacy.
Since 2018, Keith serves as a Reader in Marketing at University of Dundee School of Business.
Raul Kharbanda has over 15 years experience in research and market intelligence. He has focused on international trade, foreign direct investment, employment relations, and most recently capacity building in international development. During this time, he has worked with multinational companies, think tanks, and universities. He has presented at the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), and the World Association of Investment Promotion Agencies (WAIPA) conferences on foreign direct investment promotion strategies, and advised on best practice at workshops to Eastern European, African, South American and Central Asian promotion agencies. He was previously Head of Research & Customer Insight at UK Trade & Investment (UKTI), the UK Government's business development agency. He is currently working on capacity building of the Azerbaijan Government's inward investment and export promotion operations, based in Baku, Azerbaijan.
Natalia Fishman is an Aide to the President of the Republic of Tatarstan, Russian Federation, with budget responsibility of over USD 30 million. She organizes and overseas region-wide projects to improve urban spaces, amplify public dialogue, engage youth, and raise awareness and prestige of Tatarstan within Russia and beyond. She was previously a aide to the Minister for culture in the Moscow government, and a director for the Jewish museum and museum of tolerance in Moscow.
Dr Natasha Grand Norman is the Director of Institute for Identity (INSTID), which she co-founded in London in 2012. She is a proponent of the people-focused approach to place branding that upholds place’s way of life rather than infrastructure. Trained in national identity (a Lord Dahrendorf Scholar at LSE), Natasha leads INSTID’s qualitative research and speaks at conferences and in the media from the anthropological angle of the place branding field. She has been both a recipient and a judge at City Nation Place awards, and is a longstanding member of The Place Brand Observer Expert panel. Natasha has run projects across 3 continents with the combined population of 20+ million people.
Highly respected amongst his peers, Martin Boisen was heavily involved in developing last years award-winning place brand strategy of the Oslo Region (as judge he was excluded from evaluating the Oslo entry). Lately, amongst other projects, he’s been working with the Dutch Province of Limburg - helping them take their already state-of-the-art place brand management to the next level.
As an independent advisor, Boisen has been involved in more than 60 place marketing and/or place branding projects for cities and regions. Next to his commercial activities, Boisen is also a passionate university lecturer and an active member of the scientific and professional community.
Twitter: (@martinboisen) | Website: (http://www.fortheloveofplace.com) | LinkedIn: (https://www.linkedin.com/in/martinboisen)
Niclas Ljungberg has developed visions, creative brand strategies and storytelling for cities, nations, government departments, the UN, and corporate clients for over 20 years. He is multi-lingual with extensive cross-cultural experience, and holds an MSc in International Business. Lately, he has worked with Martin Boisen and Hjörtur Smárason on deepening the place brand management of the Dutch Provincie of Limburg.
Former clients of Ljungberg’s include Jordan and Egypt (Ministeries of Industry & Trade), India Brand Equity Fund, Mumbai First, United Kingdom Department of Trade & Industry, United Kingdom Department of Education & Skills, International Trade Centre, The Government of Ecuador, Goethe Institute, The Mayor of London, Transport for London, Belfast City, Amsterdam North, ING Real Estate and the Everland theme park in South Korea.
Website: (http://niclas-ljungberg.strikingly.com/) | LinkedIn: (https://www.linkedin.com/in/niclasljungberg)
Van Elmpt developed and implemented the Limburg Branding Strategy from 2011 to 2014 and advises the current coalition on the mid- and long-term strategic goals. Limburg is a border region; for their day to day affairs, people, businesses and organisations have to co-operate with their neighbours in Germany and Belgium. This represent one of the major challenges for us as the regional government - but at the same time it is also a key ingredient of our identity as a border region.
Van Elmpt is especially interested in the socio-economic transition of regions and the role of regional government. He holds a PhD in Political Science from Maastricht University.
Magdalena Florek (dr hab.) is an expert in the area of place branding and brand management. Professor at The Poznań University of Economics and Business in Poland. A scholarship participant of Fulbright Foundation at Northwestern University and Kellogg School of Management, USA (2002/2003). In 2006/2007 senior lecturer at Marketing Department, University of Otago. Senior Fellow at The Institute of Place Management, co-founder and member of the board of International Place Branding Association and Best Place – The European Place Marketing Institute. Member of the Editorial Board of the Journal of Place Branding and Public Diplomacy, International Journal of Tourism Cities, Journal of Destination Marketing and Management, Journal of Urban Regeneration & Renewal. Author and co-author of books and articles on place marketing and branding. Speaker at numerous domestic and international conferences. A consultant in terms of brand strategy, city and region promotion. Repetitive jury member for various competitions for branding projects for cities and regions.
Maria Schicht-Smolska graduated from the University of Warsaw, Faculty of Law and Administration, and doctoral studies at the Polish Academy of Sciences. She is a doctor of law and a judge.
She was a lecturer at the Faculty of Law and Administration at University of Warsaw and the Faculty of Management at University of Warsaw. She continued her academic career at the University of Vienna in the field of international law and management.
During her many years of activity in Austria she led courses and workshops for companies entering the Polish market, about Polish advertising market and creating strategy of brands. She collaborated with the Institute of State Administration WIFI - Vienna.
As president of Brunno Schicht KG she promoted on the Austrian market Belgian, French, German, English and Danish companies from creative sector.
After returning to Poland in 2001 she started holding managerial positions in the IT sector. She worked for companies such as: Asseco, SterProjekt, ABG. She created marketing, investor and PR strategies for domestic and foreign corporations.
As a president of the Association of Managers in Poland she promoted a code of good practice in business. She is a member of many important business and marketing organizations in Poland and abroad, e.g. member of the Programme Council of Polish National Sales Awards, Polish Board of Marketing Directors, Polish PR Association, Business Center Club, Association of Lawyers of the University of Warsaw, of which she is also a founding member.
In 2015, she moved from City Hall to Warsaw Tourist Office.
Warsaw Tourist Office is an official representative of Warsaw City Hall and is an institution responsible for the promotion of Warsaw as an attractive tourist destination.
As a private person she is involved in many charitable activities, working as a volunteer for NGOs.
In 2014, she was awarded C4F/ Communication for Future Awardee for Image of the Future.
An international place marketing expert, passionate about branding and cities. More than 15 years associated with territorial marketing and tourism consulting.
Graduate of Lodz University (Poland), with the major of “special economy – managing the city and the region”. A student of the The Chartered Institute of Marketing (London/Warsaw).
Between 2001 – 2003 consultant for the Polish Agency of Tourism Development and a cofounder of the first tourism marketing strategies for cities and regions in Poland (including Pomerania and West Pomerania Region, Suwalki tourist district, city of Malbork, Polczyn Zdroj and Suprasl etc.).
From 2010 founder and President of Best Place-European Place Marketing Institute -a new consulting organization(think-and-do tank)that aims to professionalization and popularization of place marketing and branding in Central and Eastern Europe (www.bestplaceinstytut.org/en).Also Initiating Founding Member at International Place Branding Association (www.placebranding.org).
A jury member of many competitions, for example for the ‘Polish Advertising Competition KTR’, 'EFFIE Awards', ‘Best Tourist Product’ (Polish Tourist Organization competition).
Speaker at dozens of conferences in Poland and abroad, including the first conference in Russia devoted to the city marketing (City Marketing and Development Congress, Moscow), the first congress of tourism marketing in Lviv(Win with the Lion, Lviv, Ukraine), and the first place branding conference in Brazil (Place Branding Seminar DIRECTIONS).
Engaged by the British Council to the international group of experts ‘City Idea Bakers’. Two-time winner of Mieczyslaw Orłowicza award for the best press and television materials to promote the Polish tourism.
Created The Story agency, specializing in design and innovations. Leads a design, and a branding consulting team. Works with clients from medical, touristic, technology, energy, and engineering industries. He is a speaker, and a member of the Advisory Council of World Communications Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
Annika Rembe has a degree in law from Stockholm University and two decades’ experience of working with nation and regional branding.
She has previously worked as Commissioner-General for Sweden’s participation at World Expo 2010 in Shanghai, as Director of Communications and Marketing at the Invest in Sweden Agency, and as a journalist, author and CEO in the publishing industry.
President of EUNIC (European Union National Institutes for Culture), 1 July 2014–30 June 2015.
Mr Davis has joined Invest Hong Kong in 2010 initially as Associate Director-General in the Hong Kong Head Office. He led the Tourism & Hospitality, Creative Industries, Consumer Products, Business & Professional Services and Transport & Industrial sector specialist teams. Projects that have recently come from these sectors include GE, Infiniti, Meijer, Constellation Brands, Pace and Harvey Nash. In 2015, he relocated to the UK to lead the UK Team.
Twitter: @davi326
LinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/andrewdavis326
Website: http://www.investhk.gov.uk/
Charles Landry works with cities around the world to help them make the most of their potential. He is widely acclaimed as a speaker, author, innovator and facilitates complex urban change projects.
An international authority on using imagination in creating self-sustaining urban change Charles helps shift how we harness possibilities in reinventing our cities. His Creative City concept has become a global movement and his book The Art of City Making was recently voted the 2nd best book on cities ever written by the planning website: http://www.planetizen.com/node/66462. Other books cover the digitized city, the senses of the city and interculturalism.
For further information: www.charleslandry.com
The Stuttgart native studied business mathematics at the Philipp University of Marburg (Germany) and at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (Germany). After graduation she worked on EU-funded projects as a consultant in the Estonian Ministry of Finance. She acquired international experience at the German Association for International Cooperation (GIZ), including while serving as head of the regional office in Jerusalem. And as Head of the Public Sector at the GIZ she expanded her strategic skills in acquiring third-party funds. Before joining Berlin Partner for Business and Technology, Joras headed up GIZ’s operations in Germany.
Andrea Joras became CEO of Berlin Partner for Business and Technology on July 1, 2015.
Hjörtur Smárason is the co-founder of Phønix, the international place branding panel. An anthropologist and storyteller from Iceland, Hjörtur has worked with a number of cities, regions and countries around the world. Being from a remote place struck with natural catastrophes, Hjörtur often works with challenging places due to poverty, lack of infrastructure or crisis of some sort. These include the very remote east coast of Greenland, Iceland during economic crisis and volcanic eruptions and Nepal after the earthquakes in 2015. Hjörtur is the author of the upcoming book: “How to Outrun a Rhino – Creating competitive advantage through powerful storytelling.”
Raj is from a beautiful place called Gulmi, south-west of Pokhara. After a Bachelor in Agriculture and a MBA in Development, Raj got interested in responsible ways to support his country .He loves trekking, mountain biking, bouldering and anything adventurous that you can name. It’s actually this adventurous passion that drove him to open the door of socialtours.com and bring adventure lovers from all over the world to Nepal. Besides adventure, he also loves cold beer!
Chris Gottlieb and his team develop and implement a global strategy which positions London with key audiences to attract investment and visitor spend which creates jobs and growth today, and to build London’s international reputation for tomorrow.
Chris has a vast experience across branding, reputation and communications and directs a number of different departments within London & Partners including Business and Leisure Marketing, Communications, Education and Culture.
Chris previously worked as Director of Communications at the charity Oxfam. Before Oxfam, he was at the BBC for nine years where he held a variety of posts including a position on the Television and Journalism Boards as Director of Marketing, Communications and Audiences.
Whilst at the BBC, Gottlieb led the rebranding of BBC News, across local, national and global output. Prior to the BBC, Gottlieb worked at Thomson Holidays (now TUI UK) as Group Advertising Manager and at J Walter Thompson earlier in his career.
Chris Gottlieb has a BA in English and French from Southampton University and is an alumni of London Business School's Senior Executive Programme.
Pärtel consults international and Nordic cities and regions on place branding, internationalisation, talent and business attraction management.
Tendensor International has worked with, among others, Scottish Enterprise, City of Berlin, Stockholm Business Region and Gothenburg (Sweden), Helsinki, Tampere and Oulu (Finland), Copenhagen Capacity (Denmark), Oslo Regional Alliance (Norway), Invest in Iceland and Enterprise Estonia / Work in Estonia. Tendensor International also works with Nordic Place Academy and Teleport.
Previously Pärtel worked at the European Parliament (Brussels) on international relations, defence and foreign affairs, European politics, strategic communications, political campaigns and public diplomacy. He has published articles on EU, Swedish and Estonian politics and has translated Luuk van Middelaar’s “Passage to Europe” to Estonian. Pärtel holds a Master’s in Management from Vrije Universiteit Brussel. He speaks English, Swedish, Finnish, Estonian and some French.
Roger provides leading edge advice to property, place and destination projects seeking competitive advantage in a changing world. Originally from London, Roger is based in the Dublin office of Colliers International where he helps lead their Destination and Development Advisory service across Ireland, Great Britain and internationally. With 20 years’ experience in the property consulting sector he undertakes market analysis, market positioning, concept development, options appraisals, place branding, business planning, development and investment strategies and action plans.
Roger has worked on the brand strategy for Ireland’s Wild Atlantic Way, Cork Docklands and City Centre development strategies and a brand strategy for Cork. Elsewhere in Ireland, market positioning of Dublin Docklands, Waterford’s Viking Triangle, destination and development advise in Naas, Waterford, Limerick, Longford plus preparing a master plan for the transformation of Bunratty Castle & Folk Park, one of Ireland’s premier visitor attractions. Back in Britain, an Inward Investment & Property Strategy for the London Borough of Merton, Roger led the early work on the proposed new AFC Wimbledon stadium development and a market positioning strategy of the property opportunities emerging from Renfrewshire Council’s share of Glasgow’s City Deal funding. Around the world large scale mixed use projects in Shanghai, Shijuazhang and Seoul, plus a place brand strategy for the new Pier District in St Petersburg, Florida.
Roger has a degree in Geography and Economics and a masters in European Property Development and Planning. He is a member of the Urban Land Institute and is on their European Regeneration Council.
Conrad is Director of the GREAT Britain campaign based in 10 Downing Street. In 2014, his role was extended to include responsibility for delivering major cross-government campaigns as well as ensuring Government’s spending on communications is efficient and cost-effective.
Conrad has worked in the Government since 2002. He previously spent 18 years in advertising working with a number of agencies on national and international business. During this time, he also set up an award-winning communication consultancy which he successfully ran for eight years.
Conrad is Director of the GREAT Britain campaign based in 10 Downing Street. In 2014, his role was extended to include responsibility for delivering major cross-government campaigns as well as ensuring Government’s spending on communications is efficient and cost-effective.
Conrad has worked in the Government since 2002. He previously spent 18 years in advertising working with a number of agencies on national and international business. During this time, he also set up an award-winning communication consultancy which he successfully ran for eight years.
Jackie Hunter is WSJ. Custom Studio's EMEA Managing Editor, having joined the team in December 2011. Prior to becoming a custom-content specialist, she worked as a features journalist with The Independent in London, moved to Edinburgh as features editor of The Scotsman, and then worked as a freelance writer for national publications and global brands. Telling good stories is a skill she has been working on since childhood and she hasn't run out of ideas yet.
Ambassador, Deputy Chief of Staff of the Luxembourg Deputy Prime Minister
Chair of the Luxembourg Trade and Investment Steering Committee
Chair of the Luxembourg Nation Branding Committee
Chair of the Board of LuxGovSat S.A.
Luxembourg non-resident Ambassador to the Republic of Serbia
Since she joined the Luxembourg diplomatic service in 1997, Sasha Baillie has been a career official.
Before her current appointment to serve with the Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of the Economy and Minister of Defense in 2014, Ms Baillie was Director for European affairs and international economic relations in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Prior to that role, she was Deputy Secretary General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. She has also served on foreign postings in Moscow as deputy head of mission at the Luxembourg embassy (2006-2010) and in Brussels as deputy head of mission of the Luxembourg representation to the EU Political and Security committee, which involved chairing EU meetings during the Luxembourg EU Presidency in 2005.
In her role as deputy chief of staff of the Minister of Economy, Ms Baillie led the initiative to reform the structures for Luxembourg’s economic promotion that led to the creation in June 2016 of the Luxembourg Trade and Investment Board. She now chairs the Trade and Investment Steering Committee, which oversees and manages Luxembourg’s economic promotion strategy.
Ms Baillie also chairs the Luxembourg Nation Branding Committee, an interministerial and interinstutional group set up by the Government in 2014 to develop and promote the image of the country around the world.
As an aide to the Deputy Prime Minister Étienne Schneider, who has ministerial portfolios that include both economy and defense, Ms Baillie steered the creation of a joint venture between the Luxembourg Government and the Luxembourg-based global satellite operator SES to acquire, launch and operate a satellite specifically dedicated to governmental and defense telecommunications. She serves as Chair of the Board of this company, LuxGovSat S.A. since its creation in February 2015.
Besides her native English and Luxembourgish, Ms Baillie is fluent in French and German and also speaks Russian, Spanish and Italian. She graduated from St Andrews University, Scotland with a Masters degree in international relations and medieval history, and went on to research a doctorate at the European University Institute, Florence. She is married with two children.
Photo: "Chambre de Commerce/Laurent Antonelli"
Brock is one of Canada’s leading economic development thinkers, combining twenty years of hands-on experience in the field with the latest ideas, innovations and research to drive 21st century economic development.
Before entering the private sector, Brock served as Director of ICT & Advanced Manufacturing for the Toronto Region Research Alliance, as Director of Economic Development & Tourism Services for the City of St. Catharines, and as Executive Director of the Western Valley Development Authority in rural Nova Scotia. This economic development work won more than 40 national and international awards, including a UN designation as one of the “best practices in the world for improving living conditions.” His work helped to leverage more than a billion dollars in new investment, and the creation of 5,000 new jobs.
Before entering the field of local economic development, Brock spent six years as a consultant with the United Nations, coordinating development projects in more than 30 countries. In 1995, he was appointed Secretary-General of a UN conference on sustainable development, the youngest Secretary-General in UN history.
Petra Theman (1973), Director of Public Diplomacy at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland, is a hardware store & film geek. She has served as a diplomat in various posts at the Ministry but also escaped the life of a civil servant for five years to start Audiovisual Finland, an export promotion association assisting production companies. Before entering the diplomatic career she was a Public Relations and Communications Manager at Tellabs,Inc. Petra has two teenage daughters and two teenage bonus sons.
Mark O’Connell is CEO and founder of OCO Global. Prior to establishing OCO Global in 2001, Mark previously worked in PwC strategy consulting in Ireland. Mark has over 25 years of experience working extensively in trade and foreign investment attraction in Europe, Asia and North America and has cultivated in-depth networks and knowledge of doing business in these areas.
Strategy work overseas has included investment attraction, market entry, acquisition support, corporate location and offshore investment evaluation. Mark is regularly cited as an FDI expert in leading publications such as the Economist, Wall St Journal and Financial Times and is a board member of the International Economic Development Council.
Mark has a First Class Honours degree from University of Ulster and a Masters from Lancaster University. Mark also gained a Licence in Sciences Economiques from Universite de Caen and speaks fluent French.
Mark O’Connell is CEO and founder of OCO Global. Prior to establishing OCO Global in 2001, Mark previously worked in PwC strategy consulting in Ireland. Mark has over 25 years of experience working extensively in trade and foreign investment attraction in Europe, Asia and North America and has cultivated in-depth networks and knowledge of doing business in these areas.
Strategy work overseas has included investment attraction, market entry, acquisition support, corporate location and offshore investment evaluation. Mark is regularly cited as an FDI expert in leading publications such as the Economist, Wall St Journal and Financial Times and is a board member of the International Economic Development Council.
Mark has a First Class Honours degree from University of Ulster and a Masters from Lancaster University. Mark also gained a Licence in Sciences Economiques from Universite de Caen and speaks fluent French.
Joe Phillips is Managing Director of All Out Location, an economic development consultancy that supports Investment Promotion Agencies in developing their FDI strategies. Now based in London, he previously led OCO Global’s New York office.
His work focuses on approaches to attraction and retention, location benchmarking, and investment promotion training. Joe has delivered FDI strategy projects for clients across the world, including in the UK, Ireland, USA, Canada, the Caribbean, South and Central America, and Asia. He is also a specialist Investment Promotion Consultant for the World Bank, plus he has delivered various projects for companies considering their international location strategy.
Joe Phillips is Managing Director of All Out Location, an economic development consultancy that supports Investment Promotion Agencies in developing their FDI strategies. Now based in London, he previously led OCO Global’s New York office.
His work focuses on approaches to attraction and retention, location benchmarking, and investment promotion training. Joe has delivered FDI strategy projects for clients across the world, including in the UK, Ireland, USA, Canada, the Caribbean, South and Central America, and Asia. He is also a specialist Investment Promotion Consultant for the World Bank, plus he has delivered various projects for companies considering their international location strategy.
Andrew Nelson is a contributing editor at National Geographic Traveler magazine based in New Orleans. Follow his adventures in wanderlust on Twitter @andrewnelson.
Ms Aparna Dutt Sharma is a Brand Strategist and Communications Expert. Recognised amongst leading experts internationally on nation branding. she has been the Founding Member and Chief Executive Officer, India Brand Equity Foundation (IBEF), a Trust established by the Ministry of Commerce, Government of India, to promote the Made in India label in markets overseas.
Presently consulting with Ernst & Young LLP, India, as a Senior Advisor for Branding and Communications, Ms Sharma is enabling various state governments in India articulate their brand management and positioning strategy with a particular focus on investment promotion campaigns and perception management, both within India and overseas markets.
Ms Sharma has about 25 years of rich work experience in leadership roles in dynamic environments across national, international and corporate institutions of repute. She has been the Vice President of World Association of Investment Promotion Agencies (WAIPA) headquartered in Geneva.
Raul Kharbanda has over 15 years experience in research and market intelligence. He has focused on international trade, foreign direct investment, employment relations, and most recently capacity building in international development. During this time, he has worked with multinational companies, think tanks, and universities. He has presented at the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), and the World Association of Investment Promotion Agencies (WAIPA) conferences on foreign direct investment promotion strategies, and advised on best practice at workshops to Eastern European, African, South American and Central Asian promotion agencies. He was previously Head of Research & Customer Insight at UK Trade & Investment (UKTI), the UK Government's business development agency. He is currently working on capacity building of the Azerbaijan Government's inward investment and export promotion operations, based in Baku, Azerbaijan.
Robert Govers is the managing research partner of www.good.country, chairman of the International Place Branding Association and an independent advisor, researcher, speaker and author on the reputation of cities, regions and countries. He has also been an adjunct or visiting scholar in Dubai, Leuven, London and Milan and teaches Place Branding on the UNESCO World Heritage at Work Master programme in Torino and Trento, Italy. In addition, he is co-editor of the quarterly journal, Place Branding and Public Diplomacy and, with Prof. Dr. Frank Go, co-author of Place Branding (2009) and editor of the International Place Branding Yearbook Series (2010, 2011 and 2012) all with Palgrave Macmillan. He also co-authored over fifty journal articles, book chapters and conference papers and has delivered numerous public speeches and business publications.
Dr. Simon Galpin was appointed Managing Director of the Bahrain Economic Development Board (EDB) in February 2016.
Previously, Dr Galpin was the Director-General of Investment Promotion at Invest Hong Kong (InvestHK), the Government Department responsible for attracting and facilitating foreign direct investment into Hong Kong, and helped establish the Department as one of the world's leading investment promotion agencies.
With senior management experience in both the private and public sectors, Dr. Galpin was also actively involved in promoting Hong Kong’s expanding start-up ecosystem. Prior to joining InvestHK, Dr. Galpin spent ten years with Scottish Enterprise – at that time Europe’s largest economic development agency. He was initially posted to Hong Kong in 1992 but also worked in Glasgow, Taipei, Sydney and London.
Dr. Galpin holds Masters degrees in Business Administration, Local Economic Development and International Business Law and recently graduated as a Doctor of Juridical Science.
MBA speaks fluent Italian, German, and English. At iambassador, Nicholas is responsible for marketing the iambassador brand, expanding and strengthening client and influencer relations, developing iambassador’s education services as well as longer term business strategies. He spent five years at the Emilia Romagna Tourist Board where he was responsible for Digital PR and International Online Media Relations. While there, Nicholas developed the award-winning Blogville project, which is now in its sixth year.
Nicholas has delivered presentations at amongst others, ITB Berlin, WTM London, WTM Cape Town, TTG Rimini, BIT Milano, Social Travel Summit and the World Tourism Forum. He hosts workshops and seminars at Universities and DMOs where he shares the latest marketing strategies and experiences from his daily work and projects.
Mike Duffin is a senior advisor in the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Counterterrorism and Countering Violent Extremism. He coordinates U.S. government engagement with and through the Strong Cities Network. Duffin started at the State Department as a Presidential Management Fellow and is a recipient of the Franklin Award and the Meritorious Honor Award. He earned advanced degrees in journalism from Northwestern University, public diplomacy from the University of Southern California, and international public policy from Johns Hopkins University.
Highly respected amongst his peers, Martin Boisen was heavily involved in developing last years award-winning place brand strategy of the Oslo Region (as judge he was excluded from evaluating the Oslo entry). Lately, amongst other projects, he’s been working with the Dutch Province of Limburg - helping them take their already state-of-the-art place brand management to the next level.
As an independent advisor, Boisen has been involved in more than 60 place marketing and/or place branding projects for cities and regions. Next to his commercial activities, Boisen is also a passionate university lecturer and an active member of the scientific and professional community.
Twitter: (@martinboisen) | Website: (http://www.fortheloveofplace.com) | LinkedIn: (https://www.linkedin.com/in/martinboisen)
Isabella Falco is an international advertising creative and communications expert with an MA in Cinema Studies from New York University and a BA in Comparative Literature from Randolph College. Her strength lies in planning and executing corporate image communications campaigns, especially those designed to launch new brands, services or products. Feminist writer and editor, she has also successfully entered the competitive fields of mass media, social projects and public service. Today she is better known for having led the successful launch of the Peru Country Brand. Her next challenge is to move the Peru brand up the ranking of destination brands into the top twenty worldwide.
Lior Meyer is the Deputy CEO and Director of Marketing & Communications at Tel Aviv Global, the international promotional, economic development and tourism corporation of the City of Tel Aviv. Focusing on telling Tel Aviv's story to the world and harnessing its international brand in order to attract talent, tourism, investment and events, Lior leads a team of media and marketing professional specializing in branding, marketing communications, international press and new media. Working together with national, private and city partners, Tel Aviv has managed over recent years to transform its global image and position itself as a diverse and dynamic world-class brand, through focusing on tech innovation and its urban-beach vibe. Lior joined Tel Aviv global 5 years ago and holds a BA in international relations and MA in political marketing.
Melissa Cherry is serving as the chief marketing officer at DMAI. In her position, she is responsible for the development and execution of the overall marketing and communications strategy to promote the organization’s mission, elevate the brand, drive awareness and strengthen its impact to protect and advance the success of the destination marketing industry worldwide. Prior to joining DMAI, Cherry was senior vice-president for marketing and cultural tourism at Choose Chicago. During her four-year tenure at the city’s official destination marketing organization, she led Choose Chicago’s domestic and international marketing strategies, including all efforts for brand strategy, integrated marketing, research, advertising, official publications and collateral, website, social media and event marketing. Cherry’s 20 years of experience in the industry includes prior positions at the Chicago History Museum and the Los Angeles Tourism & Convention Board (then known as the Los Angeles Convention & Visitors Bureau).
Buddy Dyer has served as Mayor of the City of Orlando since 2003, and from his first day in office, he has worked tirelessly to advance the community’s shared vision for Orlando as America’s 21st Century City. Under Mayor Dyer’s leadership and through strategic investments, Orlando is one of the nation’s fastest-growing cities and is the most visited destination in the country, hosting more than 65 million visitors each year. Mayor Dyer has defined Orlando as America’s new home for inclusiveness, opportunity and quality of life, with a strong focus on innovation, transportation, sustainability and government efficiency.
Mayor Dyer helped the community unite and heal following the June 12, 2016 Pulse tragedy that took the lives of 49 people and injured more than 50, vowing that Orlando would not be defined by one hateful act, but instead by responding with love and compassion. Throughout his tenure as Mayor, he has ensured that Orlando is a city that embraces diversity, promotes fairness and equality and is a welcoming, multicultural community.
Since his first day in office, Mayor Dyer has strived to increase cooperation and partnership between Central Florida’s many governments, its business and civic communities and its residents. The result of this effort is a new era of collaboration that has paved the way for a series of remarkable, transformational accomplishments for greater Orlando in a very short period of time and has set the city on course for a more prosperous future.
Mayor Dyer has shaped Orlando into a desirable place to live, work, learn and play. Orlando added more jobs than any other metropolitan area in the country in 2015 and Forbes ranked Orlando No. 2 nationally as the best place to buy real estate, No. 3 in job growth and No. 4 as the happiest place to work.Mayor Dyer is leading the efforts to diversify Central Florida’s economy and create a new breed of high-tech, high-wage careers for residents in cutting-edge industries such as digital media, life sciences and biotechnology, modeling, simulation and training and aviation and aerospace.
Under Orlando’s strong-mayor form of government, Mayor Dyer serves as the City’s chief executive and also helps govern and oversee the operations and growth of its city-owned utility, OUC, and the Orlando International and Executive Airports.Orlando has worked to become one of the most sustainable cities in the country.
Under Mayor Dyer’s leadership, the City is creating a Digital City Hall which allows business owners, residents and visitors to access City services and Orlando Police Department data via the internet.
Dan is product designer with over 15 years of experience building some of the world’s most most popularonline communications platforms. He co-founded and is Chief Executive Officer of Neighborland, acommunications platform that empowers civic organizations to collaborate with their stakeholders in anaccessible, participatory, and equitable way. As a social enterprise, Neighborland has worked with over200 city agencies, universities, foundations, and non-profits across the U.S. Over 1,000,000 U.S. residentshave participated on Neighborland, and these projects have yielded over $500m in social and economicimpact.
Before founding Neighborland, Dan was a Director of User Experience at Yahoo. He led user research anddesign for products in the Marketplaces and Advertising Platform divisions. Previously, Dan was anAssociate Creative Director at Time Warner where he crafted online experiences for the entertainmentdivision of Aol and helped build a design studio of 50 researchers, architects, and designers for thecompany in New York. He led the platform redesign of Aol in 2007 which served over 250m people daily.
Dan’s work has been recognized by the National Endowment of the Arts, Rockefeller Foundation, 100Resilient Cities, Venice Biennale of Architecture, American Institute of Graphic Arts, Cooper HewittNational Design Museum, and Yerba Buena Center for the Arts.
Dan has spoken about community-centered design at the White House, Smart Cities World Congress inBarcelona, Stanford Nonprofit Management Institute, Urban Land Institute, American Institute ofArchitects, California Historical Society, Neighborworks, Adaptive Metropolis and Bridge SF conferences atthe University of California Berkeley, and SPUR.
Dr. Tamer Avcilar joined NYU – School of Professional Studies, Tisch Center for Hospitality and Tourism’s adjunct faculty in 2015. He has been teaching both undergraduate and graduate level applied research courses and taking an active role in many Hospitality and Tourism research projects.
In addition to tourism research, his areas of focus are travel technologies, web based applications, social media marketing and Management Information Systems.
Dr. Avcilar offers a strong background in research for Hospitality and Travel companies especially in using methods such as datawarehousing, data mining and digital marketing. He has helped such companies as AVIS, Alamo, and Fed-Ex to develop marketing programs based on his research.
Dr. Avcilar also owns a consulting company offering solutions based on qualitative and quantitative research and also creates social media marketing channels and methods for various clients.
Ronald Castro
Marketing Strategist and Adjunct Professor at theNYU TischCenter for Hospitality and Tourism
Ron is an strategist with over 15 years of progressive marketing experience in the Travel, Hospitality, Consumer Package Goods and in the Financial Services sectors.
Currently based in Wall Street, works as an advisor in Travel Tech and Hospitality dedicated to supporting businesses create growth while gaining a competitive advantage through the execution of data-driven marketing programs. Additionally, he performs as an adjunct professor at the NYU Tisch Center for Travel and Tourism Management. He spearheads the Marketing Strategies and the Distribution Channels Management courses for the Master’s program in Hospitality Studies.
Prior to his current role in business intelligence advising, Ron gained his expertise in B2C and B2B marketing by holding various roles in brand management and business development at Hotwire.com, Expedia and at Johnson &Johnson Consumer Goods for the Neutrogena, Aveeno, Clean &Clear and Visine brands. Specifically, at J&J he spearheaded the creation of integrated marketing programs utilizing optimal combination of marketing disciplines including Positioning, PR, advertising, digital marketing and social media.
Ron holds a Bachelor Degree in Marketing &Communications from Boston College and a Masters in Hospitality Management from New York University.
Rosamond Fletcher is Director of Programs at the Design Trust for Public Space, a nationally-recognized incubator that transforms and evolves New York City’s landscape with public agencies and community collaborators. Her current projects include:Future Culture: Connecting Staten Island’s Waterfront in partnership with Staten Island Arts, and the participation of NYC Economic Development Corporation, area developers, and a community working group; Opening the Edge: Reimagining Green Space At Wald Houses in partnership with New York City Housing Authority, and the participation of artist Jane Greengold and a community design team; and El-Space, the pilot phase of Under the Elevated: Reclaiming Space, Connecting Communities in partnership with NYC Department of Transportation, and the participation of Industry City and Rockaway Waterfront Alliance. Past projects include Laying the Groundwork: Vibrant Street Life and Quality Ground-Floor Uses for Affordable Housing with NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development, The World’s Park: Reconnecting a Regional Park with its Neighbors with the Queens Museum and NYC Department of Parks &Recreation (NYC Parks), and Five Borough Farm with Added Value, Farming Concrete, and NYC Parks.
Previously, Rosamondworked at the Center for Architecture/AIA NY on projects including Glimpses of New York and Amsterdam in 2040 and Jugaad Urbanism: Resourceful Strategies for Indian Cities. She has consulted with the Finnish Cultural Institute in NY. Rosamond teaches courses on community-based urbanism and placemaking at NYU School of Professional Studies. She has also taught architecture and design at Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) and Georgia Institute of Technology. Rosamond holds a Master of Environmental Design from the Yale School of Architecture, and a BArch and BFA from RISD.
Alan has contributed to projects in many jurisdictions, including Vancouver, Los Angeles, Beijing, Edmonton, San Francisco, Portland, Denver and New York. Alan is recognized as a leading thinker on urban issues. His experience with large mixed-use projects, unique architecture and public space design, all contribute to Alan’s unique abilities in creating vibrant, people-oriented communities. In particular, Alan’s work focuses on designing sustainable communities that can adapt and prosper through time. He is currently DIALOG’s national principal in charge of business development and marketing. He calls the Vancouver studio home.
“In the current world of design there appears to be a collision between the various aspects of design, architecture, planning and emerging thinking on vibrant, magnetic cities, sustainability and livability. As someone who practices at the interface of all of these things, I am excited by the opportunities this era of new collaboration brings. In my work I see the ability to synthesize these things, in collaboration with others, as the greatest contribution to City making and society. At DIALOG we are leaders in creating vibrant mixed-use, walkable places, that combine truly unique uses into extraordinary places.”
Susan joined CMLC as VP Marketing & Communications in 2009. Together with her team, she successfully rebranded Calgary’s East Village and transformed the neighbourhood’s image from one of the most downtrodden areas in the city to one of its most desirable and sought-after real estate addresses.
As Senior VP Strategy & Business Development, Susan plays key roles both in stewarding current CMLC projects and in evaluating and securing future opportunities that fit with the organization’s mandate and capabilities.
Gifted with foresight and big picture thinking, Susan has been integral in crafting a long-term strategic vision for the company, ensuring the organization is well positioned for future growth, and uncovering new and rewarding ways to put the CMLC team’s considerable talents as developers and placemakers to very good use.
As the corporate lead on CMLC’s Developer and Land Strategy – a program that has attractedmore than $3 billion in planned investment to East Village – Susan has been rigorous in vetting and selecting precisely the right buyer for each land parcel and the right development team for each project.
She also continues to oversee corporate communicationsand public engagement.
Beyond her day to day role at CMLC, Susan is a member of the Board of Directors for Calgary Arts Development Association, and she recently volunteered as Chair, Marketing & Public Relations for the 45th Annual Juno Awards hosted in Calgary in 2016. Throughout her tenure with CMLC, she has loaned her expertise to a variety of industry advisory panels, brand workshops and community planning initiatives.
In her 20-plus year career, Susan has worked across multidisciplinary teams to create strong brands, grow partner investment and create meaningful public engagement. She has worked with notable brands including Coca-Cola, Triple 5 Corporation and West Edmonton Mall, Canadian Olympic Committee and International Association of Athletics Federation, Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (CARAS), and more.
Jeff Miller, president and CEO of Travel Portland, directs the destination marketing organization’s efforts to position Portland as a preferred global destination or meetings, conventions and leisure travel. The work Miller supervises provides a significant boost to the local economy via visitor spending, lodging tax collection as well as job creation. In addition, Miller serves on the boards of directors or executive committees for the U.S. Travel Association, the International Air Service and Downtown Portland Clean & Safe District.
Brad Ferguson is the President & CEO of Edmonton Economic Development Corporation (EEDC) responsible for the promotion of this Canadian economic powerhouse. Tasked with transforming Edmonton’s brand from industrial to entrepreneurial, Brad drew on his Procter & Gamble background and entrepreneurial roots to fundamentally change how the local community (the city’s real marketing department) talks and feels about their city.Responsible for investment, business, tourism, conference, event and talent attraction, EEDC’s conglomerate model allows it to compete against top tier cities, and has outperformed every jurisdiction in Canada in terms of job, talent and GDP growth over the past five years. A storyteller at heart, Brad will share the inner workings of Edmonton’s award-winning journey in place marketing that has people across North America looking north.
Joanne has been the chief executive of Manchester City Council since April2017. She was previously chief executive of Wakefield Metropolitan BoroughCouncil, where she held the top post from 2008.
Her career started in local government as an apprentice with Birmingham CityCouncil at 16 and has a strong track record in transforming public servicesand delivering major regeneration initiatives such as the Hepworth GalleryWakefield and Parkhill Housing in Sheffield.
Joanne has also previously worked as Director of Housing at Kirklees Council and Executive Director with responsibility for housing, communities and adult care services at Sheffield City Council. She has a long standing career in housing and local government and is a Fellow of CIH and a regular contributor to Inside Housing. Joanne is a Trustee of the We Love Manchester Emergency Fund,established in the wake of the Manchester Arena attack, to provide financial support to victims and families affected.
Joanne was awarded the OBE for services to local government in 2009.
Matt is Deputy Managing Director of the Ipsos MORI Reputation Centre in London and a member of Ipsos MORI’s UK Public Affairs Management Board.
Previously Head of Research at Echo Research Ltd and Ebiquity plc, Matt has specialised in reputation, brand and communications for 15 years. In this time he has worked with clients from a wide range of public and private sectors, including some of the most admired businesses across Europe and Russia, the USA and the Middle East, as well as nation states.
Berlin is a place where ideas spread faster. With more than 500 new tech companies per year and a higher annual economic growth rate compared to the German average, Berlin proves to be a breeding ground for creative ideas and an ongoing success story.
Henning’s job is to deliver the reason why Berlin is a perfect place to work and live or as he calls it: “setting emotional bookmarks”. Entering the business development agency Berlin Partner for Business and Technology in 2013, he is heading the place marketing unit, which encompasses brand management, place branding and marketing services for the “Berlin” brand since 2014.
Henning has a strong background in international marketing and branding as well as public relations with a master’s degree in sociology and communication sciences.
Adriana is Chief Resilience Officer for the City of Salvador, which is part of the 100 Resilient Cities initiative pioneered by the Rockefeller Foundation, and Director of Resilience for The Municipal Government of Salvador. Previously she was Salvador’s Municipal Deputy Secretary for Economic Development and Employment. She is particularly interested in the uses of marketing and branding for economic development and urban regeneration. In 2017, she contributed to the “Handbook on Place Branding and Marketing” by Edward Elgar Publishing.
Jessica has been a key part of M&C Saatchi for over 12 years. She combines a specialist FDI communications skillset with deep governmental, B2B and international expertise. Some highlights include: over 10 years of partnership with the Bahrain Economic Development Board; working with the Government of South Australia and Invest Georgia; developing the Tourism proposition for the Kingdom of Bahrain; Airbus Defence & Space; Telstra Global and Siemens. Jessica has also held senior marketing positions at key UK Government organisations where she was responsible for developing business engagement strategies for over 4 years.
Linda assumed office at Brand South Africa on 6 January 2016, she concluded a decade long tenure as South African Tourism’s Country Manager in France in 2014. During this time, she was key to South Africa’s efforts to position the country as a destination of choice for French tourists in particular and European tourists in general. Between 2000-2005, Linda held the position of Global Communications and Marketing Manager at the Societe Generale Investment Bank in France and was responsible for the implementation of the Bank’s communications and marketing strategy in Europe, Asia and the Americas. Linda has also served the country as a diplomat in Paris in the early 2000s.
Rick is a Singaporean place branding consultant who works on many aspects of brand Singapore, and also advises foreign governments on their country brands and soft power. He is on the Marketing Advisory Panel advising the Singapore Tourism Board on its brand strategies. As Adjunct Editor at the Centre for Liveable Cities, he has authored the reports of the World Cities Summit’s Mayors Forum and Young Leaders Symposium since 2014, in Singapore, New York and Suzhou.
He is the author and editor of 30 books, including “Brand Singapore: Nation Branding After Lee Kuan Yew, In A Divisive World” (2017), which has an earlier edition published in Chinese translation in China. His other publications cover aspects including Singapore’s national economic strategy, quality of life, investment in lifelong learning, and policies on energy, public housing and security. He has spoken on brand Singapore at Chicago University, Harvard and MIT in the USA, as well as at Shanghai, Melbourne and Tokyo.
He was previously an editor and regular columnist with the Singapore newspaper The Straits Times. As Head, Global Media Relations and Strategic Planning at the Singapore Economic Development Board, he led a team to devise the “global entrepolis” brand concept for Singapore. As Head, Public Affairs (Southeast Asia) at the communications consultancy Hill & Knowlton, his work for the Singapore government included the global launches of Gardens by the Bay (futuristic public gardens), National Gallery Singapore (a museum of Singaporean and Southeast Asian art) and Fusionopolis (a research and development precinct).
Ambassador, Deputy Chief of Staff of the Luxembourg Deputy Prime Minister
Chair of the Luxembourg Trade and Investment Steering Committee
Chair of the Luxembourg Nation Branding Committee
Chair of the Board of LuxGovSat S.A.
Luxembourg non-resident Ambassador to the Republic of Serbia
Since she joined the Luxembourg diplomatic service in 1997, Sasha Baillie has been a career official.
Before her current appointment to serve with the Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of the Economy and Minister of Defense in 2014, Ms Baillie was Director for European affairs and international economic relations in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Prior to that role, she was Deputy Secretary General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. She has also served on foreign postings in Moscow as deputy head of mission at the Luxembourg embassy (2006-2010) and in Brussels as deputy head of mission of the Luxembourg representation to the EU Political and Security committee, which involved chairing EU meetings during the Luxembourg EU Presidency in 2005.
In her role as deputy chief of staff of the Minister of Economy, Ms Baillie led the initiative to reform the structures for Luxembourg’s economic promotion that led to the creation in June 2016 of the Luxembourg Trade and Investment Board. She now chairs the Trade and Investment Steering Committee, which oversees and manages Luxembourg’s economic promotion strategy.
Ms Baillie also chairs the Luxembourg Nation Branding Committee, an interministerial and interinstutional group set up by the Government in 2014 to develop and promote the image of the country around the world.
As an aide to the Deputy Prime Minister Étienne Schneider, who has ministerial portfolios that include both economy and defense, Ms Baillie steered the creation of a joint venture between the Luxembourg Government and the Luxembourg-based global satellite operator SES to acquire, launch and operate a satellite specifically dedicated to governmental and defense telecommunications. She serves as Chair of the Board of this company, LuxGovSat S.A. since its creation in February 2015.
Besides her native English and Luxembourgish, Ms Baillie is fluent in French and German and also speaks Russian, Spanish and Italian. She graduated from St Andrews University, Scotland with a Masters degree in international relations and medieval history, and went on to research a doctorate at the European University Institute, Florence. She is married with two children.
As the son of Ted Levine, founder of Development Counsellors International, Andy was introduced to the world of economic development and travel marketing at birth. Since joining the firm in 1991, Andy has helped launch the company into a new era, advancing the quality of client work performed, growing the number of staff and adding to the range of client services offered.
He developed and continues to direct DCI's "Winning Strategies in Economic Development Marketing." First conducted in 1996, this ongoing survey of corporate executives with site selection responsibilities has emerged as a valuable tool for economic developers seeking to understand the "customer's perspective" on what works in economic development marketing.
Andy authors a monthly “Marketing Places” column for Forbes.com that has drawn over 100,000 readers. He also hosts “The Project: Inside Corporate Location Decisions,” a podcast that provides a behind-the-scenes look at company location and expansion announcements.
Gemma Suñer is the Online Marketing Manager of the Costa Brava Girona Tourist Board in Spain. #inCostaBrava and #inPyrenees are some of the most innovative destinations when it comes to relationships with content creators, and were home of TBEX 2012 and 2015, where Gemma leaded the organisation of the programs for bloggers around the conference. She leaded the organisation of more than 60 blog trips and other innovative projects such as Instagram Your City or Resident Bloggers. In cooperation with Emilia Romagna and iAmbassador she was part of the organising team of #EuroFoodTrip, one of the most innovative destination digital marketing campaigns.
Dimitrios Michelogiannis is the Regional Vice Governor for Development of the island of Crete.
He is the project manager of the EU funded Integrated Terittorial Investment of the Region of Crete on the UNESCO Designated Sites of Crete (1/4 of the island is designated by UNESCO). He is equally part of the team of the Region of Crete that is working on the tourism promotion of the island and also a Board of the Samaria National Park Management Body.
As the Vice Governor for Development Dimitrios is heavily focusing his work on the enhancement of the cultural heritage of Crete and on creating synergies around the various monuments and natural sites of the island. The projects that he is managing all aim the sustainable development of Crete through the prisme of cultural tourism.
He is a lawyer by profession, he holds an LLM on International Legal Studies from the University of Athens and a Master 2 Recherche on Environmental Law from Paris 1 Panthéon Sorbonne- Paris 2 Panthéon Assas.
Martin Harte is CEO and co founder of the Temple Bar Company. The Temple Bar Company is a nonprofit collective of businesses and cultural organisations from the Temple Bar area of Dublin, Ireland. As well as being CEO of the company martin also acts as festival director of the annual Tradfest Temple Bar, one of Ireland’s largest and most diverse festivals of traditional, folk and world music, he also co-curates Dublins’ Festival of Politics. Martin sits on several Dublin City Fora, including the Dublin Business Forum, and the The Economic Development SPC of Dublin City Council. Martin has a wide range of experience in Urban Management Issues having spent almost 19 years working in the Temple Bar Area of Dublin. He holds a Bachelors degree in Business Studies (Tourism Management) and Masters Degree in Regional & Local Development.
Future Place Leadership is a Nordic management consultancy specialising in the development, innovation and marketing of places, working on place branding, talent attraction and investment promotion, smart cities and sustainability. Partel-Peeter says that the team’s mission is to make places more attractive, connected and sustainable for people and business by helping them to turn the grand challenges of our time into opportunities.
Richard Leese was elected to Manchester City Council in 1984. He became Leader of the Council in 1996.
Richard’s political interests include devolution, place-based budgets and the links between economic development and social policy, developing open democracy and the community leadership role of local authorities; and the role of cities in creating a sustainable future. He has a number of additional responsibilities including Director of Manchester Airport Holdings Ltd, Vice Chair of the Greater Manchester Combined Authority, Chair of the Association of Rail North Partner Authorities and Chair of the LGA City Regions Board.
George W. Stone is editor of National Geographic Traveler magazine. An avid explorer and passionate storyteller, Stone views travel as a tool for transformation and connecting with other cultures and sees travel content as “inspiration for exploration.” These principles guide his editorial mission. George drives Traveler’s editorial strategy and leads a team of expert travel storytellers who craft National Geographic visual and narrative content across platforms.A National Geographic Traveler writer and editor for 18 years, Stone has written and edited articles that have received awards from the North American Travel Journalists Association and the Society of American Travel Writers (Lowell Thomas Award). Stone has developed print and digital feature platforms that have extended the magazine’s reach to new audiences, built and strengthened relationships with industry partners, and advanced the magazine’s mission to empower readers to explore the world with curiosity, openness, and an appetite for adventure. Stone is author of two books for the National Geographic Society: a history of Celts and Vikings (From Mist and Stone) and a chronicle of natural disasters (Raging Forces: Life on a Violent Planet).
Petra Theman (1973), Director of Public Diplomacy at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland, is a hardware store & film geek. She has served as a diplomat in various posts at the Ministry but also escaped the life of a civil servant for five years to start Audiovisual Finland, an export promotion association assisting production companies. Before entering the diplomatic career she was a Public Relations and Communications Manager at Tellabs,Inc. Petra has two teenage daughters and two teenage bonus sons.
Founder and CEO of Future Places (www.futureplaces.com), an independent consulting company based in Barcelona that specializes in creating strategies for the positioning and competitiveness of places and destinations worldwide, Juan Carlos is a renowned international expert in the corporate and place strategy, branding and promotion field.
He has been, for many years, advisor to the City Council of Barcelona and other city organizations and institutions and has also provided strategic consulting services to many cities, regions and countries worldwide including Western Europe, Eastern Europe, the Russian Federation, the US, Latin America, Northern Africa and the Middle East.
Juan Carlos is a founding member of ‘Barcelona Global’, a private, independent and not-for-profit civil society platform made up of business leaders, professionals and entrepreneurs committed to Barcelona and its future; founding member and member of the board of the International Place Branding Association (IPBA); member of the advisory board of CityNationPlace, member of the advisory board of the Global Cultural Districts Network (GCDN); expert member of Best Place – The International Place Branding and Marketing Institute; member of Phønix – The International Place Branding Panel and of the ‘Observatorio de Marca e Imagen País’, and collaborates and participates in different panels, forums and programs and projects with different multilateral and international organizations such as the EU, the UNDP, the World Bank, the UNWTO or the Inter-American Development Bank.
Graduated in Economics and Business Administration at the University of Barcelona with specialization studies in international marketing at New York University, has been Director for Spain and Latin America at Placebrands, Brand Strategy Services Director at FutureBrand in Madrid, Director of Strategy Consulting Services at Coopers & Lybrand and KPMG, Director of the Catalan International Promotion Agency in New York and responsible for international marketing projects at the Barcelona’92 Organizing Olympic Committee.
Frequent speaker in different international seminars and forums, Juan Carlos is author of many corporate and place branding articles for different journals and magazines and collaborates as visiting professor and expert with different international universities and schools.
Brad Dean, originally from Illinois, holds a Bachelors Degree in Accounting from the University of Illinois and a Masters Degree from Moody Bible Institute. Brad began his career in Puerto Rico, where he worked for General Electric. Brad also worked for Hard Rock Café as a Unit Controller and General Manager. In 1998, he joined the Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce, a regional DMO, where he first served as CFO, then as CEO. Brad has 20+ years of experience in the travel & tourism industry.
Tim Harris is the CEO of Wesgro, the Tourism, Trade and Investment Promotion Agency for Cape Town and the Western Cape. Tim previously served as Member of Parliament and Shadow Minister of Finance for the Democratic Alliance (DA). He holds a BA in English Literature and a Masters in Economics from the University of Cape Town. Tim currently sits on the board of the Cape Town Film Studios and BPESA.
Andreas Sandre is a press and public affairs officer at the Embassy of Italy in Washington, D.C., where he runs the digital diplomacy shop. He was previously at the United Nations, doing communications for the Italian delegation to the U.N. Security Council. Andreas is the author of “Digital Diplomacy: Conversations on Innovation in Foreign Policy” (Rowman & Littlefield, 2015) and “Twitter for Diplomats” (DiploFoundation, 2013). He's also the editor of a digital diplomacy publication on Medium, and a contributor to HuffPost, the Global Policy Journal of the London School of Economics, and Hacker Noon. You can find Andreas on Twitter/Instagram @andreas212nyc or on Facebook @asandreDC.
Mihalis Kavaratzis is Associate Professor of Marketing at the University of Leicester School of Business. His research focuses on place branding and tourism destination marketing. Mihalis is Founding Board Member of the International Place Branding Association and a Senior Fellow of the Institute of Place Management. He has published extensively in various academic journals and he is co-editor of ‘Inclusive Place Branding’ (with M. Giovanardi and M. Lichrou, 2017), ‘Rethinking Place Branding’ (with G. Warnaby and G.J. Ashworth, 2015) and ‘Towards Effective Place Brand Management’ (with G.J. Ashworth, 2010).
Beverley Carkner is the Director of Marketing at Ottawa Tourism, the destination marketing organisation for the capital city of Canada and joined the organization in 2009.
Beverley earned her Bachelor of Commerce degree with a specialisation in marketing from the University of Guelph. She was a program advisory chair for the Digital Marketing Program at the Algonquin College Centre for Continuing and Online Learning in 2017 and 2018, and she served for 3 years as an Executive Board Member for Attractions Ontario from 2010 through 2012.
In 2015, Beverley was a panel speaker on “Leading Change” at Social Media Tourism (SoMeT) and “A look back and into the future at what has shaped digital marketing for tourism – and what to expect next!” at Online Revealed.
Beverley is excited to be working on the Place DNA of Ottawa in conjunction with the City of Ottawa and Destination Think! and aspires to achieve citywide implementation in 2019.
English and French speaking Solly Moeng is an experienced expert in brand reputation management. He’s also a known independent media professional.
Born in Soweto, Johannesburg, South Africa, he has lived and studied in France, Canada and the US and travelled in many other countries around the world for professional purposes. He was South African Tourism’s Marketing Manager in Canada, based in Toronto, before being appointed Country Manager in the USA, based in New York City, where he oversaw the roll-out of the organisation’s Tourism Growth Strategy.
Following the USA, Solly returned to France, then back to South Africa where he worked for and consulted for a number of companies and organisations spanning both private and public sectors in retail, oil & gas, destination marketing, public transport, nature conservation, logistics, energy, fashion, hospitality, etc.
Apart from his popular weekly column on www.fin24.com, public speaking engagements, ongoing PhD research through the University of Cape Town, Solly, former President of PRISA (Public Relations Institute of Southern Africa) and
Vice President: Branding & Reputation Strategies for the Davos-Switzerland-based World Communication Forum Association (http://www.wcfaglobal.com/founders-executives-vp-ambassadors) is also the Convenor of both the South Africa Brand Summit (www.sabrandsummit.co.za) and the Africa Brand Summit that will be launched in Kigali, Rwanda, in late 2019.
Socially, Solly is an avid road and off-road cyclist.
Glenn Duncan joined the Ottawa Tourism team in early 2011 bringing with him, to Canada’s Capital, extensive industry knowledge and experience. Previously employed by Edmonton Economic Development Corporation / Edmonton Tourism, Glenn has dedicated over 30 years to the tourism, hospitality and customer service industries in various management and sales capacities. Mr. Duncan’s current role as Senior VP & CMO sees him leading a team of dedicated professionals within the Meetings & Conventions, Sport & Cultural Event and Travel Trade sectors while overseeing & contributing to all marketing initiatives for the organization.
Throughout his career, Mr. Duncan has been active on many boards and committees and a contributing member of several industry related associations and societies. Glenn’s passion for sports and major event marketing has also seen him lend his energy and expertise to many sport organizations and events, including being involved in the inception of EEI (Edmonton Events International), implementing Ottawa’s Major Event strategy, as well as previously sitting on the board of the Canadian Sport Tourism Alliance (CSTA).
Mr. Duncan continues to be a champion of and passionate spokesperson for Canadian tourism, perpetually building knowledge of product as well as global tourism industry trends and conditions.
Kristina Plavšak Krajnc (1971) graduated in journalism from the Faculty of Social Sciences of the University of Ljubljana in 1994. In 1995, she obtained a Master's degree in international relations at the Central European University, Department for European studies in Prague, Czech Republic. In 1996, she obtained a Master's degree in international relations at the School of Public and International Affairs at Columbia University in New York in the USA.
From 1996 to 2000, she was public relations adviser to the Prime Minister of the Republic of Slovenia. She was active in the preparation and implementation of the communication campaign for the inclusion of Slovenia in the European Union.
From 2000 to 2004, she was Assistant Professor and Researcher at the Faculty of Social Sciences (field of international communication and public diplomacy) and Deputy Editor of the Journal of International Relations and Development (2001-2005).
Between 2004 to 2011 she worked as an External Expert in various UNDP and EU financed projects to strengthen the non-governmental sector, establish civil society networks and strengthen them through communication and educational activities.
From January 2006 to December 2007, she was adviser to the President of the Republic of Slovenia for cooperation with non-governmental organisations. She had the role of coordinator of humanitarian action »World for Darfur« and project for promoting intergenerational cooperation between young people and voluntary work for the elderly »Fruits of Society«.
As Director of the Information Office of the Council of Europe in Slovenia (2008 to 2010), she managed campaigns and communication activities of the Council of Europe and actively participated in the preparation and implementation of the programme of the Slovenian Chairmanship of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe.
From January 2010 to June 2011, she was the Coordinator of the EU financed project to promote children's rights and improve educational practices on this topic.
From 2011 to 2015, she was employed at the Ministry of Culture where she had specific tasks in the field of human rights and was responsible for multilateral and bilateral cooperation in the field of culture.
In 2013 she was invited by the Office of Council of Europe Commissioner for Human rights to assist the communication team for a 6-month period.
Since 1st September 2015 she is Director of the Government Communication Office of the Republic of Slovenia.
Kevin Kane is the acknowledged face and voice of Memphis tourism. He is president and CEO of the Memphis Convention & Visitors Bureau and president of its subsidiary MMG, which manages the Memphis Convention Center and the Cannon Center for the Performing Arts.
He is a board member and past chairman of Destinations International, the central organization for tourism organizations around the world. He serves on the board of U.S. Travel Association in Washington D.C. and the International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport, Rhode Island.
Under his leadership the tourism agency has established sales and marketing offices in D.C., London, Germany, Australia and New Zealand. Locally, Kevin serves on numerous boards including the Advisory Council of the University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Christian Brothers High School Board of Trustees and the Memphis Metropolitan Hotel Lodging Association.
Mr. Kane is a native of Memphis and a graduate of Christian Brothers High School and the University of Memphis.
Annabelle is Senior Vice President of Brand partnerships for National Geographic & FOX Networks Group, Europe & Africa. Joining the organisation in 2004, Annabelle has held a number of roles internally across the wider FOX Networks Group channels including commercial partnerships for both FOX & FOX Sports, as well as international sales representation for SKY. She began her National Geographic career managing international partnerships across the NG Channel portfolio, before expanding into her current role across all NG Media platforms and assets, with a specific focus on growing National Geographic Travel partnerships.
National Geographic Partners is an expanded joint venture combining National Geographic’s world-class media, content and experiences with 21st Century Fox scale and expertise in building global media brands. The commercial assets under the National Geographic brand include Television channels, magazines, digital and social media platforms, books, children’s media, travel and licensing & merchandising. Almost one third of proceeds made are reinvested back into the National Geographic Society, to expand the Society’s mission activities in conservation, exploration and education. National Geographic draws on a rich heritage of exploration to offer travel content, experiences, and trips that are authentic, engaging and transformative, while reinforcing the Society’s mission to inspire people to care about the planet.
Shanmuga Retnam has had an illustrious career in both the public and private sectors spanning over two decades. A Singaporean residing in Vietnam, he recently served under the Singapore Prime Minister’s Office as Project Director in the Centre of Governance and Leadership. Instrumental in forging numerous Singapore-led joint ventures across Asia, his track record includes joint ventures within the fulfilment and logistics industry in Philippines, Thailand and India among others. In 2008, Retnam received the Minister`s award for launching the inaugural World Cities Summit, which he co-chaired a whole of government committee.
Shanmuga Retnam resides in Hanoi focused on thedevelopment of provinces and businesses in Vietnam and Myanmar through a social enterprise which he founded in 2011. To support the development of the East West Economic Corridor, Retnam is leading the development of a consortium spanning Myanmar, Thailand, Laos and Vietnam to support the ASEAN Single Window by creating the reigon`s most efficient overland supply chain, across four countries between the Andaman and South China Seas; It will be the only land route crossing mainland Southeast Asia which involves harmonizing multiple processes.
Shanmuga Retnam currently serves as Special Advisor(Asia) to Fundacion Metropoli (Madrid), foremost urban think tank in Madrid and Organising Committee for Vietnam City Branding Summit. AiCM announced that world`s leading branding guru ; Dr Paul Temporal of Oxford University and Shanmuga Retnam will co-author Economic City Branding to redefine the engines of economic growth of emerging provinces and towns in Asia. To add on to Paul`s previous best sellers – Branding in Asia, Public Sector Branding and Romancing Your Customer.
Mr. Masaru Takayama founded Asian Ecotourism Network (AEN) to promote true ecotourism in the region by creating a networking platform for ecotourism fraternity. Working as an ecotourism consultant, ecolodge advisor, and the president of an ecotravel agency ‘Spirit of Japan Travel’ in Kyoto. Masaru also serves a number of key positions in the organizations both home and abroad. Tourism for Tomorrow Awards 2013, 2014, 2015 On-site Evaluation Judge, World Travel and Tourism Council, The World Legacy Awards 2015 and 2016, Finalist Judge and On-site Evaluation Judge, National Geographic, United Nations Multi-Stakeholder Advisory Committee Member of 10 YFP Sustainable Tourism Programme
Andrew is the founder of Australia’s leading Place Visioning TM and branding agency, Hoyne. He has been working in and around the property sector for the last 27 years, helping major Australian and international developers and councils create recognisable landmarks. This, coupled with Andrew’s travels around the world, mean he has seen how a smart strategy well executed can completely transform communities. Andrew is passionate in his belief that we can do more to create places with substantially increased purpose. This led him to publish The Place Economy – a significant resource book that looks at best-practice placemaking around the globe and its social and economic impacts. The Place Economy – Volume 2, will be published in 2018.
EON Chair and Chief Executive Junie del Mundo believes that communication is the most valuable gateway to building trust--a belief he holds with such fervor that it became the cornerstone of a venture he founded with two of his closest friends almost two decades ago.
From its pioneering roots as a stakeholder relations firm, The EON Group has expanded into an integrated communications company committed to the vision of truth-telling as an instrument for meaningful and lasting change, blazing trails in public relations (EON PR), reputation management and public affairs (ENGAGE), creative technology (DiG), and experiential marketing (TANGERINE).
Recognized as one of the world's most influential people in public relations by PRWeek in its annual Global Power Book since 2014, Junie continues to participate in industry associations and foreign chambers where he drives conversations that help shape national policy and public opinion, particularly on country branding and ASEAN Integration.
Yu-Min Joo holds a PhD in urban and regional planning from Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a Master’s degree in urban planning from Harvard University. At MIT, she was with the International Development Group, which focuses on the development issues and policy challenges in non-Western countries. Originally from South Korea, she is particularly interested in studying the political and social dynamics of development policymaking in Asian cities, with an emphasis on exploring them across various spatial scales from urban to national in the global economy.
Leong Ching's work lies in making sense of apparently irrational environmental behavior, whether poor decision-making relating to water use in households, risk taking in drinking recycled water, investing in water utilities, to building dams and managing rivers.
She uses narratives, perceptions and stories to understand collective public behavior, and how these provide elements of environmental identities . Her research is premised on the idea that an environmental identity emotionally and cognitively connects an individual’s perceptions, beliefs, values and habits with elements of the natural environment.
Leong Ching has a Phd In Public Policy from NUS and graduate degrees in philosophy, information technology and journalism. She has previously worked as a newspaper and television reporter.
Ng Kok Hoe is Assistant Professor at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy. He received his PhD and MSc degrees from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE). He previously worked in the Singapore civil service and continues to consult for the government and the voluntary sector on social policy issues and social service research.
Kok Hoe’s research is concerned with ageing and poverty, old-age pensions and income security, public housing policy, social housing, and community-based social interventions.
Gadis Ranty is a second secretary and assigned to serve Indonesian consulate general in Cape Town, South Africa starting from early 2018. Passionate in political-economic development in cosmopolitan society, moving to Cape Town is an avenue to upscale her diplomatic qualifications. She is currently working at the Office of Senior Advisor of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and dealing with several strategic issues, among others are, public and economic diplomacy, particularly on diaspora engagement programs and Indonesian commodity branding, respectively. She holds Master of Public Diplomacy from Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism class of 2016, the University of Southern California with interests in nation/place branding and social marketing/non-profit advocacy. Gadis earned a bachelor degree in communication science from the University of Indonesia in 2008. Previously, she wrote articles for USC public diplomacy blog, Place Brand Observer and The Jakarta Post about Indonesian coffee branding and also taught Quantitative Research Method for Communication Science for the bachelor degree in Faculty of Social and Political Science, the University of Indonesia.
Marcus Osborne is a branding expert with more than 20 years of branding experience in South East Asia. Based in Kuala Lumpur, he provides destination brand consulting services for federal and state governments and agencies, tourism ministries, Investment promotion agencies and related stakeholders and constituents.
He co-founded FusionBrand in Kuala Lumpur in 2003. FusionBrand is dedicated to building Asian brands able to compete in a dynamic business environment where consumers not companies define branding success.
Marcus is the author of Stop Advertising, Start Branding, published by Matador in the UK in 2016.
Testimonials include “One of Asia’s leading brand thinkers, provides vivid and compelling insights into brands and their relationships with customers” Dr Keith Dinnie, author of Nation Branding: Concepts, Issues, Practices.
“Marcus Osborne’s long awaited book redefines branding in Asia” Professor Amran Hamzah, Centre for Innovative Planning & Development, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia.
“An experienced understanding of what works and what doesn’t.” Bobby McGill, Editor in Chief, Branding in Asia.
Marcus is British and has lived in Malaysia since 1994. Before that he lived in Bahrain, Oman, France and the UK.
Bharat is a Unilever Veteran who has crisscrossed 67 countries. He comes with 25 years of experience in Brand Management, Consumer Insights, Media Strategy, Brand Activation, Market Development and Integrated Brand Communications. He was the Regional Integrated Brand Communications and Market Development Director for Unilever’s Homecare category across Asia, Africa, Middle East and Turkey. He is the CEO of Connecting the Dots Consultancy and the Global Partner of Anecdote International, recognized as a world’s leader in the use of storytelling in business. He is an expert in designing and delivering brand experiences — and in what better way than to use stories. He conducts Storytelling for Leaders workshop where he helps Leaders find their stories and teaches them how to tell it.
His friends call him a memory collector and a story teller. He seeks experiences and every journey is a story for him. Like many others he also takes selfies..but his selfies are different, because each picture tells a story that is deeply etched in Bharat’s memory. Each picture is an emotional experience for him.
Amidst all, Bharat has served as President of the International Advertising Association (IAA) Malaysian Chapter, was VP of the Malaysian Advertisers Association (MAA), and was Board Member of the Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC) Malaysia. Bharat is currently on the Executive committee of the Asian Federation of Advertising Associations (AFAA) & IAA Malaysia. He has also shared his pointed views and experience at key industry events.
Bharat who has a post-graduate qualification in Marketing, was also bestowed the Achievers & Leaders Award for Brand Leadership at the IALA Conference in Singapore and the Brand Leadership Award at the World Marketing Summit . He is also a NLP trainer certified by the American Board of NLP.
The Asian Federation of Advertising Associations (AFAA) at the 30th AdAsia Congress in Bali gave him a Special Award for teaching and spreading the good influence of advertising and marketing across the region.
Wouter Schuitemaker is VP Global Development at Conway Inc, the world’s largest full-service cross-border investment advisory firm. A Foreign Direct Investment Professional with over 20 years’ experience in business-critical roles for leading global public and private sector agencies, Wouter has worked with Government agencies and Fortune & FTSE 500 multi-sector client brands across EMEA, North America and Asia Pacific.
The early part of Wouter’s career was spent in Asia Pacific where he held management roles at Japan’s largest market research company as well as the Japan offices of global brand consultancies Interbrand and Enterprise IG (now Superunion). Clients included P&G, Gillette, Nissan, Sony, Hitachi and Four Seasons Resorts and Hotels.
Upon his return to the United Kingdom, Wouter headed Asia Pacific operations at Think London (now London & Partners), the UK capital’s foreign direct investment agency. Wouter managed overseas offices in Japan, China, India, Korea and Australia and delivered over 100 FDI projects per annum equating to 20% of all FDI into the UK.
In 2010 Wouter was appointed Executive Director and member of the board at Marketing Birmingham (now West Midlands Growth Company), where he established and led Business Birmingham, the highly regarded inward investment programme for Greater Birmingham. A number of high profile and significant FDI wins included the relocation of HSBC’s retail banking head office to Birmingham.
More recently, as Managing Director, EMEA for Hickey and Associates, LLC, a global site selection, public incentive advisory and workforce solutions company, Wouter led the firm’s expansion throughout the EMEA region, providing location selection strategies, government incentive negotiations, and workforce solutions for a broad range of large multinationals and small high growth companies investing in new markets.
Mr. Greg Garcia is a marketing and communications professional with a strong exposure in banking and real estate development.
Today, he is a leading marketing and political consultant.
Mr. Garcia has a well-earned marketing and branding reputation and was chairman and chief creative officer of Leo Burnett Advertising, a key position he held for 20 years. Leo Burnett Philippines is one of the biggest advertising agencies in the country. It has handled Procter and Gamble, McDonald’s, Phillip Morris, Kimberly Clark, Unilab, among others.
Earlier in his career he worked for Ace Compton as Creative Head and moved on to work for Mr. Tomas Aguirre, founder of Banco Filipino where he held the position of Vice President.
He was founding director of the Advertising Board of the Philippines, founding chairman of the Creative Guild of the Philippines, founding director of the Bank Marketing Association of the Philippines.
He is a recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award of the Creative Guild and the Maverick Award of the Association of Philippine Advertising Agencies.
Jenny Ljung is head of the Global Communications Unit at the Swedish Institute and answers for Sweden’s official social media in four world languages; English, Arabic, Chinese and Russian. Jenny has a long experience of working with digital communications and digital transformation within public policy in Sweden. She has been managing communication organisations at several Swedish national agencies, and specializes in digital communications, leadership and management.
Triinu has worked in communication and diplomacy since 1996. She was the Director General of the Department of Public Diplomacy of the Estonian Ministry of Foreign Affairs from 2007 to 2011 and has served in Estonian representations in Sydney, St. Petersburg and London. She has also worked as Head of Public Relations of the Estonian Reform Party.
Sean Evins is the lead for Politics and Government Outreach for Europe, the Middle East and Africa for Facebook. This team is tasked with working with government and political officials on education about the Facebook platform, driving creative best practices and top content and working to protect election integrity.
Prior to starting with Facebook in August 2016, Sean worked for four years on the Government & Elections team at Twitter and also previously worked in the U.S. House of Representatives. Sean received a bachelors degree in Political Science and Political History from Rhodes College in Memphis, TN, and he earned his Master’s Degree in Government from the Johns Hopkins University in 2010.
He is based in London.
Joan Torrella has a Degree in Psychology from the Autonomous University of Barcelona
and a Master’s Degree in Managerial Function in Public Administration from ESADE.
He has worked in the public administration since 1983 taking on various management
posts in the fields of social services and territorial management, human resource
management, and the cultural area. Since the year 2000, he has focused his work on
the field of economic promotion of the city where he has worked in the departments of
strategic sectors, territorial economic promotion, and tourism and events.
In 2007, he was designated Director of Coordination and Strategic Programs for
Economic Promotion. From where he represented the municipal representation to
several of the public-private sector platforms (Barcelona Design Center, BioCat, Baie)
and, in a special way at the Consorci Turisme de Barcelona, from which he has been a
member of the General Council and the Executive Committee until September 2018.
In 2010, the City Council created the Tourism Management and he was named director.
In addition, the Taula Turisme i Ciutat, of interdepartmental coordination within the City
Council, started up and he coordinated it from the beginning.
He has been until August 2018 the Director of Tourism in the City Council of Barcelona
from where he promoted and coordinated policies for managing tourism in the city
through the different municipal areas.
From the Tourism department, he participated as a member of the work team of the
“Tourism Strategic Plan of the City of Barcelona 2010-2015” and the “Tourism Strategic
Plan of the City of Barcelona 2017- 2020”, which contributed to the positioning of
Barcelona as a leading tourist sustainable destination.
Currently, he is the Managing Director of Turisme de Barcelona.
Adam Ben-Yousef is the Global Marketing Effectiveness Director at DIAGEO plc. In this role, he is responsible for the design and implementation of a marketing effectiveness agenda that is driving a deep cultural shift in how marketing is used to drive business performance at DIAGEO. This programme combines advanced technology and analytics with a major capability building investment across 50 countries.
Prior to his current role, Adam worked in the Global Strategy team at DIAGEO, leading development of the company’s Luxury, Digital and Innovation strategies in recent years. Before joining DIAGEO, Adam’s background was in strategy consultancy, working with Oliver Wyman primarily in the Retail & Consumer Goods sectors.
Caroline heads up the marketing andcommunication teams. She advises on strategy, branding and developingintegrated campaigns, including leading on the place marketing strategy for theregion. She brings a breadth of experience and qualified as a charteredmarketer in 2009.
Previously, Caroline has working insenior marketing positions nationally and internationally in a range of sectors- professional services, financial services, central Government and industryorganisations. Her roles have included running international campaigns,national branding projects, public affairs, PR and stakeholder engagement.
Mari Stevens – Director of Marketing – Wales Tourism and Business Mari Stevens is Visit Wales’s Director of Marketing, and is also responsible for promoting Wales as a place for inward investment, start-up growth and export. She has led the work of developing the award-winning Cymru Wales nation brand; a number of international marketing campaigns; and supported major events including the NATO Wales Summit. Before taking up the post, she worked as Head of Marketing for Welsh Water, building the company brand and driving environmental behavioural-change campaigns. She has also worked for BBC Cymru Wales’s as Head of Marketing, promoting their wide range of television, radio and digital services. Mari is a published poet and author, and a mum to three boys.
Mari Stevens – Cyfarwyddwr Marchnata – Twristiaeth a Busnes Cymru Mari yw Cyfarwyddwr Marchnata Croeso Cymru, ac mae hefyd yn gyfrifol am hyrwyddo Cymru fel cyrchfan ar gyfer buddsoddiadau busnes, tŵf newydd, ac allforion. Bu’n gyfrifol am arwain y gwaith o ddatblygu brand cenedlaethol llwyddiannus Cymru Wales; nifer o ymgyrchoedd marchnata rhyngwladol; a chefnogi digwyddiadau mawr yn cynnwys Uwchgynhadledd NATO Cymru. Cyn hynny, bu’n Bennaeth Marchnata i Dŵr Cymru, lle roedd yn gyfrifol am adeiladu’r brand ac ar arwain ymgyrchoedd amgylcheddol. Mae hi hefyd wedi gweithio i BBC Cymru Wales, lle bu’n hyrwyddo eu hamrywiaeth eang o wasanaethau teledu, radio a digidol. Mae hi yn fardd ac yn awdur ac yn fam i dri o fechgyn bach.
Shauna Stewart has served as CEO of Experience Olympia and Beyond, for three years. She has spent a dozen years in tourism and destination marketing, promoting communities throughout the Pacific Northwest. Shauna earned her Business Administration & Marketing degree from Western Washington University, a Master’s in Public Administration from The EverGreen State College, and was recently recognized as a 40 Under 40 Honoree by the Puget Sound Business Journal. She lives in Olympia, WA with her husband and two children and refers to this season in life as beautiful chaos.
Sisa Ntshona has been at the helm of South African Tourism from October 2016. Since joining the organisation, he has been instrumental in driving the organisation’s overarching 5-in-5 strategy which aims to have 14 million tourists visiting South Africa annually by 2021.
Sisa has also recently overseen South African Tourism’s organisational restructure in line with global best practice.
With over 20 years’ experience he has held several strategic leadership positions across different jurisdictions in Africa & Middle East in blue chip corporations and multinationals. Having initially joined Barclays Africa as an Investment Banker, he later moved to become the Head of its SME Banking Division, a role he held until joining SA Tourism.
Sisa also has worked in the aviation industry for South African Airways, Financial Services Money Transfer, Western Union and Manufacturing, Parmalat Food Industries.
An accountant by training, he holds a string of commerce qualifications including a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from GIBS and an International Executive Programme (IEP) from INSEAD Business School in France. He has also served on a number of boards including as non-Exec Board Member for the Enterprise Development Council of South Africa and Livity Africa, a youth development NPO.
A travel and tourism destination development strategist with 25+ years experience with blue chip organisations, including Destination Canada, AT&T and TELUS, Greg is an expert in the development and execution of brand and marketing strategies leveraging new technologies. At Twenty31 he advises on competitive destination marketing strategies, brand positioning and investment opportunities. His clients include Destination British Columbia; Foz do Iguaçu, Brazil; Jordan Tourism Board; Ras Al Khaimah Tourism Development Authority; and The Pew Charitable Trusts Ocean Legacy Project. He is a renowned thought leader on disruption in destination marketing and the links between travel and tourism, sustainability and economic development. Greg led the enhancement of Canada’s Future Brand ranking from 12th to 1st position, according to Reputation Institute. Greg also created a comprehensive strategy to promote the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics, developed a unique segmentation model to understand the underlying needs of global travellers through the Explorer Quotient and spearheaded the Canadian Signature Experiences product development program, helping position Canada as a truly experiential destination. For his efforts Greg was recognised as one of Canada’s top marketers by Strategy Magazine.
Cereal Partners Worldwide is the maker of Nestlé Breakfast Cereals, and is a joint venture between General Mills and Nestlé. Since 2014, Zee has served as Head of Growth Analytics at CPW. In this global role, he works across the data to decision value chain to drive growth. This role is cross functional and blends strategy, business intelligence, data science and insight. Prior to this Zee spent 10 years at Ebiquity, where he led the Effectiveness practice using advanced analytics to help a clients optimise their marketing investments.
Catherine is Director of Marketing and Audiences for BBC World Service, which offers a multi-platform news service in 40 languages including English to millions around the world on TV, radio and digital and mobile platforms.
Catherine is responsible for provision of business focused insight and on and off-air marketing across the World Service.
Prior to joining the BBC, Catherine held a number of roles at the Central Office of Information (COI) where she joined as Director of Research, and then took the post of Group Client Director, responsible for through the line marketing campaigns on behalf of Government clients across the Education, Skills and Culture sectors, and finally worked as a managing consultant in the Strategy and Planning team. Catherine started her career as a Graduate Trainee in Birds Eye Walls, moving to ITV’s Carlton Television, where she headed the commercial research team.
Debrah is Managing Director of the Market Research Society (MRS).
Debrah leads MRS’ standards, policy and public affairs activities working extensively with government departments and European institutions on issues which affect research and insight.
Debrah has a wealth of knowledge of ethical codes, guidelines, data protection and on the enforcement of professional & process standards and is co-author of the book, Quality in Market Research: from Theory to Practice.
Yannis oversees strategy for a diverse range ofglobal brands at Havas International. Based in London, over the last 12 years,he has worked with and led award winning teams in some of the biggest agencynetworks including Mediacom, Zenith and Carat.
Funded by the commercial TV companies, Thinkbox is the marketing body for commercial TV in the UK, in all its forms. Thinkbox works with the marketing community with a single ambition: to help advertisers and agencies get the best out of today’s TV.
Prior to joining Thinkbox in 2015 Matt worked at Channel 5, heading up their Planning & Insight team and representing the broadcaster at the BARB board. Prior to C5 he had roles at Virgin Media and Attentional.
Recent Thinkbox research studies include ‘Profitability’, an independent econometric study commissioned from Ebiquity & Gain theory that provided industry benchmarks on media profit generation over the long and the short term, ‘Get with the programmes’, A study into the behavioural science behind the ability of TV sponsorship to drive brand affinity and ‘The creative drivers of memory’, which explored, through neuroscience, the way ad creatives work and how to ensure you have the best chance of getting brand messages into the long term memory.
When not at work, Matt is usually struggling to control either his two boys or his severe snap hook on the golf course.
Sarah is Head of Insight and Audience Analytics at OMD UK. She has worked in research and insight for over two decades, specialising in media, content and technology research. Sarah leads a team of 10 Insight and Audience Analytics specialists at OMD UK who are dedicated to ensuring that real people stay at the heart of what we do, while supercharging our understanding of them through data driven approaches. She enjoys nothing more than trying to come up with new and interesting ways to provide insight into how we live our lives today and leads the development of our award-winning Future of Britain initiative at OMD UK.
Vicky is responsible for global insights at Mindshare, working across the full range of Mindshare’sglobal clients. Under her leadership, the team works to bring consumers to life, utilising both syndicated and bespoke research.
Over her 10 years at Mindshare, Vicky has played an integral part in the building of proprietary studies and tools, from consumer studies to planning tools, making sure these solutions are used accurately and effectively by Mindshare’s global planning network.
After studying Physics at university Vicky joined MTV Europe in a sales and research role. After deciding to focus purely on research Vicky joined the Mindshare Worldwide team in 2003, and found that her passions for understanding consumer’s behaviours and motivations matched those at Mindshare.
Bambos is Brand Director at Simplyhealth, an organisation that’s been supporting people access healthcare for over 140 years. Prior to this he was Head of Marketing Strategy at Virgin Media. While there, he co-authored Finding our Virginity, a paper shortlisted for the 2018 IPA Effectiveness awards, in which Econometrics modelling demonstrates that marketing drove £633m of incremental net value over three years. Bambos lives in Odiham with 3 children, 2 dogs and 1 wife.
Fran Cassidy has had over 25 years’ experience in the broadcast and marketing sector- in agencies, as a client, and as a media owner. She runs an international marketing and research consultancy focussing upon market analysis, commercial development and marketing effectiveness. Fran has runs several key IPA projects – including “Culture First”, the joint CIMA,ISBA and IPA Project, which analysed the key behaviours behind successful marketing effectiveness cultures. She also led #IPASocialWorks, which finds and promotes robustly measured examples of real commercial value driven by social media marketing. Fran is also a Fellow and Advisory Board Member of The Marketing Society.
Jowas appointed CDOin 2016, after 3 years as Directorof Strategic and Commercial Data and havingspent 7 years as Digital Commercial Director. Working across TheIndependent, indy100 and LondonEvening Standard, Jo is taskedwith overseeingthe Data andCRM strategyacross the business. In2015, the team won ‘Best Use of Data’ at the AOP Digital Publishing Awards.
Inaddition to rapidly expanding the data team’s remit in line with servicing a data-informedbusiness, Jo has also been charged with leading ESI Media towards GDPRcompliance.
InOctober 2016 Jo was appointed Chairman of the Association of Online Publishers(AOP) for a two-year term.
Jois a regular speaker and panellist including Digiday,Digital Media Strategies, AOP, Guardian Changing Media Summit and at techvendor, partner and agency events.
Matthew Knight - creative,strategy, innovation, misfit - a patchwork career across multiple disciplinesfrom working in advertising, technology, creating new brands and products,organisational design, consulting, curating and most recently - combining all of thesethings together as a new type of strategist - exploring the future, and makingit happen sooner. He also spends 20% of his time on non-commercial projectsexploring engineered serendipity and slow creativity.
Alex is Head of Insight at Blis, tasked with interpreting our unique data-set and applying it to help address client challenges.
Having spent more than a decade working in research and insight roles across a diverse range of media agencies, owners, and publishers, Alex uses this perspective to understand the role mobile location data can play in marketing communications and media planning.
Analytics and philosophy are the principle disciplines that underpin his work, ensuring that data is always viewed through a human lens, so that objectively observed patterns can be applied to real-world behaviour.
He has little interest in vanity puff-piece research projects and believes that insight is nothing without implication.
Outside work, Alex enjoys sport and music, though is a better spectator than participant in both.
Alex is an experienced media journalist currently serving as Contributing Editor at Campaign. Previous roles have included Editor of M&M Global and Digital Editor of Marketing magazine. His coverage of the media and advertising industries has also appeared in titles including Bloomberg, The Holmes Report and WARC.
With client-side and consultancy experience in the UK and overseas, Andrew has worked for Ebiquity for 11 years, initially as head of its Marketing Effectiveness capability.
Having held Marketing and Trading Director level positions at Marks & Spencer before moving to Verdict Research and then Ninah Consulting, Andrew brings a commercial, results-orientated perspective to the challenge of improving marketing effectiveness.
A contributor of articles and insight to the marketing press and a frequent subject matter speaker, he is an alumnus of London Business School.
Charlotte is Head of Insight for Brand, Marketing & Non-Energy Products at SSE.
A consumer insight expert, Charlotte has 22 years client side research experience, the majority spent specialising in media at the BBC and Ofcom.
She moved into the energy sector five years ago, and now leads a team of researchers and analysts developing and measuring the effectiveness of SSE’s brand & marketing activity, and overseeing Insight for the company’s Home Service and Telecoms businesses.
After 24 years in research in advertising and media agencies, Denise joined Newsworks in April 2015. She has delivered several award-winning projects as part of her role overseeing insight at the marketing body for national newsbrands.
Denise is obsessed with insight and proving that communications works. She considers herself very lucky to be able to ask why for a living.
She has authored several books and reports on communications effectiveness for the IPA and has been involved in industry research right from the start of her career. In 2009 she was elected a Fellow of the IPA, in recognition of her services to the advertising industry.
Ian started at ITV and went on to leadership roles at MindShare and Turner. Ian’s digital baptism came as SVP at Specific Media which became the UK’s no.1 ad-network, before he took digital leadership positions at Trinity Mirror and InMobi. Appointed UKOM’s CEO in 2015, Ian sets the vision and raises the profile, working with the leadership team to deliver an outstanding online audience measurement standard for the UK industry.
Away from work, Ian is father to three daughters, loves Dorset and is a self-confessed and passionate Scotland rugby nut.
Previous to Gain Theory, Jon was Deputy Global MD at Ohal, a WPP Marketing Effectiveness Consultancy, where he specialised in using advanced analytical techniques to solve business issues, working with retail, financial and pharma clients across EMEA and North America.
Jon has also worked with National Savings and Investments as Chief Economist where he led the development of an integrated business intelligence team that brought together the skills of economics, econometrics, advanced statistical modelling and qual & quant research.
Lauren is responsible for sales across EMEA at Smartology where she manages a sales team focused on semantic placement of digital ad campaigns across global premium publishers.
Prior to joining Smartology, Lauren spent several years at Microsoft in Dublin where she managed agency relationships, and worked collaboratively with development teams to deliver innovative digital solutions across MSN, Skype, Outlook and Xbox.
Outside of work, Lauren enjoys skiing, live music and travelling to sample the local wines.
Liam Corcoran is an accomplished and respected executive with an 11-year track record of successful strategic and tactical leadership within the market research industry. Upon joining Research Now in 2014, Corcoran fundamentally changed the way mobile research was conducted within the company, and has continued to grow the ad and audience measurement division responsible for independently measuring the effectiveness of cross-media advertising campaigns, validating audience reach and targeting, and providing high-quality attributes for ad targeting for some of the world’s biggest brands and agencies. Prior to Research Now, he was the Head of Arbitron Mobile at Nielsen Audio and, in 2005, co-founded and launched the first full-service mobile market research company – Q Research – in the UK.
He is currently a board and jury member for I-COM.
Mark is responsible for developing Dentsu Aegis Network’sglobal research, insight & data strategy. Previously he was MD of CaratInsight & ævolve, Aegis Media’s insight and analytics division.
Starting as a media buyer in the 80’s, a planner,strategist & planning director in the 90’s. Since then he has focussed on data, research, advertising effectiveness, insight & digital projects and planning systems.
From previous positions, Martyn brings a wealth of programmatic, data and cross-media experience to his role leading AudienceProject in the UK market.
As a well-respected thought-leader, Martyn has previously run commercial and regional teams for Prohaska Consulting, Rubicon Project, Chango, Microsoft, Disney, MTV and others.
As Commercial Director UK, Martyn is scaling up the already solid UK base, and energetically working with AudienceProject’s publisher and buy-side clients, ensuring they extract the most value possible from its transparent approach to audience creation and verification.
Nic has worked in marketing effectiveness across a range of sectors since 2006, specialising in financial services & retail.
Prior to life in media evaluation, Nic worked as an economics researcher in a parliamentary comms office in Cape Town and before that as a lecturer at the UCT School of Economics.
Nick Manning is Senior Vice-President at MediaLink, the management consultancy that specializes in marketing, advertising and media. MediaLink works at the inter-section of content, channels and finance, representing advertisers, content providers, media-owners and data and technology companies.
Nick was a co-founder of Manning Gottlieb OMD and was CEO of OMD UK Group. Subsequently he spent 10 years at Ebiquity, where revenues grew from $15 million to $100 million. Nick was the principal author of the US media transparency recommendations document issued by the ANA in Summer 2016.
A frequent commentator and writer on media matters, Nick specializes in helping advertising industry players navigate their way through the modern-day media landscape to improve effectiveness and efficiency.
Paul is responsible for the strategic growth of Toluna’s business in EMEA. He moved from his role as sales director for UK & Ireland in April 2013, following a sustained increase in the number and depth of client relationships Toluna forged with blue-chip research and technology customers in all sectors.
Paul lives to find new patterns in our world. Armed with degrees in physics & mathematics he started his career using AI to forecast weather & locate oil fields. Before long he found himself using AI to help major brands (such as Tesco, BP, Ford, Lego, Danone, T-Mobile, BT, American Express) better understand their customer behaviour for smarter customer communication. More recently Paul set up the Marketing Science department for one of the leaders in programmatic media - Xaxis, and has been busy this year delivering high performing outcomes with customised AI advertising to WPP's clients. As part of his tenure at Xaxis Paul has been 2x winner of the I-COM Hackathon, plus winner of The Drum's Best Digital Strategy.
Pete is a Comms Planner at Facebook, his role is to help brands create effective marketing in the mobile age. Previously Pete was Head of Strategy at the WPP media agency Wavemaker where he ran a team of 60 planners, winning numerous industry awards including IPA Effectiveness, EFFIE and APG golds. He has been a guest marketing lecturer at the University of Oxford, and had papers published in Admap, Market Leader and Campaign.
Raman is responsible for client and partner growth, whilst being closely involved with product development.
Beemray are changing how enterprises use location intelligence. Processing and delivering intelligence in realtime shifts the conversation from: where have you been?; to where are you now, what is going on around you, and when is the best time to engage. We call this location and situational context.
Raman and his team help clients deploy use cases for personalisation of advertising, marketing, and customer experience - in moments that matter!
Rolfe Swinton is an entrepreneur, business strategist and innovator based in New York City. Rolfe is the Director, Data Assets at GfK. Rolfe has founded and served as CEO for a number of pioneering companies in the insight and technology industries including RealityMine and Lumi Mobile and has won the Queen’s Award for Enterprise.
Rolfe has also served as adjunct professor of entrepreneurship and innovation at INSEAD. Mr. Swinton has a B.A. from Yale University, an M.Phil from Cambridge, and an MBA from INSEAD.
Before joining OMD group in 1999, Sally graduated in Mathematics from Oxford, worked for Mars UK and co-founded The Decision Shop, part of Bates/Cordiant running econometric programmes. At OMD group she set up ROI, later becoming BrandScience and now renamed Annalect Marketing Sciences, running 100s of projects annually, applying a wide range of advanced analytics. Sally has gone on to create new benchmarks, norms and a consultancy, Benchmarketing, running strategic quantitative projects based on an understanding of how categories and brands work, using the BrandScience results vault. She has also contributed to over 30 IPA advertising effectiveness awards, been an IPA effectiveness award judge, and run marketing effectiveness masterclasses for the Marketing Society and Chartered Institute of Marketing. She was a judge on the inaugural Cannes Creative Effectiveness Lions panel, in 2011 and 2013.
Simonis UK Managing Director of DVJ Insights and has over 20 years of experience inglobal branding, strategy and advertising research for companies like Unilever,SKY, Pernod Ricard, BBC Global News and National Geographic. He has worked onthe client side for the Financial Times and for big and small innovativeresearch companies. He has an interest in helping brands and companies getcloser to their consumers
and is an expert in innovative holistic research techniques. His client sideexperience means he brings an appreciation of the challenges of driving changein organizations through the delivery of actionable insight.
Highly experienced researcher running insight programmes (B2B & B2C) across brand/marcomms (B2B &B2C), pricing, employee research and proposition development.
With over 10 years setting up and leading a multi award winning insight function at Auto Trader that involved writing numerous white papers and conference presentation on how digital was disrupting the automotive industry, Stuart has now moved to Whitbread to help grow their insight function.
Sue Elms is a 30-year veteran in the insights industry. Working in advertising, media, software and research agencies she has gained significant experience operating at the leading edge of brand and communications insight, evaluation, research, data, and tech. Sue works with marketing and media stakeholders seeking customer and audience insights to drive success. She is passionate about making insight integral to business decisions
Tessa Herbert is the Group Head of Marketing at the NSPCC, with responsibility for growing awareness and belief in the brand and the services we provide, promoting behaviour change that keep more children safe, event and direct fundraising and business to business marketing. Tessa has been at the NSPCC in various roles for 15 years and prior to that worked in marketing agencies and educational publishing.
Agustin Diaz Vega has been head of the Buenos Aires Brand team since March 2018. He has been Chief of Cabinet of Tourism of the Province of Buenos Aires since 2018, contributing to the creation and management of the Buenos Aires tourism brand project, and all the activities of the Undersecretary.
Agustin has a degree in International Relationships from Universidad del Salvador, Argentina. He has specialized in tourism, big events and nation brands for more than 10 years working in the Ministry of Tourism of Argentina. He has a master’s degree in administration and public policies from “Universidad de San Andres”, Argentina. Agustin was awarded scholarships by the government of Japan and Taiwan to assist in the course of Workshop on Development Strategies in the Tourism and Services Industry in 2015 in Taipei, Taiwan and in the course of Branding and Marketing of Products Utilizing Local Resource in Japan in the year 2017.
From 2010 to 2018 he was the Director of Argentina Country Brand and was elected as the first director of the “Red de Marcas Paises de Latinoamerica”. He worked in the actualization of the strategy of Argentina Brand that was released in 2013.
Agustin has Speaker in various expositions given in different universities such as: University HEC Montreal (Montreal, Canada); Universidad Politécnica Estatal de Carchi -UPEC (Lima, Perú), Universidad de Ciencias Empresariales y Sociales (Buenos Aires, Argentina), Universidad de Palermo (Buenos Aires, Argentina), Universidad del Salvador (Buenos Aires, Argentina), La Suisse CEPEC (Buenos Aires, Argentina) and Universidad Católica Argentina (Buenos Aires, Argentina).
Super powers: Data & Insights leadership, people & program management, influencing stakeholders, analytics strategy & thought leadership
Obsessed with creating cultures that integrate analytical skills with a creativity to produce differentiation.
Known for delivering insightful, data driven stories that eludes simple deterministic analysis.
Skills in Growth hacking, Stats, Strategy, Computer Science, Business Intelligence
Des Martin, Business Development Director for Brave in EMEA.
Des's main focus at Brave is growing the user, publisher and advertiser base in Europe.
Before Brave, Des built marketing teams at Perkbox, nearForm and Qualtrics.
Des is passionate about online privacy and ethical marketing.
Iain’s career spans work in creative agencies, such as BBH, the co-founding of a media agency, CEO leadership at a domestic and international level, Board level advisory work and tech start-up angel investing.
Iain led the creation of Publicis Media EMEA as CEO in 2016, bringing together two successful media groups; Zenith Optimedia and Starcom Mediavest, creating a new European powerhouse of 6,500 people that went on to win clients such as Fiat Chrysler, Lidl and Procter & Gamble, and that also developed new practice areas such as eCommerce and tech start-up engagement for clients. Iain stood down from the CEO position in July 2018 and left Publicis.
Prior to this Iain was CEO of Starcom Mediavest Group EMEA, CEO of Starcom UK and UK CEO of the agency he co-founded and successfully sold to Leo Burnett, Motive Communications.
Amongst other advisory/board positions, Iain currently sits on the Digital Advisory Board of Save the Children UK and the Facebook EMEA Client Council.
Iain is an active start-up ‘angel’ investor and also acts as an advisor to a number of these companies.
He is married to Kathryn Jacob OBE, mad on cycling, tries to bring up a couple of children and currently has one dog.
Matt has 15 years of market research and analytics working across Radio and press before moving into world of sport in 2008 when he took over as Head of EMEA Research at Eurosport. He headed up insight teams at ESPN, BT Sport and Sky Sports before joining F1 as Global Research Director in June 2017. At F1 he is responsible for all data and insight which helps drive fan engagement and commercial revenue opportunities within the sport.
In her role as Director General of Marketing Intelligence and Observatory for the City of Buenos Aires’s tourism board, Mariana has designed projects to position the city in the global market, from the creation of the Touristic Intelligence System, to a comprehensive Big-Data platform to aid in attracting new markets,to the analysis of traveller behaviour and the increase in the economic impact in the city. Mariana also created the Connectivity and Competitiveness Project –an analysis to increase the flights to Buenos Aires. Additionally, the creation of research applied to “Mi Barrio” which has the objective to bring tourism to more neighbourhoods based on listening to its residents. Then, as Director of International Relations of the Secretariat of Innovation, she has developed international relations to position Buenos Aires as a global city at the forefront of economic diversity, innovation and talent.
She recently wrote a book ‘Public Diplomacy and Country Brands: Study of the cases of Australia, Colombia, Spain and the US’ to be published by LID Publishing. She studied for her postgraduate in City Branding at the Menéndez Pelayo International University, Barcelona, and received her Masters in Communication Management from the Universidad Austral, Buenos Aires.
Prior to public service, she worked as a consultant for cities and brands in international positioning and promotion, such as the hotel development for Fangio Hotels. She also worked in marketing and communication for multinational companies such as Warner Bros, The Walt Disney Company and Toyota.
She received the International Prize 2018 UNWTO Award for the project "Mi Barrio" of the city of Buenos Aires; and the EIKONNational Award on two occasions (2010 and 2003). She was awarded in 1997 by Rotary International for the Group Study Exchange in Orange County, California
Amir Malik is a digital marketing expert, specialising in martech and adtech services, and data-driven advertising for Accenture Interactive. He began his career in digital advertising working for Google, focusing on real time optimisation for search advertising. He then joined Microsoft to improve the business's search response optimisation platform for marketers. After working for these two technology companies, he ran the commercial and digital transformation programme at the Daily Mail Group and devised an aggressive programmatic strategy focusing on data acquisition and performance marketing.
Turned a 15-year trend of losing print subscribers into customer growth and profitability by introducing a paywall, digital subscriptions, and a digital data-driven way of working within sales and marketing at one of Sweden's largest newspapers. Now in charge of Schibsted's tech platform covering the user journey from an unidentified user to a paying subscriber. The new tech platform is being rolled out to all Schibsted publishers, caring for more than 1 million subscribers and running the 250 mill EURO subscription business.
Patricia has over 7 years of experience working with international companies expanding into Chile and the Americas. First by managing Operations and Acceleration at Start-Up Chile with a portfolio of 250 startups a year from more than 80 countries, and later moving to San Francisco to lead promotion efforts to identify and guide companies in the United States and Mexico to expand their businesses to Chile.
With 15+ years of experience across the web, gaming and IT automation industries, Piergiorgio is pioneering the kid tech space as Head of Engineering at Super Awesome (the fastest growing UK tech company as ranked by the Financial Times).
He leads the engineering team that enables a safer internet for kids, and shares with them his passion for building things that never existed before.
Mark started his Marketing career in Mars Inc and for 10 years worked on anumber of their global brands across sectors and geographies. Subsequently Markworked at 118118 and then HSBC. He joined Direct Line Group in 2012 in the buildup to an IPO process and in the past 6 years has overseen thetransformation of DLG's brands and marketing approach, including themulti-award winning reinvigoration of the flagship Direct Line brand.
Mark is a Fellow of the Marketing Society and was voted the FinancialServices Forum Marketer of the Year in 2015 and the Marketing Society MarketingLeader of the Year in 2018.
In 2016 Mark founded the Sprintathon in support of Stand Up To Cancer.The ambition is to Beat Cancer Faster by sprinting mass-relay marathons inschools and businesses.
Mark is Chair of the Advertising Association’s Front Foot and Non-Exec forLearnEtAl, an EdTech digital learning company.
Adam loves experiences where people come together, get connected, and share what is important to them. Adam has been a builder and creative contribution to many companies, events and teams across multiple disciplines and various industries. He has been a part of many unique ventures and initiatives in roles such as VP of Sales & Marketing, Director of Marketing & Business Development, President and CEO, and is now the VP of Acceleration for the Calgary Convention Centre. A visionary sales and marketing executive, he is known for his authentic boldness, experiential inquiry, creative problem solving, entrepreneurial approach, Socratic dialogue and his love for people. His years of accomplishments and many learnings have culminated in creating a unique viewpoint, and set of experiences, which he brings to his leadership in advancing the boutique Convention Centre and its neighbourhood in the city of Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
Head of the Ministry of Tourism of the state of Quintana Roo. She has been a researcher on issues of economics, society, and tourism; Teacher at the postgraduate level in diverse educational institutions, writer, lecturer and adviser in tourism and development.
Currently serves as President of the Academy of Tourism of the Society Andrés Quintana Roo, corresponding in Cancun of the Mexican Society of Geography and statistics.
For the last 15 years she founded and served as a member of various social and development focus groups; Counsellor of various civil associations, university boards of directors, editorial boards and various citizen groups.
Liam is Global Director of Innovation at MediaCom, where he is helping develop business & digital transformation agendas with some of MediaCom’s largest clients through the use data, technology and start-ups.
More recently, Liam has been developing the MediaCom BLINK offering – a new strategic initiative designed to help clients harness the marketing innovation opportunity technology offers. Over the past two years, the BLINK team has showcased over 200 tech companies and start-ups to MediaCom clients and worked on over 50 live projects.
Liam has previously led the digital strategy for brands such as The Coca-Cola Company, Adidas Group, ASOS, Red Bull and Airbnb.
Camile Glenister is the Jamaica Tourist Board’s Deputy Director of Tourism, Marketing. She is a veteran marketing communications professional with 20 years of product, campaign and strategy development and digital media execution.
Mrs. Glenister recently served as Regional Senior Manager at Scotiabank Jamaica, with responsibility for International Marketing within the Caribbean Region. While there, she led the regional marketing team in the development, implementation and execution of a variety of integrated, multi-channel mass marketing and digital campaigns, which support growth and loyalty objectives, spanning over 19 products in 17 countries. As a Brand Ambassador, she interfaced with the Global Brand Management team to ensure alignment of the Regional brand.
"Rotterdam may be Europe's new capital of cool." These kinds of quotes from CNN,Lonely Planet, the New York Times etc., have made Rotterdam very popular in recent years. Through a goal orientated international media strategy Rotterdam managed to change its image for the better. Kim Heinen is the International Press Officer with Rotterdam Partners since 2010. What has she learned from working with the media? How do you build media relations that last and how can you generate awareness and create momentum for your destination?
Belinda Beeftink is the Research Director of the IPA - the charted institute for UK communications agencies. In this role she is responsible for representing agency interests on all the UK industry media research contracts. (i.e. ABC, BARB, JICMAIL, JICPOPS, JICREG, JICWEBS, PAMCO, RAJAR, Route and UKOM) at both board and technical levels.
Belinda is also responsible for the IPA TouchPoints Survey which provides a time-based view of how media usage fits into consumers’ daily lives and the first, industry-available, cross media channel planner.
Belinda is a frequent speaker at conferences and seminars around the world. She is a past chairman of the UK Media Research Group.
Nicolas is head of economic research and reach & relevance for McKinsey in Latin America. Since he joined the firm in 2013, he has work mostly with clients in the public and social sectors. His main areas of expertise are:economic growth, competitiveness, sector strategy, digital economy, public policy, and disruptive trends.
A stakeholder engagement specialist with 18+ years of international experience working with tourism leadership organisations, Oliver is an expert in the design and execution of research to identify innovations in marketing and reputation strategy. At Twenty31 he works closely with senior leadership teams to measure competitive performance and brand resonance and navigate the sustainability agenda. He also directs various brand and tourism development consulting engagements including for Dubai Tourism & Commerce Marketing, Tourism Nova Scotia, Palau Visitors Authority, Southwest Ontario Tourism, PromPeru and Travel Nunavut..Oliver was formerly with reputation and sustainability consultancy GlobeScan where he led thought leadership and stakeholder engagement projects for numerous multinational/multilateral organizations
A festival and event veteran, Jacques-André Dupont brings more than three decades of live event-expertise and business acumen to the table. A seasoned communication, marketing and business development leader, he has spearheaded the exponential growth of some of Canada’s most important events, including the Festival International de Jazz de Montréal, FrancoFolies de Montréal and Montréal en Lumière.
A respected pillar in the business community, Jacques-André is a passionate and empathetic leader focused on driving concrete impact and change.
Prior to joining C2, Jacques-André was president of L’Équipe Spectra and Executive Vice-President Groupe CH. He also co-founded and lead X3 Productions for several years, the company behind the international success of the blockbuster exhibition Star Wars Identities.
Ana Arias Urones is currently working at the Inter-American Development Bank, as a Trade and Investment Senior Specialist assessing public institutions to attract FDI, improve the business climate and facilitate trade. She previously worked in the Spanish national investment promotion agency, multinationals and SMEs in Europe, Africa and Asia. Ana has a PhD in Foreign Direct Investment, an MBA in International Trade, and a Law BA at Universidad de Oviedo (Spain).
Joanna Landau is a British-born marketing professional living in Israel. She served as a paramedic in the Israel Defense Forces and read law at Cambridge University. Joanna also holds an MBA, cum laude, with a specialization in marketing. In 2009, Joanna founded Vibe Israel, a nonprofit organisation with a mission to dramatically transform global perceptions of Israel using country branding techniques. She is a Director of Tel Aviv Global & Tourism and was listed by Forbes as one of the 50 most influential women in Israel.
Natalia Bayona is the leader of the Innovation and Digital Transformation Strategy of the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO).
Natalia Bayona holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Government and International Relations from the Universidad Externado de Colombia and an Executive MBA from IE Business School. She is part of the World Economic Forum network as a European Digital Leader for IE Business School.
In 2017, she served as the Vice President of International Development for the Spain Startup - South Summit. Natalia organised the first South Summit Pacific Alliance, connecting the main stakeholders of the entrepreneurship ecosystem of Colombia, Chile, Mexico and Peru.
In 2016, she began her ten year tenure in ProColombia, during which she has lived in six countries where she has developed strategies that boost export, foreign investment and tourism for Colombia.
Jacqui Harper is a virtual presence expert. She increases the influence and impact of leaders to help them achieve career ambitions or drive change and transformation in their organisations.
Her methods for developing virtual presence come from her success as an acclaimed author, a visiting professor at INSEAD and a former BBC news anchor.
Her book ‘Executive Presentations’ was a finalist in the Business Book Awards 2019. The book explains how The Virtual Presence Model can help people speak with confidence and skill. Jacqui created the Virtual Presence Model and runs practical sessions on it for international leaders at INSEAD in Paris and Singapore. The Virtual Presence Model includes TV techniques to overcome the limitations of online communication.
Jacqui has helped thousands of leaders speak with confidence and skill. When they use The Virtual Presence Model to develop a more authentic and engaging presence, leaders find they’re more successful in other critical areas of leadership, such as inspiring others, collaboration and building relationships.
Jacqui’s sessions are all about realising the incredible potential in every one of us. Making greater use of our own resources increases confidence, resilience and opportunities.
As a TV anchor, Jacqui presented various programmes for BBC News and a talk show. Her first media job was reporting for the Oakland Tribune in California.
Outside work, Jacqui enjoys taking photos. She’s a regular fixture on the rugby pitch taking action shots of her son and his mates. She’s also mad about movies. As a member of The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) she sees almost two hundred films a year.
Executive Presentations was a finalist in the Business Book Awards 2019. It is a practical guide to giving presentations that are clear, compelling and gain trust. Whether giving online or onsite presentations, the secret is to develop presence: how people feel about you, what they hear you say and what they see. The book also provides a wealth of practical solutions to the most common presentation problems.
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As Head of Australia’s Nation Brand & acting Chief Marketing Officer at the Australian Trade and Investment Commission (Austrade), Fiona is currently leading Australia’s most ambitious international global brand initiative.
Prior to Austrade, Fiona was the CEO and Director of Sport at the Australian Olympic Committee (AOC). Over her 12 years with the Olympics she successfully delivered 10 Australian Olympic Teams in 9 countries, and management of an iconic Australian organisation.
With her early career in law and eCommerce she is praised as an astute global thinker, engaged with the most senior leaders of sport, business and governments domestically and internationally.
Hadrian Beltrametti Walker is the head of the Legal Department for Kempinski Hotels, Europe's oldest luxury hotel brand. Managing a team of in-house and external legal experts, Hadrian ensures the delivery of business-oriented legal services, whilst protecting the group's Intellectual Property, brand reputation, managing dispute resolution, and ensuring group legal compliance. Starting his career in hospitality at the Legal Department of Hilton Worldwide, Hadrian specialised in hotel operating agreements and business process before joining Kempinski Hotels as Legal Counsel in 2012, taking on the leadership of the group's Legal Department soon thereafter.
Gucci, Omega, Donna Karan and Barneys New York are just a few of the well-known brands Christopher has worked with in his 20+ years. He has developed a specialty for creating meaningful customer experiences especially for affluent clients. Lacy is the Founder and CEO of Christopher Lacy Consulting a firm dedicated to building strategic client and team development programs. Through leveraging data from quantitative and qualitative research, CLC combines deep industry knowledge with leadership, sales coaching, CRM data, and operational expertise to elevate brand profiles and client experience.
Christopher is currently Assistant Professor at Parsons School of Design in the Fashion Management graduate program as well as Curriculum Developer for Parsons New School Executive Education Program. In addition to teaching at Parsons, he is also Co-creator and Host of Retail Revolution Podcast which features in-depth conversations with experts in omni-channel retailing with myriad perspectives: technology, consumer engagement, data analytics, merchandising and more. Christopher has shared his knowledge and industry outlook by facilitating workshops for Polimoda, writing articles for WWD, providing insight to Business Insider and participating on multiple panels including Fashinnovation NYC.
Asher Levine is the fashion label of the future, fusing modern design with revolutionary materials and emerging technologies. The Museum of Modern Art in New York showcased an AL high-tech couture Moto Jacket in its 100 Years of Fashion “Items: Is Fashion Modern?” Exhibit. With clients such as Lady Gaga,Nicki Minaj, and Taylor Swift, Levine continues to push the boundaries from the stage to the streets through his signature molding and tech aesthetic style.Nature plays a fundamental role in Asher Levine style, from microscopic organisms to celestial bodies, where designer challenges himself by fusing this natural curiosity with the human form.
SEE MORE HERE: https://luxlaw.wavecast.io/luxlaw/company/asher-levine
Georgina is Global General Counsel and Company Secretary for the Manolo Blahnik group. Georgina’s background is in M&A, however since moving in-house a decade ago her areas of expertise have expanded significantly. Georgina is heavily involved in strategic decision-making for the business and holds a C-suite position.
As Managing Director of Harrods Michael Ward has one of the most influential and exciting roles in luxury retail. Since joining the business in 2005, he has embarked on a programme of significant business development, enabling Harrods to become the unrivalled and extremely successful retail model it is today.
Kate Anthony Wilkinson is a practicing Solicitor. She is Group General Counsel and Company Secretary for Mulberry, the English luxury leather goods manufacturer and retailer, famous for its iconic leather bags such as the Bayswater and Alexa.
Kate is based at Mulberry’s main manufacturing operation in the Somerset countryside. She is responsible for all legal facets of Mulberry’s global business, including intellectual property, counterfeits and brand protection issues.
Previously to Mulberry, Kate was a corporate finance Solicitor with a national UK law firm, following which she moved in-house and has held General Counsel roles with a number of international companies.
Kate is a Trustee of the Bristol Old Vic Theatre and a Trustee of the Bristol Aero Collection Trust, a charity which operates an Aerospace museum in Bristol. She is also Advisory Editor to the technical publication ‘Jordans Corporate Governance & Administration’; and writes articles, blogs and presents on a variety of legal and commercial matters.
Ben leads Baker McKenzie's Global Intellectual Property & Technology Practice and is also the Firm's partner in charge of Global R&D. He has an academic background in the application of legal and ethical systems to artificial intellects and has conducted oral advocacy in the Copyright Tribunal, High Court and County Court on behalf of his clients.
He works with clients on matters involving the cross-over space of media, IP and technology and advises market-leading and independent digital media companies on content licensing, production, regulation and copyright litigation and specializes in contentious and regulatory IP matters. His practice has a particular focus on artificial intelligence, data protection, copyright, technology disputes and intermediary liability issues.
Ben is a much sought-after copyright, brands and designs expert with an emphasis on digital media. He has been named in The Lawyer’s “Hot 100” lawyers in 2019 and 2012, along with being named E-Commerce Lawyer of the Year (UK) in the ILO Client Choice Awards 2011 and Assistant Solicitor of the Year in the British Legal Awards in 2009.
Alyssa is a Partner and the Global Chair of Baker McKenzie’s Consumer Goods & Retail (CG&R) Industry Group; with nearly 30 years of experience, she advises French, American and multinational consumer goods and retail and luxury and fashion groups, corporations and private equity funds on their acquisitions, divestitures, joint ventures, partnerships and strategic alliances worldwide, as well as on their international expansion.
Alyssa leads and participates in industry initiatives, seminars, roundtables and conferences with global sector experts. She created and hosts a Baker McKenzie podcast series, Off the Shelf, which provides short, practical tips and legal advice to CG&R companies, is ranked by Legal 500 as a “Leading Individual” in the Luxury Goods sector and participated in the Vogue Business Brand Index as a member of its Advisory Board. She is interviewed often by leading industry publications on topics of relevance to the sector.
Focused on sustainability and its increasing importance to business, Alyssa has written on the subject and has led several panels, roundtable discussions and webinars focusing on how the CG&R sector, and in particular the luxury and fashion sectors, can incorporate sustainability objectives and practices into their business. She developed an event for Baker McKenzie with the support of the United Nations Global Compact, led the firm’s support of the Positive Luxury Awards and was instrumental in driving its role as Creative Benefactor of Sarabande: the Lee Alexander McQueen foundation.
Alyssa is Franco-American and admitted to practice in France and the US. She previously served on the Firm's EMEA M&A Steering Committee and ran the Paris office M&A practice through 2012.
Vanessa Grellet is a Global Executive with over 18 years of expertise in the Financial Services and Tech industry. At ConsenSys she focuses on Enterprise and Strategic initiatives as well as the social impact activities. She is the co-chair of NEXUS Blockchain labs. She was involved in setting up the Enterprise Ethereum Alliance (EEA), sits on the Board of the Accounting Blockchain Coalition (ABC) and is the President of the Blockchain for Social Impact Coalition (BSIC). Prior to joining ConsenSys she was the CEO of a Wealth Management star- up, a Strategy Executive at NYSE and a key member of PwC’s global wealth management team. Mrs. Grellet graduated Cum Laude from Law School (Paris II Assas) and Business School (HEC).
Sue is a partner in the Technology practice in Baker McKenzie's London office. She advises clients on technology, sourcing and digital media deals and business models and the legal issues relating to the implementation of new technologies. Sue works with clients (both customers and suppliers) on a wide range of technology matters including outsourcing, digital transformation, technology procurement, development and licensing, m/e-commerce, cloud computing, AI, FinTech, blockchain/DLT, data privacy, and cyber-security. Sue also advises on commercial agreements and the commercial, technology and intellectual property aspects of M&A transactions, investments and joint ventures. She is Baker McKenzie’s Global Tech Lead for FinTech and Blockchain. She is a member of the techUK DLT Working Group and represents the Firm in its collaborations with R3 and Accord. Her clients include some of the world's best known tech companies and multinational corporations and Sue also enjoys working with emerging and growth companies.
Sue was named TMT lawyer of the year at the Euromoney Women in Business Law Awards 2019. She regularly speaks and writes about the impact of disruptive technologies. She is also a Trustee of the Society for Computers and Law and founder and Chair of the SCL Women in Tech Law network.
Ian Benjamin is partner in BCLP’s Restructuring and Insolvency practice in London. He advises domestic and international clients on all aspects of restructuring and insolvency matters and has significant multi-sector experience (in particular: retail, hospitality & leisure, real estate, financial services, automotive and healthcare). He has worked extensively on business turnarounds and both creditor and debtor led restructurings. He regularly acts for lenders, distressed investment funds, insolvency practitioners, trade creditors, landlords, directors, sponsors and foreign lawyers. He is a member of the Association of Business Recovery Professionals (R3), the Turnaround Management Association (TMA) and INSOL Europe. Ian is described in the UK Legal 500 as “technically astute” and having “excellent commercial judgement” (2019).
Rob Croxen is a Managing Director with Alvarez & Marsal’s Restructuring practice in London. He brings more than 20 years of experience in advising businesses in stressed and distressed situations. Mr. Croxen has worked with clients across a range of industries, including real estate, construction, retail, casual dining, pharmaceuticals, manufacturing, healthcare and distribution.
As Managing Director, FedericaPietrogrande has both a business and legal role.
Federica is a member of the Investment & Financeteam with a focus on the development of Gordon Brothers’ special situationsstrategy across Europe, which utilises a highly flexible and opportunisticapproach for alternative debt and equity investments, involving companies indistress or in need of capital solutions. Federica’s focus is onstructuring the deal and is committed to the entire lifecycle of the investmentfrom origination through exit.
Federica also manages Gordon Brothers’ legalstrategy in Europe - and supports the international business. She workswith the business divisions, across all jurisdictions, to structure and managedeals, addressing specific legal issues, qualifying, quantifying and mitigatingthe relevant risks involved.
Before joining Gordon Brothers in early 2018, Federicapracticed law for 15 years in major international law firms in Italy andabroad, specialising in corporate bankruptcy and restructuring, with a focus ondistressed investing and cross-border transactions. She now brings herexperience to unlock opportunities in different jurisdictions.
Federica has a law degree from Rome Universita’ LaSapienza and an LL.M in Banking, Corporate and Finance from New York FordhamLaw School. She is also a member of the International InsolvencyInstitute.
Federica is a native Italian speaker and fluent inEnglish.
Fredrik Galtung is Founder CEO of TrueFootprint (https://www.truefootprint.com/), a Cambridge, UK, based startup that works with asset managers, corporates and people in local communities to produce better ESG, sustainability and impact data – and improved results. TrueFootprint’s technology empowers people to collect data and take ownership of solutions to improve their lives and the businesses they work in.
Kelly Tubman Hardy is skilled at recognizing and explaining differences between legal frameworks and helping clients manage their global legal needs. She has represented clients on matters throughout the world and on matters ranging from acquisitions and joint ventures to global supply chain management. Kelly heads the firm's global Consumer industry sector group, a group of over 400 lawyers who focus on all aspects of the consumer industry.
Babette is Global Head of the Franchise Group. She specialises in global franchise, distribution, agency and concession agreements and IP-driven joint ventures. She also advises clients on the strategic use of licensing strategies in emerging markets using both traditional and innovative structures for international expansion in the global marketplace. Her work includes Master Franchise Agreements, Area Development Agreements, Hotel Management Agreements, Disclosure Documents, and Franchise Registration.
Babette has transactional experience in over 100 countries. Recent deals include work in all major emerging markets (Russia, India, China, Brazil and South Africa) as well as in the Middle East and Africa.
Jason is the Head of our Fashion & Luxury group. He advises some of the most distinguished brands in the world on their IP, trade mark and design rights.
Jason advises on both contentious and non-contentious IP issues related to brands, designs, and domain names. Clients describe him as a personable and engaging adviser with keen insights into conflicts and portfolio management.
A major focus of Jason's practice involves proactively advising clients in relation to the acquisition, maintenance and exploitation of IP rights, including trade mark portfolio management and related clearances, oppositions and co-existence negotiations, as well as commercial dealings such as assignments and licensing.
Jason M. Drangel is the managing partner at Epstein Drangel, LLP. He graduated from Fordham Law School and has been involved in U.S. federal practice for over twenty five years, concentrating on instituting and effecting anti-counterfeiting programs, trademark and copyright litigation and prosecution and intellectual property due diligence and agreements. Jason has been recognized by his peers as an Intellectual Property Super Lawyer for the past eight years. Jason is an active member of the International Trademark Association and IACC.
Ashly E. Sands, Esq., is a partner at Epstein Drangel LLP and head of the firm’s anti-counterfeiting group. Ashly¹s practice focuses in the areas of IP, including: anti-counterfeiting, trademark, trade dress, copyright, licensing, internet, false advertising, and unfair competition law. She specializes in advising global brands in a multitude of industries in building, managing, using, protecting and enforcing their intellectual property rights and assets, and is known for her innovation and experience in developing, implementing and managing successful, tailored anti-counterfeiting programs.
Andreas focuses on European competition law. In particular, he has significant experience advising clients in the energy, transport, pharmaceutical, high-tech and other sectors on the full range of EU competition law issues.
He has worked on high profile merger investigations initiated by the European Commission and national competition authorities, including the German Federal Cartel Office (Bundeskartellamt).
Andreas has broad experience advising clients on online distribution, licensing, and other collaboration agreements. He also prepares compliance programmes and assists companies with their implementation.
Andreas previously served as Director of the Fordham Competition Law Institute at Fordham Law School, New York, and as a Principal Administrator at the OECD’s Competition Division. Prior to joining the OECD, Andreas worked for several years for a leading international law firm in Brussels and Washington, DC.
Brussels-based Van Bael & Bellis is recognised as one of the top competition law practices in Europe.
Mr. Ireland is a Partner of Navis based in Thailand and an Investment Committee member. Mr.Ireland joined Navis in 2001 where he focuses on investments in Thailand and Vietnam and has been involved in transactions across South East Asia and Australia.
Mr. Ireland serves as a Director or Executive Committee Member at a number of portfolio companies including Hanoi French Hospital, TTC Education, Saitex Group, DZ Cards, Sri Thai Daily Foods, Christian Liaigre and Nitipon Clinics. Prior to joining Navis, Mr. Ireland was based in Vietnam working in a private equity firm, The Vietnam Fund, as an investment professional. He has also worked as an attorney in both the US and Hong Kong.
Mr. Ireland has been resident as an adult in Asia since 1993 and spent significant portions of his childhood in Taiwan, Japan and Vietnam. He has a JD from the College of William & Mary, and a Bachelor of Arts degree in History from the University of Virginia.
Leônidas Oliveira is a professor at PUCMinas, has recognized experience in managing the areas of Culture and Tourism in Brazil and abroad, having been president of the Culture Foundation of Belo Horizonte and the Belo Horizonte Municipal Tourism Company (Belotur).
He also recently held the positions of interim president of the Brazilian Tourism Company (Embratur) and executive director of the National Arts Foundation (Funarte), both federal government agencies. In addition, he chaired the National Forum of Secretaries of Culture.
Leônidas Oliveira has a degree in Architecture and Urbanism from PUC Minas and a master's degree in Restoration and Rehabilitation of Historical Architectural and Urban Heritage from the University of Alcalá de Henares / Gregoriana in Rome, Italy. He holds a PhD in Architecture and Urbanism from the University of Valladolid, Spain.
In May this year, 5/13/2020, Leônidas Oliveira assumes the position of Secretary of State for Culture and Tourism of Minas Gerais, at the invitation of Governor Romeu Zema and Vice-Governor Paulo Brant.
Anjali is an associate in the Commercial Technology and Data team at Taylor Wessing.
Anjali has broad experience in advising on commercial contract and intellectual property matters, with a particular focus on technology-centred transactions. She has worked on consumer regulatory and online platform matters, advertising and promotion issues and contracts relating to outsourcing and software licensing, as well as data protection compliance.
Anjali assists a wide variety of clients, ranging from tech start-ups to global brands, including those at the forefront of e-commerce, consumer, fashiontech, software-as-a-service (SaaS) and cloud services. She also sits on the firm's Executive Committee for the Consumer & Retail and Fashion & Luxury Brands groups and has gained significant commercial and industry experience from time spent on secondment at a leading global luxury fashion retailer.
Simon is a senior associate in the IP & Media group, specialising in all aspects of soft IP and advertising. He provides support to his clients on a wide range of contentious and non-contentious issues, including advisory, litigation, compliance, commercial, transactions and corporate support. His work includes advising on trade mark and design protection and portfolio management.
Simon has acted for clients across a range of dispute forums, including the High Court, Court of Appeal and Intellectual Property Enterprise Court. He also regularly represents clients in registry proceedings before the UK and EU Intellectual Property Offices and the Appointed Person.
Jo is a senior associate in the Commercial Technology & Data team advising clients on a broad range of contentious and non-contentious IP matters including those related to trade marks, copyright, design rights, moral rights, image rights, domain names, counterfeit goods and parallel imports. Jo also specialises in the areas of data protection, freedom of information and environmental information rights. Jo previously worked in media relations has a particular expertise in brand and reputation management issues, she provides advice on defamation, malicious falsehood and privacy matters, particularly with regard to online and social media related disputes. As part of her legal training Jo spent 6 months working in-house for global logistics provider DHL.
Amy works with clients on both contentious and non-contentious insolvency issues and corporate restructuring.
Amy is trusted by lenders, directors, PE sponsors, landlords, distressed investors and insolvency practitioners in all areas of domestic and cross border insolvency law and has particular experience in the consumer and retail sector.
Senior Counsel - Scottish Qualified Anna is senior counsel in the Employment, Pensions & Mobility group, specialising in UK employment law.
She advises employers on a wide range of contentious and non-contentious employment issues. Anna acts for a range of employers, providing general employment law advice.
Mathieu Fabre-Magnan is a partner in Dentons Moscow office, head of Russian Corporate and M&A practice, head of French Desk in Russia and co-head of the global retail (incl. luxury, fashion & beauty) practice.
Mathieu focuses on corporate law, M&A and general commercial law. He has specialized in Eastern European and CIS transactions since 1990 and has been based in Moscow since 1993. He represents clients from market entry to expansion, restructuring and disposal. Mathieu is advising on some of the most complicated and challenging M&A, joint venture and corporate finance transactions in the Russian market, including oil & gas and agribusiness sectors.
For more than two decades, Mathieu has been advising global luxury goods companies owning some of the most iconic brands in the world on their market entry and development in Russia.
Mathieu has been increasingly involved in corporate and commercial disputes and focusing on international commercial arbitration and litigation. He is an associate of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators.
Tiina Lencioni is General Counsel of the Finnish fashion and lifestyle Design House Marimekko listed in Nasdaq Helsinki. Marimekko’s product portfolio includes ready to wear, bags and accessories as well as home décor items ranging from textiles to tableware. Besides Norhern Europe Marimekko’s largest sales area is Asia-Pacific, especially Japan, where the company has around 40 stores and shop-in-shops.
Previously she held a position of Legal Counsel in a major international listed sports equipment company Amer Sports Corporation owning several prestigious sports brands such as Salomon, Atomic, Wilson and Arcteryx.
Tiina’s special areas of expertise are Contract Law, Distribution contracts, Compliance, Corporate Governance, Consumer and Fashion law.
Since March 2017 Tiina has served as member of the Board of Directors in Altia Plc, a major majority Finnish state owned alcoholic beverage brand company.
Zoë Ashcroft is a founding partner of the London office of global law firm, Winston & Strawn LLP and Head of the UK Corporate & Finance Team. She has more than 25 years of experience handling complex cross-border deals for a broad range of corporate, institutional and family office clients. Her skillset spans a variety of sectors, including consumer and luxury brands, energy, financial services and manufacturing and industrial.
Zoë advises clients who are based in Europe, the Americas, Africa and Asia who are operating or investing in the United Kingdom, or who select English law as the governing law for their transactions. A vibrant part of Zoë‘s practice involves advising clients on cross-border transactions in emerging markets (particularly Sub-Saharan Africa). Her experience includes cross-border mergers and acquisitions, strategic alliances and joint ventures, private equity investments, high-yield debt offerings and private placements (of both debt and equity), and corporate lending (representing both lenders and borrowers).
In addition, Zoë works closely with a number of pro-bono clients and for several years has served as a Trustee of Sponsors for Educational Opportunity, an award-winning UK not-for-profit organisation providing mentoring and internship opportunities, and The Climate Change Organisation, an award-winning international non-profit which focuses on bold, catalytic, and high-impact climate and energy initiatives with the world’s leading businesses and state and regional governments. She also provides pro bono advice to Fashion Revolution, a not-for-profit organization which promotes workers’ welfare, sustainability and the environment and has become the world’s largest fashion activism movement, mobilising citizens, industry and policy makers through their research, education and advocacy work.
Richard is a co-founder and Partner of Triangle Capital and has been an investment banker for over 35 years. Richard has a great deal of experience advising clients in merchandising businesses, particularly in the Retail & Consumer sector. Richard is an often-quoted expert on the retail and merchandising industries. He is a Contributor to Forbes.com where he writes a regular blog about trends in retail and consumer product businesses. He also appears regularly in print and other media as well as industry panels and speaking programs.
Before co-founding Triangle, Richard was a Managing Director at a boutique investment banking firm called Financo, Inc. While at Financo, Richard was responsible for a majority of the firm’s apparel industry transactions. Prior to joining Financo, Richard was a Partner and First Vice President at Drexel Burnham Lambert Inc. At Drexel, Richard was responsible for a group of 14 professionals doing middle-market mergers and acquisitions around the world
Richard is the co-author of three books on finance and computer programming. He is formerly an Adjunct Assistant Professor of International Business at the graduate program of the Stern School of Business at New York University. Richard received a BS in Accounting from New York University and an MBA with a concentration in Finance from Harvard University. Richard is married and lives in New York.
Trevor Tkach is the President and CEO of Traverse City Tourism, the destination organization for the Grand Traverse region of northern Michigan. Prior to assuming his role at Traverse City Tourism in 2016, he served with the National Cherry Festival for a decade, leading the organization for five of those years. He spent many years in the sports industry and holds a master’s degree in business from the University of Michigan-Flint.
Tkach is a leader in representing the region globally and nationally, telling the story of its businesses, unique assets and agricultural heritage. He is also a tireless advocate for his hometown and the hospitality industry with legislators, media and the local community. He showcases his passion for economic, social, and cultural issues as an active member of many nonprofit organizations. Trevor serves on the boards of the Michigan Association of Convention and Visitors Bureaus, Michigan Restaurant and Lodging Association, Rotary Charities of Traverse City, Traverse Connect (formerly the Traverse City Area Chamber of Commerce), and the TC Boom Boom Club (which organizes the Fourth of July fireworks) and is an active member of his local Rotary club.
Trevor and his wife Trisha love living in their hometown with their three children, Lauren, Camden and Carson.
Jeffrey Hellman is the Vice President and Assistant General Counsel at PVH Corp. PVH Corp. is a global apparel company whose brand portfolio consists of nationally and internationally recognized brand names, including Calvin Klein, Tommy Hilfiger, Van Heusen, IZOD, ARROW, Warner’s, Olga and Geoffrey Beene.
He works on mergers and acquisition transactions (including acquisitions of The Warnaco Group, Inc. and Tommy Hilfiger B.V.), joint ventures, financings and securities offerings and handles corporate governance, securities law, creditors’ rights and commercial litigation matters.
He is an adjunct professor at Fordham University Law School and aslo serves as pro bono counsel to the Fashion Scholarship Fund, a non-profit organization that provides scholarships to college students planning to pursue careers in the fashion industry, a member of the Board of Directors of Comprehensive Youth Development, a non-profit organization that partners with New York City public high schools to prepare young adults for successful futures.
Mr. Hellman holds a J.D. from the University of Pennsylvania Law School and a B.S. Economics, Finance from the University of Pennsylvania.
Julia is the founder of the Change Management Group (CMG), a leading global consultancy with hubs in Europe, Dubai, Australia and the US. With a mission to implement sustainable change that “builds lasting value”, CMG’s expertise is proven to increase the value of the companies they work for.
She has deep knowledge of the retail and consumer products sectors; has worked in the sector for more than 30 years and is always seeking to support and develop the industry. Previous roles include European IT Director for the Disney Stores, CTO of an online fashion retailer (brandfever.com) and a senior role in the Consumer Consulting Practice at EY.
She and her team worked with a wide range of fashion companies, from luxury to discount, including Burberry, Chalhoub Group, Gap Inc, Arcadia Group, Tesco, Landmark Group, RIXO, Liberty, River Island, Missoma, ASOS, BURO and more.
They have led complex change programmes covering business restructuring (M&A, growth, right-sizing), technology (ERP, Digital, PLM) and process/supply chain re-engineering with more than 50 companies.
Julia is also an advocate for working to ensure Human Rights are realised by everyone. She is the Chairman for the Consortium for Street Children, a UN-backed global network of NGOs that focuses on child rights for street children; and she serves as Vice-Chair of the Global Media Campaign to end FGM.
She holds a BSc in Anthropology from Vassar College, USA and an MSc in Innovation and Entrepreneurship from HEC Paris, where she currently coaches MSc students in developing new businesses.
Joanne is Associate General Counsel of the Luxury Division at L’Oréal U.K. & Ireland. Working closely with the L’Oréal Group legal function in Paris, she advises beauty brands such as Yves Saint Laurent, Giorgio Armani, Lancôme, Kiehl’s, Valentino and Urban Decay on a multitude of legal issues from selective distribution to advertising standards, consumer protection regulations to grey market & counterfeit products, and everything in between! A former Talent Agent representing leading U.K. entertainment personalities, Joanne has particular experience in the brand endorsement and influencer marketing sectors, having spent a lot of time negotiating talent agreements from both sides. Joanne chairs ISBA’s Influencer Marketing Working Group, working towards the creation of a Code of Conduct between influencers, agencies and advertisers.
Frederick Mostert is President of the Luxury Law Alliance and a Visiting Professor at King’s College, London, a Research Fellow at the Oxford Intellectual Property Research Centre, University of Oxford, and a Research Fellow at Peking University. He is the Founder of the Digital Communities Lab and the Digital Scholarship Foundation, and is a Past President of the International Trademark Association. He served as Chief Intellectual Property Counsel and Chief Legal Counsel of Richemont, which includes Cartier, Van Cleef and Arpels, and Alfred Dunhill. He serves on the Advisory Council of the McCarthy Institute for Intellectual Property. He is the principal author of “Famous and Well-Known Marks – An International Analysis” and “From Edison to iPod – Protect Your Ideas and Profit”. He was inducted into the Intellectual Property Hall of Fame in 2015.
Dwana S. Dixon, Esq. is an associate at Epstein Drangel LLP. Dwana’s practice focuses in various areas of IP, including anti-counterfeiting, trademark prosecution and copyright matters. She is experienced in working with global brands in a variety of industries to develop, manage and protect their intellectual property rights.
Dwana is a member of the Young Practitioners Committee of international Trademark Association.
Brieanne joined Epstein Drangel LLP in 2017, focuses her practice on various aspects of intellectual property law, including trademark and copyright infringement and anti-counterfeiting. She litigates and manages numerous multi-seller lawsuits in the Southern District of New York for clients in various industries, including toys, fashion and a multitude of other consumer products.
Brieanne holds a Bachelor of Science in Sport Management and a Bachelor of Arts in Communications from the University of Connecticut. She earned her J.D. from Pace University School of Law, graduating at the top of her class, where she served as a Senior Associate on Pace Law Review. During law school, Brieanne interned with the WWE, Inc., NBC Sports and the NFL and was a summer law clerk to the Honorable Jeffrey A. Cohen in the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, Second Judicial Department.
She is admitted to practice in New York State, as well as before the U.S. District Court for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York.
Esmeralda is the founder and Executive Director of EB Management, a brands and talents management company that connects the Fashion and the Entertainment world creating outstanding collaborations.
Born in the Balkans, Esmeralda grows up in Italy and attends Law School in Milan.
After many years and relations in the Italian capital of Fashion, and a Production School experience in Los Angeles, in 2007, Esmeralda opens her own company and starts working with international luxury brands and talents with projects allover the globe.
One part Executive, one part Entrepreneur, one part lawyer, one part PR.
Many parts to make a 360° professional.
Paul Sternberg is Director of Design Innovation and Principal Research Fellow at Ravensbourne University London. He was previously Managing Editor of Education at Channel 4 Television Corporate and has been involved with setting up social enterprises and charities. He is Chair of New Luxury, the Luxury Law Alliance's Forum for new luxury companies.
Sally is a partner in the firm's Intellectual Property department and head of the Brands group. She advises on brand protection strategies including clearance, monitoring and enforcement as well as trade mark and design filing. She acts for brands at all stages, from creation through to international expansion, both in preparation for investment and following acquisition.
Sally advises clients in a wide variety of sectors ranging from betting and gaming to real estate. She is co-head of the firm's Retail group and takes a lead role in the firm's mentoring programmes with the British Fashion Council and Walpole, and sits on the UK Council of the Creative Industries Federation. She is a recommended lawyer in Legal 500, WTR 1000 and IP Stars as well as being ranked in MIP's 2019 Global Index as one of the top 250 women in IP. In addition, in 2017 the Brands group was recognised by Legal 500 with a client award for its strength and expertise in brand management.
Prior to qualifying as a lawyer, Sally was a brand manager for multi-national brands where her responsibilities included new product development, advertising, promotion, PR, packaging and sponsorship. She is frequently contacted by both the press and broadcast media to comment on brand related developments.
As a partner in our Intellectual Property Group in London, I have worked extensively with multinational organisations across various industry sectors in all areas of soft IP. My particular focus is helping clients solve trade mark and copyright issues that have a digital or online focus.
A major part of my practice is working with companies to set up their global brand enforcement projects: using technology to streamline processes for clients and make their anti-counterfeit programmes as cost effective as possible. This work includes developing strategies to help large global brands protect and enforce their rights from online infringement, taking into account the complicating risk factors regarding new gTLDs. As part of developing global anti-counterfeit strategies I have worked extensively with the customs authorities; as a result I was invited to be the Irish liaison between rights holders and international customs authorities in the initial phase of the World Customs Organisations' innovative Interface Public-Members Tool project.
My digital focus relates to all IP issues arising online, including highly complex issues regarding copyright infringement, hyperlinking and the communication of works to the public. I work with a range of service platforms, content owners and content creators helping them navigate their business against a changing legislative backdrop, enabling them to maximise their digital and data assets for commercial success.
While my focus has been on contentious IP work - including mediation and arbitration - I have also worked on major corporate transactions with significant IP issues, particularly on transactions that involve complex cross-border issues, future-proofing IP arrangements to take account of digital developments.
I'm also interested in how we can develop new methods of providing our services to clients and forcing us to think outside the box: I like to challenge how we can build better relationships with our clients and help them in ways traditional lawyers don't
Having discovered suction as a means to dry and straighten hair, Debra co-invented RevAir, the world’s first and only reverse-air dryer. She also co-founded the RevAir company which has brought this revolutionary product to market in the USA and UK. Drying hair to an effortlessly straight, sleek finish, RevAir uses less heat and is significantly faster than traditional drying and straightening methods. Designed for all hair types, RevAir empowers women with the ability to easily achieve salon grade blow dry results on their own, at home.
- Born in Verona on April 23rd, 1932
- Still married to Tommasina Divari since 1957
- 3 children: Carmela, Giovanna and Giuseppe
- “Liceo Classico” Diploma
- Law’s bachelor degree at Ferrara University, in 1957. Oral discussion about Corporations bankruptcy.
Books:
- “Harry’s Bar – The Life and Times of the Legendary Venice Landmark” Arcade
- “Il Mio Harry’s Bar” Sperling & Kupfer
- “Harry’s Bar l’impresa, la ristorazione, la salute” Spirali
- “Eloisa e il Bellini” Romanzo Longanesi
- “Anch’io ti Amo” Racconti Baldini e Castoldi
- “A Tavola” Rizzoli
- “Prigioniero di una stanza a Venezia” Feltrinelli
- “Non vorrei far male a nessuno”. Feltrinelli
- “Stupdt o l’arte di rialzarsi da terra senza l’aiuto del barelliere”. Feltrinelli
- “Elogio dell’accoglienza” Ed. Aliberti
- “Harry’s Bar – The Cookbook” Bantam Books
- “Tutti gli Chef sono in TV.. E noi andiamo in Trattoria” Biblioteca dei Leoni
Journalist:
- Corriere della Sera
- Gazzettino
- Nuova Venezia
- And other monthly, weekly and daily publications
Teaching Programs at:
- New York Learning Annex
- London Luxury briefing
- Venice Lido: Introduction at the Gerontology convention
- Treviso State Professional School
- Adria State Professional School
- IULM Milan
- Ca’ Foscari visiting professor: “Sviluppo interculturale dei sistemi turistici anni 2012 - 2016.” (“Intercultural development of the tourism 2012 – 2016”
- Leuven Belgium: one class
Sports:
- Karate Shotokan Fesika Instructor
- Fly Fishing
Restaurants and activities managed by the Cipriani Family:
- Harry’s Bar opened in 1931 Venice, declared in 2001 National Landmark by the Ministry of Cultural Heritage
- Harry’s Dolci Giudecca Venice, opened in 1983
- Cipriani Industria srl: Pasta Factory Losson di Meolo opened in 1985
- C London in London
- Harry Cipriani in Manhattan
- Cipriani Dolci in Manhattan
- Cipriani le Specialità in Manhattan
- Cipriani 42nd Street in Manhattan.
- 25 Broadway Banquet Hall in Manhattan
- 55 Wall Street in Manhattan
- Downtown Cipriani in Manhattan
- Cipriani Hong Kong
- Downtown Ibiza by Giuseppe Cipriani
- Cipriani Monte Carlo
- Cipriani Yas Island in Abu Dhabi
- Cipriani Dubai
- Cipriani Riyadh
- Mr. C Los Angeles
- Cipriani Downtown Miami
- Cipriani Masaryk, Mexico City
Religion: Agnostic
2020: Still Alive.
Roxana Sullivan is Senior IP Counsel for MCM Worldwide, the luxury leather goods design house. MCM’s product portfolio includes leather goods accessories, ready-to-wear, shoes, and eyewear. In her role, Roxana manages the global IP matters for the brand, including IP portfolio management, brand protection, IP litigation, and licensing. Her role is global and she closely works with the business teams in Korea, China, Germany, and the Americas. Roxana works closely with the design and marketing teams to ensure that MCM’s creations are adequately protected and to provide effective legal counsel.
Based in London, Geraldine has built a reputation as a leading PR professional over the past 20 years. Previous roles include partner at FTI and board director at Hill & Knowlton, where she ran the corporate and consumer finance division. She has a track record of developing and executing award winning campaigns for some of the world’s leading brands including: Samsung, Cigna, GE Capital and American Express.
Mathieu Fabre-Magnan is a partner in Dentons Moscow office, head of Russian Corporate and M&A practice, head of French Desk in Russia and co-head of the global retail (incl. luxury, fashion & beauty) practice.
Mathieu focuses on corporate law, M&A and general commercial law. He has specialized in Eastern European and CIS transactions since 1990 and has been based in Moscow since 1993. He represents clients from market entry to expansion, restructuring and disposal. Mathieu is advising on some of the most complicated and challenging M&A, joint venture and corporate finance transactions in the Russian market, including oil & gas and agribusiness sectors.
For more than two decades, Mathieu has been advising global luxury goods companies owning some of the most iconic brands in the world on their market entry and development in Russia.
Mathieu has been increasingly involved in corporate and commercial disputes and focusing on international commercial arbitration and litigation. He is an associate of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators.
Born in Uruguay, Rafael Viñoly has lived in New York since 1978 from where he oversees an international practice that has developed more than 400 designs for projects in the United States, Latin America, Europe, Middle East, and Asia. Viñoly’s work is marked by a sustained structural originality that transcends the passing fads of architectural movements, and he is consistently driven by the belief that the essential responsibility of architecture is to generate the most elegant solution within the economy of each project. Among his most notable and critically acclaimed buildings are the Tokyo International Forum; the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts in Philadelphia; the Howard Hughes Medical Institute – Janelia Farm Campus in Ashburn, Virginia; Carrasco International Airport, in Montevideo, Uruguay; New York University Abu Dhabi Campus; 20 Fenchurch Street in London; and 432 Park Avenue in New York. He is a member of the American Institute of Architects, the National Academy, the Royal Institute of British Architects, the Japan Institute of Architects, and the Sociedad Central de Arquitectos in Argentina.
Kirl Grant-Hoschtialek is an accomplished Tourism Professional with seventeen years’ experience in planning, managing, enhancing, analyzing, promoting and developing tourism products inclusive of cultural, heritage and other auxiliary services in Grenada, Carriacou and Petite Martinique through collaborative efforts, strategic insights, networking and project execution.
Kirl has a Master’s degree in Tourism Management from the ILUM University in Italy and a Master’s degree is Project Management from the University for International Cooperation in Costa Rica. She currently holds the post of Product Development & Research Manager at the Grenada Tourism Authority; is the Chairman of the Grenada Cultural Foundation, the Chairman of the Advisory Committee of the Tourism & Hospitality Department of T.A. Marryshow Community College and the Vice President of the Grenada Coral Reef Foundation.
Martijn has a strong background in the international student segment with 8 years as global director of the International Student Identity Card Association - a founding member association of the World Youth Student & Education Travel Confederation (WYSETC) - and consequently 4 years as managing director of ‘Student Card Services’ (ISIC Japan) in Tokyo.
In his role as VP Business Development for ICEF, Martijn has been developing global strategic partnerships with providers of services and products relevant that are relevant to the international education industry such as Edtech, Study Destination Marketing, Accommodation, Student & Youth Travel, Consulting, Student Banking, etc. In terms of Study Destination Marketing Martijn works with various city representatives across the globe, supporting them in their efforts to attract more international students.
Martijn studied Japanese and French at the University of Applied Sciences in Maastricht, International Business Communications at the Radboud University Nijmegen and has lived and worked in Frankfurt, Paris and Tokyo. Now based in Amsterdam, he speaks seven languages.
Juan C. Barrios is the fDi Intelligence representative for Latin America, the Caribbean, Spain and Portugal. With a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration at Universidad Centroamericana UCA, Nicaragua and an MBA at Universitat de Valencia, Spain.
He has been working with universities, research institutions and multinationals in Europe and the LAC region for more than eight years.
Currently Juan provides guidance, insights and training to IPAs and EDOs on topics related to investment attraction and promotions through data tools and digital platforms such as fDi Markets (leading FDI monitor) and fDi Benchmark (competitive analysis between locations) and GIS Planning, all services of the Financial Times.
Juan is actively supporting activities and events related to economic development, country and city branding and competitiveness for economic development organizations and governments.
Adam is the founder of Breeze Strategy, the inward investment and place marketing consultancy. During the past 25 years, he has worked on more than 100 inward investment projects around the world.
Adam’s client list includes some of the world’s most successful inward investment locations including: Tennessee; Toronto; North Carolina; Munich; Berlin and Stockholm. He has advised many UK cities (London, Manchester, Birmingham, Liverpool, Leeds, Sheffield, Bristol, Stoke, Newcastle, Aberdeen, Leicester, Nottingham and Cambridge); more than a dozen Local Enterprise Partnerships and the Department for International Trade.
He is a regular speaker at international conferences and blogger on inward investment and place marketing issues.
Kathryn is an architect and urban designer with some 25 years of experience. She recently returned to London from the US where she was Director of Urban Design at NBBJ, leading projects such as the Boston Downtown Planning Study; from 2011-14 she was the Chief of Design at the London Legacy Development Corporation (LLDC) where she worked with design teams and the public to realise the public spaces and new neighbourhoods of the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park.
She has led urban design and regeneration projects that range from those in sensitive heritage contexts such as Covent Garden and Somerset House to those on former industrial sites.
Kathryn has taught simultaneous with practice throughout her career and is a strong proponent of an inter-disciplinary approach to urban challenges. She taught in the LSE Cities Programme, the Architecture Association, and continues to teach urban planning and design at Harvard’s Graduate School of Design.
Jonathan leads Landor & FITCH across Greater China, a rapidly growing region within the network and one of the major hubs for our destination branding and global technology practices.
Jonathan established what is now Landor & Fitch Hong Kong in 2009, having previously worked across the world, including significant time in London, New York, Dubai and Moscow working extensively in the travel and property sectors. The Hong Kong studio won Brand Consultancy of the Year awards in 2014, 15 and 16. Jonathan has a life-long passion for cities and a particular focus sector for Jonathan and his team is the future city brand experience and specifically the role that technology plays in enhancing the experience for residents and visitors alike.
Jonathan and his the team have been responsible for the creation of significant brands including digitally native mobility disruptor Lynk&Co, Asia’s first luxury cruise line Dream Cruises and working with Didi looking at the future of mobility within Chinese cities. A particular highlight for Jonathan is the creation of MXP, the multi-award-winning experience technology platform that powers many of Asia’s leading destinations.
Ash is a senior brand practitioner who works from our London and Dubai offices, with a specific focus on KSA clients. He has worked across many geographies, categories, and business & brand contexts for over 30 years, and his client-side experience enables him to offer informed counsel to our clients’ C-suites across all aspects of brand development, growth and change.
Most recently he was Chief Brand Officer at Jawwy from STC, and prior, VP-Brand Development at du, Senior Partner-Brand Strategy at Lippincott, and SVP-EMEA at McCann Worldgroup in London. His work at Jawwy and du was recognised with the Grand Prix at the Transform MENA awards in 2016 and 2014.
Over the course of his career he has worked on MasterCard, Vodafone, AT&T, Unilever, Coca-Cola, Celtel, Emaar, Saudi Aramco, and many other blue-chip brands. His recent engagements include Emirates NBD and VPS Healthcare in the UAE, and the Ministry of Economy & Planning in KSA.
Rebeca Berriochoa joined the Simpleview team in 2017 to help grow the Mexico and Latin America markets. She works with CVBs and Tourism Boards in these areas to determine the technology and marketing tools they need to succeed and to introduce them to Simpleview solutions.
Rebeca earned her associate’s degree in Restaurant and Catering Management from the Art Institute of Houston. Prior to joining Simpleview, she worked as Director of Business Development for FROSCH (a Travel Management Company) handling their Global Accounts for Mexico and Latin America, and managed the International Association Meetings Market for Visit Houston.
Florian Sengstschmid, holdsa degree in tourism and sociology and has worked in almost every field withinthe tourism sector over the past 20 years. He started his professional careerwithin the private sector, initially as an incoming and incentive operator inAustria before working for an international luxury brand 5 stars-hotel as itssales and marketing director.
In 1999 he joined the Austrian NationalTourist Board as their regional director for Russia and CIS countries. Whilstin Moscow he also worked as a Commercial Attaché at the Austrian Embassy.
In 2003 he returned to Vienna, joiningthe headquarters of the Austrian National Tourist Board to oversee theinternational markets and partner management system.
In 2006, he founded his own consultancy,providing tourism promotion and destination management to public bodies,including several government institutions, the European Union and the UnitedNations.
Hesupported a wide range of countries - Estonia, Greece, Vietnam, Bhutan,Hungary, Lithuania, Georgiaamong others. This led him to oversee an EU Twinning project between Austriaand Azerbaijan to strengthen the latter’s tourism industry. Following theconclusion of that project, he established the Azerbaijan Convention Bureauunder the former Ministry of Culture & Tourism. After serving as the CEO ofPasha Travel, he became the CEO of the Azerbaijan Tourism Board in April 2018
Peter is our Chairman and Global Chief Creative Officer, working closely with the global executive team to establish Landor’s creative vision. Throughout his 25 years at Landor, Peter has gained a wealth of experience in delivering branding programs where graphic, three-dimensional, digital, and engagement design platforms are merged to form total branded experiences for consumers.
Peter is widely known for his unparalleled expertise in destination branding. His broad range of experience in tangential industries also include hotels, airlines, retail and leisure. Relevant previous clients include NEOM, Burj Khalifa, NOMA, Talan Towers, Comcity, Intu, Etihad, Alitalia, British Airways, Cyprus Airlines and the Azerbaijan country brand, to name a few. His opinions regularly appear in regional and national trade press, and he can often be found on the judging panels of international awards such as Cannes, D&AD and Design Week.
Akiko Okuma is Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary of Vince Holding Corp., a global contemporary fashion group, consisting of three brands: Vince, Rebecca Taylor and Parker. Prior to joining Vince Holding Corp., Akiko was an associate at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP.
Amrita Gurney is the Vice President of Marketing & Community at CrowdRiff, where she leads a team responsible for marketing, brand design and customer community. She is a frequent speaker at travel and tourism events around the globe. CrowdRiff is the leading AI-powered visual marketing platform used by 800 travel and hospitality brands to discover and deliver visuals that influence today’s travelers. Amrita loves digital marketing, contemporary art, drinking tea and recently fulfilled a lifelong dream of traveling to all 7 continents.
With over 23 years of interdisciplinary and cross functional business experience, including eleven years in the private sector (Fortune 500 IT company), the business events industry, in live communication agencies, tourism and destinations, Claudia brings a broad suite of business and sustainability knowledge, practical experience, dedicated personal growth and professional development in the fields of conscious, regenerative thinking and leadership, corporate sustainability, sustainable events, sustainable tourism and destinations.
Claudia is founder of Sustained Impact and a senior consultant with the Global Destination Sustainability Movement (GDS Movement). She helps shape strategies for organizations, companies and destinations towards a resilient and regenerative future. Claudia is a dedicated advocate for the Sustainable Development Goals, volunteers as a Climate Reality Leader and Mentor, and serves as a member of the Events Industry Council Sustainability and Social Impact Committee. Peruvian-Austrian, raised in three different continents, she lives, works and play in English, Spanish and German. Claudia loves nature, people, food, travel and books.
With over 19 years experience in the tourism sector, worked in the Hospitality Industry for large hotel chains like Hilton, JW Marriott, and Fiesta Americana, also in Ecotourism, Tour Operators and DMC agencies in Cancun, Riviera Maya and Los Cabos, México.
Pioneer of sustainable events education in the Latin America region. Certified Sustainable Events Professional (SEPC) by the Events Industry Council. Since 2017, Alejandra has trained more than 400 people as an instructor of the first Sustainable Events Certificate Course (CES) in Spanish.
Alejandra is founder of Evensus and a Sustainability Consultant with the Global Destination Sustainability Movement (GDS-Movement), co-creating and supporting strategies for organizations, cities and destinations, benchmark and improve their sustainability performance to catalyze regeneration.
Alejandra is volunteer as a Climate Reality Leader and Member of MPI Mexican Caribbean Chapter. Following the call of her indigenous roots, Alejandra began to study Herbal medicine & Phytotherapy to integrate Heath & Wellness in her professional career.
Andowah Newton is Vice President, Legal Affairs and Litigation Counsel at LVMH Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy Inc., where she manages legal disputes and litigations for more than 30 luxury brands. Ms. Newton directs legal strategy and advises executives and management on disputes involving contracts, IP, class actions, advertising, marketing, product liability, environmental, personal injury, regulatory and internal investigations, and debt recovery. Ms. Newton also leads the Pro Bono Program at LVMH. Before joining LVMH in 2015, she litigated complex commercial cases at top law firms. Ms. Newton began her legal career as a clerk for the First Vice President Judge of the International Criminal Court in The Netherlands. Before law school, she earned her CPA and worked as an auditor at PwC, and later as an internal auditor at Estée Lauder. Ms. Newton earned her B.S. in Business Administration from Georgetown University, where she majored in Accounting and minored in French. She possesses dual law degrees in U.S. and French law from Cornell Law School and The Sorbonne.
Annasara Purcell is corporate counsel for brand protection at Amazon. In that role Annasara works closely with brands to ensure that their intellectual property is protected on Amazon, and provides legal support to Amazon’s brand protection programs such as Brand Registry, Project Zero, and Transparency. Prior to joining Amazon Annasara was a litigation associate at Fenwick & West, LLP, where she focused on intellectual property litigation.
Anthony Thomas Galante is a luxury custom and made-to-measure label, established and directed by Anthony Galante in New York. Galante's history of success in the fashion industry is directly related to his desire to create innovative and inclusive designs and his dedication to sourcing high quality materials. He strongly believes in cultivating lasting relationships with key creative players including design, development and production teams, fabric agents and mills, domestic and international factories, patternmakers, cutting rooms and sample makers. Galante graduated from Parsons School of Design and established his label after receiving the Norman Norell Couture Design Award. The label has since designed custom looks for celebrities including Catherine OʼHara, Tituss Burgess, Lizzo, Rosie OʼDonnell, Nicole Byer, Chrissy Metz, and Kim Petras. In response to the ongoing pandemic, Galante founded Operation COVID-19 Garment Revival, a PPE relief effort that raised over $30,000 to fund displaced sewers to produce and donate 15,000 face masks, isolation gowns and scrub caps to essential workers and vulnerable communities.
Ava Farshidi is Assistant General Counsel at David Yurman. Prior to that, she served in the same role at Rebecca Minkoff. She also spent time at Stuart Weitzman and at a law firm focusing on intellectual property and advertising issues for several fashion brands. She has several publications on emerging issues in the fashion law industry and is the author of The New Retail Experience and Its Unaddressed Privacy Concerns: How RFID and Mobile Location Analytics are Collecting Customer Information and China’s Role in Well-Known Marks Protection: It’s Now or Never…or Dilution. Ava is involved with numerous organisations and committees including the New York City Bar’s Fashion Law Committee and volunteers at God’s Love We Deliver. She is an avid vintage collector and considers a vintage Bill Blass coat and Christian Dior sunglasses her greatest finds.
Barbara Kolsun is a leading fashion industry attorney, a Professor of Practice at Cardozo Law School in New York City and the editor of Fashion Law – A Guide for Designers, Fashion Executives and Attorneys (Bloomsbury), now in its second edition, as well as Fashion Law (Carolina Press, 2016), the first casebook covering the emerging issues in fashion law, and most recently, a co-editor of 2020 first edition of The Business and Law of Fashion (Carolina Academic Press).She is Director of Cardozo’s FAME Center (fashion, arts, media and entertainment), the first law school program providing training and development opportunities relating to the representation of businesses driven by the creative process. She developed the first joint JD/MBA course in Fashion Law and Business at New York University and has also taught at Fordham Law School and guest lectured at dozens of law schools and fashion schools.
She started the legal departments at three “startups” – Kate Spade, Seven for All Mankind and Stuart Weitzman and was the first General Counsel to all three companies. She was Assistant GC at Calvin Klein Jeans and Westpoint Stevens and has probably been through more mergers than most lawyers in the fashion business. While in private practice, her clients included Tommy Hilfiger and Ralph Lauren.Barbara currently consults with fashion companies on various issues and was honoured with lifetime achievement awards in 2015 by the Luxury Summit and the World Trademark Forum, and another lifetime achievement award from the Women in Law Empowerment Forum.
This year she received the Alumni Association Award from Cardozo Law School and the Honoring Women in Entertainment Award from Brooklyn Law School. She has served as Chairman of the Board of the International Anticounterfeiting Coalition and has spoken and published widely on fashion law around the world.
Born in Belgrade, Bojana Sentaler moved to Toronto at the age of eight. While sketching fashion designs from a young age was her passion, Bojana decided to obtain a university degree in Marketing and Finance.
After graduating from the prestigious Schulich School of Business, her fast-paced career led her to travel the globe, ultimately resulting in an influential encounter with late fashion icon Karl Lagerfeld. Inspired by his wisdom and the diverse vibrancy and beauty of her journeys, Bojana went back to exploring her true passion for fashion and design. While living in Peru, Bojana discovered the beautiful alpaca fibre and fell in love with its lightweight and warm features.
In 2009 she launched the luxury outerwear brand, SENTALER.
Christina focuses her practice on domestic and international corporate matters, providing counsel to clients as they navigate domestic and cross-border distribution, licensing, and franchising transactions. She has extensive experience with respect to distribution and franchising, the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, third party due diligence, risk assessments, training programs, and OFAC-related matters.
Prior to joining the Firm, Christina was chief compliance officer for McDonald's Corporation's European operations, providing strategic leadership and guidance on regulatory compliance and corporate governance for markets across Europe, Central Asia and North Africa. She also served as general counsel in McDonald's US central division, where she led a legal team that advised leadership on franchising, supply chain, real estate and operational matters.
Christina was named to the 2018 Crain’s Chicago Business List of Most Notable Women Lawyers in Chicago.
Craig Robins is an entrepreneur, real estate developer and art collector based in Miami, Florida. As the CEO and President of Dacra, the real estate development company he founded in 1987, Robins focuses on developing creative communities that integrate art, design and architecture to accelerate asset value creation and enrich urban life. Dacra has spearheaded some of the most successful and transformative commercial, residential and mixed-use projects in Miami’s history, including South Beach, the Lincoln Road area, Allison Island and currently, the Miami Design District. The latter is an 18-square block neighborhood dedicated to fashion, design and art that incorporates the work of emerging and established architects, site-specific public art and the stores by the world’s most significant luxury brands.
In the late 80’s through the early 1990s, Robins played an integral role in the repositioning and revitalization of Miami’s South Beach through Dacra’s restoration of Art Deco landmarks, and the creation of new commercial and cultural opportunities. He realized that creative public programming would rapidly foster a sense of community, and his projects were defined in part by performances, public art and dynamic events that were inclusive of residents and visitors to the area. In parallel, Dacra also developed mixed-use projects throughout South Beach including Lincoln Road and Espanola Way, and later acquired an 8.5 acre parcel of land on Allison Island where they created a New Urbanist residential community, AQUA featuring contemporary art and modern architecture. The rapid appreciation of the asset value of the Miami Beach properties was attributable in part to Robins’ strategy of defining Dacra’s projects as destinations in the national and international conversation, a strategy he continues to employ today.
Robins began acquiring property in the once-abandoned Miami Design District almost twenty years ago, and in 2000 set about transforming the neighborhood into one of the most important global centers for cutting-edge design, fashion, food and art – a position it occupies today. In 2010, Dacra entered into a partnership with L Real Estate to further develop the Miami Design District by forming Miami Design District Associates (MDDA), a partnership between Dacra and L Real Estate, a private equity fund focused on luxury retail globally sponsored by LVMH. In 2014, a minority percentage of MDDA was sold to a joint venture between real estate companies GGP and AAC, who are adding their additional acumen and resources to the project.
In 2005, the neighborhood’s rapid renewal inspired the creation of Design Miami/ and subsequently Design Miami/ Basel, design fairs that have evolved into the world’s premier global forum for collectible design. Robins is the Chairman of the show, which he owns in partnership with MCH Swiss Exhibition, the producers of Art Basel. Both Design Miami/ events occur concurrently with Art Basel and are cross promoted.
An avid collector and supporter of the arts and architecture, Mr. Robins is also the Founder and Chairman of the Anaphiel Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting arts education. Among other initiatives, Anaphiel created the Miami Design District Performance Series presented by the Knight Foundation. The live event series is produced by 19-time Grammy© Award winning producer Emilio Estefan in collaboration with Maestro Eduardo Marturet (Miami Symphony Orchestra) and offers free concerts in the Miami Design District; a member of the Board of Trustees of the Perez Art Museum Miami; an active supporter of ICA Miami; and a member of the University of Miami School of Architecture Master in Real Estate Development and Urbanism Advisory Board. Robins’ long-term commitment to design earned him the 2006 Design Patron award presented at the White House by the First Lady, which recognizes an individual’s patronage of design within the business and civic sectors from the Smithsonian’s Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum.
Robins was born in Miami Beach in 1963. He attended the University of Barcelona in 1982, received his Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Michigan in 1984, and graduated from the University of Miami law school in 1987. Fluent in Spanish, he and his wife Jackie Soffer are the parents of six children.
Danielle N. Garno focuses her practice on issues faced by the fashion community, including, startup phase and commercial advice, intellectual property such as trademark and copyright infringement, social media marketing, advertising, and anti-counterfeiting, as well as employment and general business litigation. Danielle also handles complex civil litigation matters with an emphasis on white-collar defense and fraud actions. Her white-collar practice includes defending corporations against federal and state indictments, as well as internal investigations and negotiations with various federal and state agencies.
Danielle represents fashion clients of all sizes from start-ups to multi-national, global brands, helping them navigate through legal issues as well counselling them on growing and sustaining a successful brand. She has also tried cases in a variety of areas, obtaining verdicts in favor of her clients.
Danielle has written extensively and lectured all over the country on topics relating to fashion law. She is actively involved with professional and community organizations. Danielle is the Chair of the Beacon Council’s Creative Design Committee and sits on the Board of Fashion Group International – South Florida as well as the Board of Trustees of the Young Arts Foundation. She is also counsel to the non-profit organization Style Saves, and is a member of both the State Board of Children’s Home Society of Florida and the Southeastern Division of Children’s Home Society of Florida. Her work has been recognized by Florida Trend, Florida Super Lawyers, and Law360.
David Eshmoili is the Deputy General Counsel & Corporate Secretaryof David Yurman, where he oversees all legal and compliance functions. Prior to joining David Yurman, he was the General Counsel & CorporateSecretary of LiveStyle, a multinational media conglomerate and one of theworld's largest music event producers. David started his career as acorporate associate at Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP where he focused onprivate equity and M&A. He attended Cornell Law School, wherehe was an editor of the Cornell Law Review, and graduated summa cum laudefrom Binghamton University with a B.S. in financial economics.
Erin Brady has nearly two decades of experience effectively resolving her clients’ most complex problems with practical business solutions that don’t complicate the issues.
Her practice focuses on complex, time-sensitive challenges inherent in corporate restructurings and liquidations. This successful representation of creditors’ committees, individual creditors, trustees, debtors, and others has helped them realize their business goals when the stakes were high and the outcomes uncertain.
One concentration of Erin’s practice is restructurings in the retail sector. She represented Mattel as the largest unsecured creditor and co-chair of the creditors’ committee in the Toys ‘R’ Us Chapter 11 cases. She represented Fleming Companies in the sale of substantially all of its grocery store distribution business. She also represented American Apparel and its affiliates in its two recent Chapter 11 cases, the first in 2015 and the second in 2016. American Apparel operated a vertically integrated manufacturing, distribution, and retail business focused on branded fashion-basic apparel, employing thousands of employees across multiple manufacturing facilities and hundreds of retail stores in the United States and 17 other countries worldwide.
Finance Monthly recognized Erin as “Finance Lawyer of the Year” in early 2020. She has been recommended in The Legal 500 rankings for corporate restructuring and she was among the Global Restructuring Review‘s “Top 40 Under 40” restructuring lawyers. Law360 recognized her as a Rising Star in 2016, and she has been named a Super Lawyer or Rising Star by Los Angeles Magazine and Super Lawyers for nine of the past 10 years.
Business expert with a 20-year track record of professional experience. As Founder and CEO of Adira Consulting, she advises clients on their strategies. She leads a personalized Executive
Coaching Program designed to help companies and executives achieve their next level of
development. Eva serves on the Advisory Board of Istituto Marangoni Miami, where she CoFounded the first Executive Program in Spanish for entrepreneurs in the fashion industry across Latin America. Previously, was CEO for Condé Nast Mexico and Latin America and Editor-in-Chief of Vogue Mexico and Latin America. As the host of the Eva Talks Podcast she interviews influential voices in Art, Education, Fashion, Leadership, and Philanthropy and is an international public speaker on empowerment, career objectives, and leadership skills. She is also the Co-Founder of the first Executive Program in Spanish for entrepreneurs in the fashion industry across Latin America with an accreditation by Istituto Marangoni Miami, where she serves as Advisory Board Member.
Frank F. Martinez is currently Vice President, Legal Affairs at LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton Inc. acting as in house U.S. employment counsel to the Group’s diverse luxury brands. Prior to joining LVMH, Frank maintained a solo law practice in New York representing both individuals and businesses in employment related disputes and compliance. He served as Vice President, Legal & Business Affairs at BMG Music and more recently as interim senior in house employment counsel for MetLife, L’Oréal USA and Pitney Bowes. Frank was an associate at Littler Mendelson in San Francisco, Wilson Sonsini in Silicon Valley and Proskauer Rose in New York. Frank is originally from West Covina, California and graduated from Boston University School of Law in 1995. He also holds bachelors and masters of music degrees in vocal performance from Indiana University, Bloomington and the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.
Hersh Patel is a real estate attorney, with experience in complex real estate transactions involving commercial properties in the luxury retail sector, in class-A urban office buildings, warehouse and distribution centers, and vineyards. As Vice President, Real Estate Counsel for LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton Inc., he is responsible for real estate law matters affecting the French luxury group’s operating companies in the U.S., he advises executive teams of such operating companies and leads real estate activity (whether owned or leased) for the company. Hersh received a J.D. at New York University School of Law following a B.S. in Accounting and International Business at New York University Stern School of Business.
Ian is a partner in Bird & Bird’s Tech Transactions team, based in London. He has nearly 20 years’ experience of advising clients in the retail, luxury and other sectors on technology and commercial projects, with a particular focus on large-scale, strategic and transformational projects. Ian’s areas of interest include major cloud/SaaS projects, managed services agreements, ICT/BPO outsourcings, e-commerce solutions, artificial intelligence, blockchain and smart contracts, agile software development, cybersecurity and open source licensing.
Jeilah practices all aspects of intellectual property, representing clients in litigation involving patent, trademark, contract/licensing, trade secret and copyright issues. Jeilah advises clients on IP issues arising out of M&A transactions, joint ventures and licensing matters. She also advises clients on advertising and labelling, and IP protection, enforcement, commercialization and brand-building strategies. Jeilah is lead counsel for clients across a wide range of industries, including biotechnology, agriculture, food and beverage, technology, luxury goods, media, telecommunication, and construction technology.
Jeilah is an active fellow of the Intellectual Property Institute of Canada, serving on committees and as Past-Chair of the Basics of Law Course. She is a member of the Editorial Board of the Canadian Intellectual Property Review Journal. She is an active member of the International Trademark Association and the Advocates’ Society. Jeilah is the author of the Intellectual Property Risk section of the soon-to-be published Directors’ Duties in Canada, 7th edition (Lexis Nexis). She is co-author of WTR’s Trademark Litigation Guide (Canada) and WTR’s Best Practice in Litigation Strategies: Global Perspectives. She is a guest lecturer at Osgoode Hall Law School (IP LLM) and regularly presents on advocacy and IP topics.
Julien Dudouit is Global IP Sr. Brand Manager for eBay, responsible for supporting Rights Owners in protecting their Trademarks and Copyrights by managing the Verified Rights Owner program (VeRO) on eBay and Classifieds platforms globally. Prior to this, Julien was closely involved in implementing eBay’s anti-counterfeit operational strategy. Julien holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Business and Management and has been working on anti-piracy matters for the past fifteen years.
Kelly Koyama-Garcia is Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary of Louis Vuitton Americas and is a member of the executive committee. She has responsibility for all legal matters for the Americas zone (North America, South America, Mexico and Caribbean) and also manages compliance matters.
Prior to joining Louis Vuitton in 2018, Ms. Koyama joined Marc Jacobs International, LLC in 2008 where she assisted in establishing the first in-house legal department. She later became General Counsel and Secretary of Marc Jacobs and oversaw all legal, regulatory, and compliance matters globally. From 2006-2007, Ms. Koyama was Associate General Counsel at The McGraw-Hill Companies in its corporate department, mainly focusing on mergers and acquisitions. She started her career in the New York City office of Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen & Hamilton as an associate in the bankruptcy group. She attended Boston University School of Law, where she was an editor on the Boston University Law Review, and graduated magna cum laude from University of Rochester with a B.A. in economics.
Ms. Koyama is a co-founder and co-chairs the retail practice group for the Association of Corporate Counsel, Greater New York Chapter and served on the Board of ACCGNY from 2009-2012. She was a steering committee member on the University of Rochester New York Metro Women’s Committee from 2019-2020.
Kerry focuses her practice on export controls, trade sanctions, and antiboycott laws. This includes advising US and multinational companies on trade compliance programs, risk assessments, licensing, review of proposed transactions, investigations, and enforcement. She regularly advises companies in the apparel and footwear sector on trade compliance matters, including sanctions and export control-related supply chain risks involving Xinjiang and China. She has written and been quoted on export controls and trade sanctions issues for numerous publications, including WorldECR, Global Investigations Review, The Export Practitioner, and Ethisphere. Kerry also serves as co-chair of the Export Controls and Sanctions Section of the Association of Women in International Trade. She is an editor of Baker McKenzie’s Global Supply Chain Compliance Blog.
Lara Nathans is a Partner and Leader of the National Retail & Consumer Markets Group at McCarthy Tétrault. She has a distinguished practice, solely focused on retail- and consumer markets-sector clients, and this unique position is evidenced by her global reputation in the market. Players in Canada, the U.S. and U.K. seek out her strategic, well-informed advice when looking to establish or grow their businesses in Canada. Lara is a sought-after expert in the industry, speaking regularly on business and legal issues affecting luxury brands. She is also the only lawyer in Canada ranked Band 1: Retail in Chambers Canada.
LEE S. SPORN is Of Counsel with Olshan Frome Wolosky LLP in its Intellectual Property Law practice, where he focuses on clients in the luxury goods, fashion and retail industries. He is an internationally renowned intellectual property and corporate lawyer and a leader in the fashion and retail law industry. Mr. Sporn has over 30 years of experience in the fashion industry, having recently retired as Senior Vice President – Business Affairs, General Counsel and Secretary of Michael Kors Holdings Limited, where he was at various times responsible for its legal, human resources, store design, construction and facilities departments. Prior to joining Kors in 2003, he was the Senior Vice President, General Counsel at Kasper A.S.L., Ltd., then owner of the Anne Klein and Kasper brands, and prior to that Lee was at Polo Ralph Lauren Corporation for 11 years, where he served as Vice President, Intellectual Property and Associate General Counsel, responsible for worldwide intellectual property enforcement, licensing and a wide variety of commercial and compliance matters. He was a Professor from Practice at Cardozo Law School where he was instrumental in the creation and co-director, with Barbara Kolsun, of the FAME Center, and currently teaches Fashion Law at The University of Pennsylvania School of Law and at Villanova Law School. Mr. Sporn is a contributor to Fashion Law, A Guide for Designers, Fashion Executives & Attorneys (Fairchild Books, 2014), and was the co-editor of the seminal treatise Trademark Counterfeiting (Aspen Law & Business, 1999). Lee is a past Chairman of the International Anti-counterfeiting Coalition and served on its board of directors and executive committee for over a decade, and in May of 2016 he received the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Luxury Law Awards in London.
Liam Stefanov holds the current position in the International Division of Fortune International Group for the last 6 years, being one of its initial members. Main line of work is managing a number of partnerships with foreign agencies and their clients and overseeing Fortune’s operations in Italy. Liam is proactively selling and marketing Fortune’s new construction portfolio through events & webinars globally.
Fortune International Group is a full-service, fully integrated real estate organization, specialized both in general real estate and new construction. Its unique position in the South Florida marketplace is a result of a track record of successful development projects and exclusive on-site sales and marketing representations. Among current projects: MISSONI Baia & Ritz Carlton Residences Sunny Isles.
LorenzoMaria Di Vecchio is the Legal Director Europe, Middle East and Africa and theHead of Ethics & Compliance Global of Christian Dior Couture, headquartered in Paris, France.
Hejoined Dior in 2019, after having spent almost 5 years in Fendi as Senior Legal Manager Operations and Global Compliance Officer.
Before Fendi, he has worked as in-house counsel for different multinationals such as Colgate-Palmolive, Hill’s Pet Nutrition and Heineken. Prior to move in-house, Lorenzo has worked as senior lawyer in private practices for 7 years.
Lorenzo earned his law degree from the University of Rome “Roma Tre”, Italy. He is amember of the Bar in Italy since 2007.
Afterthe Law Degree, he attended 2 Law Schools in civil and commercial law and a Master’s degree in International Contract Negotiation and Drafting.
Lorenzois Lecturer at the II Level Master Fashion Law at LUISS University in Rome.
Hehas worked extensively in matters involving international trade, industrial law, international litigation, competition law, compliance.
Louise is the Senior Vice President for Legal Affairs and General Counsel for LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton Inc. She joined LVMH in August 1999.
Prior to that, she was the first US lawyer and General Counsel at Credit Suisse, New York Branch, and a Director at Credit Suisse First Boston after the merger of Credit Suisse and CS First Boston in January 1997. Before joining Credit Suisse Louise worked in the legal department at Citibank, focusing on US bank regulatory advice to Citibank’s international units. She began her legal career in private practice.
Louise received her BA from the Johns Hopkins University, a Masters in International Affairs from Columbia University School of International and Public Affairs and a JD from Fordham Law School. Louise co-teaches a course at Columbia Law School entitled “Exploring the Role of the General Counsel” that focuses on how to combine practical business sense with legal knowledge to achieve commercial objectives.
Martin is a partner in Bird & Bird’s Tech, Corporate and Fintech teams, based in Copenhagen. He is a leading expert on open source software, licensing and strategy with respect to open innovation. Over the past 20 years he has been advising on emerging technology from Internet to blockchain and DLT. Recently he has advised a Chinese tech start-up on the strategic and legal issues surrounding the use of blockchain technologies to create a platform for telecoms to provide IoT services over their 5G networks. Martin is the co-founder and -organiser of the Copenhagen Hyperledger and Ethereum/web3 meet-ups.
Massimo Casagrande pursued his fashion design studies at Istituto Marangoni Milano and then undertook a Master’s degree in Fashion Design from the University of East London.
He was a designer for Versace (Versus menswear, Versace Sport, and Versace Jeans) and then launched his own label (MCG Massimo Casagrande) in 2012. His collections have been shown in Paris and London as part of the Fashion East Menswear: Installations.
He has been an official partner of the London Design Festival, where he has exhibited and curated site-specific collections in sync with contemporary cultural and social issues.
After several years of experience as a Fashion Design Senior tutor at Istituto Marangoni London, Massimo was appointed Programme Leader for the same school.
Currently, he is Director of Education at Istituto Marangoni Miami and collaborates with a number of international clients as an art director, designer, and as a contributor to fashion magazines, public speaker, and moderator.
Massimo also travels often as a guest lecturer holding seminars and workshops around the world and is a mentor and advisor to brands and the Latin American Fashion Summit.
Meredith is a recognized authority in the national class actions defense bar. She represents businesses in a range of industries in class actions across the country. Her cases often implicate cutting-edge privacy and consumer protection issues under federal and state statutes. Meredith has been widely acknowledged for her mastery of the facts and the law and for her strategic and thoughtful defense of litigation. She routinely secures early dispositive victories on the pleadings that spare clients the costs and burdens associated with protracted litigation. She has been the architect of strategies to prompt plaintiffs to voluntarily dismiss their claims, to compel arbitration, to obtain dismissals on the pleadings and at summary judgment, to strike class allegations, to defeat class certification, and to prevail on the merits in arbitration proceedings. Meredith is also a thought leader on the issue of consumer arbitration, and drafts, revises, interposes, and enforces arbitration agreements and class action waivers in consumer contracts. Meredith’s proven record of success, combined with her practical, accessible, and business-oriented approach, have made her the go-to class actions lawyer for several of the country’s leading businesses.
Meredith is also co-chair of the firm’s cross-practice Retail Industry Group and counsel to many prominent retailers and consumer-facing companies. She represents retailers in consumer class actions and advises them on related compliance issues to mitigate litigation and enforcement risk. She has deep experience advising retailers and consumer companies on compliance with federal and state privacy laws, including the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA), California Invasion of Privacy Act (CIPA), Song-Beverly Credit Card Act, Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), Shine the Light Law, and other federal and state privacy-based laws. She also works closely with retailers to reduce litigation exposure under assorted consumer protection statutes, including California’s Unfair Competition Law (UCL), Consumers Legal Remedies Act (CLRA), and False Advertising Law (FAL). Meredith counsels retailers on issues related to COVID-19, including contracts, leases, dynamic pricing, asset protection, health and safety measures, data privacy, store operations, e-commerce, shipping delays, policies and procedures, and tort liability. Meredith is a member of the firm’s Coronavirus Task Force.
Meredith represents industry groups, including the Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA) and the Retail Litigation Center (RLC), in class actions and privacy proceedings, including before the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and in the U.S. Supreme Court. Meredith’s work on behalf of the retail community led her to be selected as the designated consumer class actions lawyer for the RLC’s Defense Division. In 2018, Meredith received a certificate from Harvard Business School in connection with its Senior Leaders in Retail Executive Program and a certificate from ShopTalk.
Meredith was elected to the American Law Institute (ALI) and the American Bar Foundation (ABF) in 2019, and has been the recipient of numerous awards and accolades. Meredith is frequently invited to speak and write on issues pertaining to class actions, privacy, consumer arbitration, and the retail industry. She is a guest lecturer on privacy at the University of Pennsylvania Law School, and has presented at the Annenberg School of Communications. In addition, Meredith has been a featured speaker at conferences sponsored by the American Bar Association (ABA), Association of Corporate Counsel (ACC), RILA, RLC, the Professional Association for Customer Engagement (PACE) and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA). She led a boot camp at the Retail Law Conference on the CCPA and moderated a panel discussion of chief privacy officers. Meredith recently presented programs on strategies to reduce the risk of COVID-19-related tort and class action litigation and on anticipated federal and state government enforcement proceedings to retail in-house counsel at RLC member meetings.
Meredith is deeply committed to diversity and inclusion, and speaks regularly on issues pertaining to women in the profession to law students, practitioners and the business community. She has been recognized for her significant efforts on behalf of women in the law with awards from the Kilgore Society, The American Lawyer, and the Legal Intelligencer, among others. Meredith is a member of the firm’s Women’s Initiative. Meredith is a graduate of Leadership Philadelphia, is actively involved in community nonprofits, and serves on multiple boards and committees including the National Museum of American Jewish History Board of Trustees, Philadelphia Museum of Art Corporate Executive Board, and the University of Pennsylvania Law School Alumni Board of Managers.
Meredith earned her undergraduate degree from Dartmouth College and her law degree from the University of Pennsylvania Law School.
Milton Pedraza is the CEO of the Luxury Institute and a private investor. Today, Luxury Institute is the world’s most trusted research, training, and elite business solutions partner for luxury and premium goods and services brands. With the largest global network of luxury executives and experts, Luxury Institute has the ability to provide its clients with high-performance, leading-edge solutions developed by the best, most successful minds in the industry.
Over the last 17 years, Luxury Institute has served over 1,100 luxury and premium goods and services brands. Luxury Institute has conducted more quantitative and qualitative research with affluent, wealthy and uber-wealthy consumers than any other entity. This knowledge has led to the development of its scientifically proven high-performance, neuroscience and emotional intelligence-based education system, Luxcelerate, that dramatically improves brand culture and sales performance.
Milton advises and coaches luxury CEOs and advises and serves on the boards of top-tier luxury and premium brands, as well as luxury and premium startups. He is a member of the Advisory Board at the Ultra High Net Worth Institute. He is a frequent speaker at corporate events worldwide. He is known for his practical, innovative and humanistic insights and recommendations on luxury and high performance. Milton is the most quoted global luxury industry expert in leading media and publications. He is a recognized investor and authority on the Personal Data Economy, Privacy and Personalization, Customer Relationship Management and Artificial Intelligence technologies. Prior to founding the Luxury Institute, his successful career at Fortune 100 companies included executive roles at Altria, PepsiCo, Colgate, Citigroup and Wyndham Worldwide.
Milton is a frequent guest speaker at Columbia University and has presented at Harvard. He has been recognized as a top Latin Entrepreneur by Stanford Business School.
Milton was born in Colombia, raised in the United States, and has lived in several countries. He has conducted business in over 100 countries and speaks several languages.
Miranda Lam is the Retail Sector Lead of the National Retail & Consumer Markets Group at McCarthy Tétrault. A litigator and trusted legal and business advisor to retail and consumer-facing organizations, Miranda combines business acumen with finely-honed advocacy experience to achieve success for her clients. She is recognized for her strategic and problem-solving approach, regularly advising luxury brands on litigation claims, claims prevention, consumer protection, internet and e-commerce issues, as well as on their plans for expanding into or operating in Canada. Highly regarded by clients and counsel alike, her strength lies in looking at problems holistically and bringing together integrated teams to address critical issues.
Nikki Gershbain is Chief Inclusion Officer at McCarthy Tétrault. An advocate for social change for 25 years, and a recognized leader in diversity and inclusion initiatives and pro bono programming, Nikki’s role, combining equity and social responsibility into one portfolio, is a first of its kind for the Canadian legal industry. A sought-after expert on topics related to social justice and diversity, she regularly speaks at professional conferences and has delivered dozens of presentations, workshops and keynote speeches nationally and internationally. Her reputation for excellence includes 2013, 2015, 2017 and 2019 nominations as a top legal “Changemaker” by Canadian Lawyer.
Nisa is a corporate transactional lawyer with a specialty in intellectual property, contracts, privacy and bankruptcy. Prior to joining LVMH in 2001, Nisa worked at Millbank Tweed Hadley & McCloy and JSM in Hong Kong, in New York with Gilbert, Segall & Young LLP, and in Tokyo with Fuji Television and CNN. Nisa is a Dartmouth graduate (B.A. East Asian Languages & Literature 1989). She speaks several languages and is an internationally published photographer, with images in the Tate Modern archives and ICA Boston.
Rachel Waranch is Managing Counsel for Chanel, Inc., where she partners with the business and advises on a wide array of matters, with a focus on media, digital, public relations, marketing, events, retail, and data privacy. She oversees, drafts, and negotiates a wide variety of contracts in these areas, and is deeply involved in the company’s charitable foundation, having helped set up the legal structure in the United States. She has also managed the protection of Chanel’s intellectual property rights in the United States.
Prior to joining Chanel as in-house counsel, Rachel was an associate at Kaufman, Borgeest & Ryan, and interned at Chanel and Kate Spade while in law school. Rachel graduated from Washington University in St. Louis with honors, majoring in English and minoring in business, and received her J.D. from Cardozo Law School where she received a Dean’s Merit Scholarship and served as Acquisitions Editor of the Arts & Entertainment Law Journal. Originally from Baltimore, Rachel lived in New York City for almost ten years, and now lives in Los Angeles with her husband and two children.
Reagan helps companies effectively identify and address legal compliance risk around the world. He focuses his practice on global supply chain compliance, anti-corruption and Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, fraud, business ethics, human rights and corporate compliance. Reagan has managed major legal compliance investigations for a variety of Fortune 500 companies and negotiated settlements before the US Department of Justice, US Securities and Exchange Commission, and other federal and state regulatory entities, obtaining declinations in a number of matters. He provides practical solutions on issues of trade, taxation, investment, entity registration, security, risk management and expatriate employment. He conducts investigations, risk assessments, training and due diligence on behalf of clients in Africa and other emerging markets, and is a leading thinker in the area of business ethics and human rights-related legal obligations and emerging regulatory regimes.
In 2019, corporate counsel recognized Reagan as a BTI Client Service All Star for his superior client service. He is the founder and chief editor of Baker McKenzie’s Global Supply Chain Compliance Blog.
Rod advises on international trade and investment policy and regulatory matters. He regularly advises international and domestic firms on U.S. foreign investment regulation, including reviews conducted by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) and procedures relating to mitigation of foreign ownership, control or influence (FOCI) under national industrial security regulations. On trade, Rod regularly counsels firms and industry groups on international and U.S. trade matters. He advises on compliance of national regulation with international obligations (e.g., WTO agreements, and bilateral trade and investment agreements), on aspects of U.S. export control and supply chain regulation, and on other trade measures, such as Section 301 investigations.
He previously served as Special Asst. to the President for National Security Affairs and Sr. Director for International Economics at the National Security Council (NSC), the White House office that coordinates trade policy and supervises CFIUS. In that role, he managed CFIUS cases, including negotiating resolution of the most sensitive cases. A recognized expert in the field, he has testified before Congress during the legislative process leading to recent amendments to CFIUS’ authorizing legislation.
Previously, in addition to coordinating U.S. trade policy at the White House’s NSC, he served as senior counsel at the US Trade Representative’s office, where he litigated cases before the World Trade Organization. He has also taught trade law and policy at the University of Virginia’s Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy and has testified before the United States-China Economic and Security Review Commission.
Roelien is a partner based in The Hague, and head of Bird & Bird’s Commercial Group in the Netherlands. She is a specialist in digital business and technology contracts, with expertise in online business-to-consumer matters, advising our clients on all aspects of trading practices, marketing and advertising. Roelien assists leading international brands in the luxury and wider retail sector with the digital transformation of their businesses, including advising on tech and legal developments such as artificial intelligence, data ownership and exploitation, geo-blocking, and online platform regulation. Roelien is the Chair of the Netherlands Association of Computer Lawyers.
Shane is the Global Director of Legal at Godiva Chocolatier, Inc., the global leader in premium, artisanal chocolate, distributed in over 100 countries through third-party retailers, Godiva stores and cafés and Godiva’s website and app. In his role, Shane is responsible for overseeing all legal matters for Godiva globally, including advising on new initiatives as Godiva expands its ecommerce and CPG businesses. Prior to Godiva, shane worked at Rent the Runway as its VP, Associate General Counsel and Assistant Secretary, and in the music business at both Sony Music and Warner Music. He started his career as an intellectual property litigator at Robins Kaplan LLP.
Sophie Marc is a French and European Trademark and Industrial Design attorney, with a Master’s in Private Law and a DESS from the University of Grenoble covering Intellectual Property, Contracts and IT Law.
After a first experience in a media group, she worked for an IP firm in Sydney, then continued her career in private practice in Paris. She joined Santarelli in 2007. Sophie Marc is mainly involved in advising companies in the constitution, protection and defense of their IP rights in in France and abroad.
She has particular expertise in portfolio management for French and foreign clients, to protect their rights worldwide, and thus in filing, searches, oppositions, anti-counterfeiting, customs surveillance and litigation both in France and in numerous other countries, including China in particular.
Stephen E. Lamar is President and CEO of the American Apparel & Footwear Association, the national trade association representing more than 1,000 brands in the apparel and footwear industry. Steve leads a dedicated team of professionals who represent AAFA members before the government, through the media, and in industry settings on key brand protection, supply chain and manufacturing, and trade issues. Steve also advises AAFA member companies on legislation and regulatory policies. Prior to becoming President and CEO, Steve served as Executive Vice President for the association.
Prior to AAFA, Steve spent more than a decade engaged in international public policy work, including stints at the U.S. Commerce Department and in the Peace Corps. A runner, juggler, and genealogist in his spare time, Steve is President of the Washington International Trade Association. He holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree from Colgate University and a Master of Arts Degree in International Affairs (with a concentration on African politics and international trade) from George Washington University.
Tony Keats is a founding partner of the Beverly Hills law firm, Keats Gatien LLP. He has held intellectual property practice leadership roles at Baker Hostetler, Keats McFarland & Wilson, and Stubbs Alderton & Markiles.
Tony’s more than three decade legal career has singularly focused on the development and protection of brands and creative content from luxury goods to the internet and consumer products to entertainment. He has provided counsel and has litigated cases on behalf of many of the world’s largest consumer product and entertainment companies, as well as US, French, and Italian luxury goods producers.
Tony speaks and writes on a variety of intellectual property protection issues. He has appeared in numerous publications including Forbes, Fortune, The Wall Street Journal and National Law Journal. Tony co-authored “Protecting the Brand: Counterfeiting and Gray Markets” for Law Journal Press. He was also a contributing author of the book “Trademark Counterfeiting” published by Aspen Press.
Tony holds bachelor and masters degrees from Brown University and a law degree from the University of San Francisco. Prior to attending law school, Tony was a brand manager for Inglenook Wines in San Francisco and Napa, California.
Vanessa Friedman was named the fashion director and chief fashion critic for The New York Times in March 2014. In this role she leads global fashion coverage for both The New York Times and International New York Times on all platforms.
Before joining the paper, Ms. Friedman was the inaugural fashion editor of the Financial Times, beginning in 2003. Along with editing the Style pages and the Luxury360 vertical, she wrote a weekly column for the Saturday FT and created the FT’s annual Business of Luxury conference.
Previously, she was the fashion features director for InStyle UK, from 2000 to 2002. Before that she worked as a Fashion Correspondent for the FT, as an Arts Contributor at The Economist and was the European Editor at American Elle. In addition she contributed regularly to Vogue, The New Yorker, Vanity Fair and Entertainment Weekly.
She is the author of “Emilio Pucci” (Taschen) as well as an honorary professor at Glasgow-Caledonian University. She was the recipient of the 2012 Front Page Award for fashion writing, as well as the 2013 Fashion Monitor Journalist of the Year award.
Ms. Friedman received her undergraduate degree from Princeton University.
Doctor in Law and Social Sciences from the University of the Republic (1996). Postgraduate degree in Commercial Law, University of the Republic (1998). Master in Intellectual Property. Professor of Commercial Law, University of the Republic (2006-2009).
Specialist in trademark and anti-piracy law. Trademark Agent. President of the Chamber for the Fight against Piracy and Smuggling. President of the Uruguayan chapter of the World Jurist Association. Expresident of the CERTAL Uruguay Chapter. Founding member of the Permanent Commission for the Defense of Intellectual Property Rights of the Ministry of the Interior. Member of the Anti-Piracy Committee MARQUES. Vice President of INTA's global committee on trademark counterfeiting for the 2016-2020 period. Member of the Uruguayan Association of Intellectual Property Agents (AUDAPI) and currently a member of the Board for the period 2020-2023.
Recognized in the Top 250 women in IP (Managing IP - Ip Stars) 2017 and 2018. Named Leading Lawyer in Chambers Latin America 2014 - 2019, Leading Lawyer in Legal 500 Latin America. Outstanding as the best professional in trademark services for Uruguay in the publication WTR 1000 - Gold Category and recognized in Anti-Counterfeting (Top TM Professionals). Recognized by Chambers & Partners as Lawyer in Band 1 (2019). Recognized in the Leading Lawyer category in the "Law Firm and Leading Lawyer Ranking" of The Legal 500 (2019). Winner of the Lifetime Achievement Award- Gender Diversity at the Chambers Diversity & Inclusion Awards Latin America 2019. Named to the WIPR Leaders 2020 list. Listed on the IP Stars ranking for 2020-2021. Featured in WIPR's Influential Women in IP 2020 publication.
Chris Gelinas is a New York based womenswear designer. Gelinas challenges conventional approaches to design through a commitment to rigorous technical development and innovation, working to bridge the gap between pioneering techniques and the classic convention of luxury and femininity. Gelinas has been quickly recognized for his innovative approach and attention to detail, becoming a finalist in the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund (2015), elected as a U.S. finalist for the International Woolmark Prize (2015), shortlisted as a finalist in the first LVMH Young Fashion Designers prize (2014) and his debut CG collection won the MADE for Peroni Young Designer Award (2013).
Gelinas graduated with a design degree from Parsons School of Design. He refined his technical skills at some of the industry’s most acclaimed fashion houses including Marc Jacobs, Proenza Schouler, Balenciaga, and as first assistant to Olivier Theyskens at Theyskens’ Theory.
Born in Canada, Gelinas spent much of his childhood abroad where he learned to appreciate the aesthetic richness of diverse cultures and environments. This eye for detail fueled a fascination for clothing and construction, an affinity that matured by studying his grandmother, a seamstress, and his grandfather, a woodworker and upholsterer.
Gelinas is dedicated to a movement that supports local industry, creating and producing much of his collection in New York with the highest level of skill and craftsmanship
Margarita Serrano is the founder and director of contemporary fashion brand
SERRANO www.serranostore.com. She transitioned from Law to Fashion
Entrepreneurship and has become a renown name in the field of high quality
fashion and e-commerce. She graduated Law School with honors from
Universidad de Los Andes (Bogotá, Colombia) and holds a Master’s degree in
Fashion Management from Bocconi University (Milan, Italy). She founded
SERRANO in 2014, which was recognized by Forbes as the “New York based
fashion label that should be on your radar”. She is the sole owner and director of
her business which creates and manufactures collections with the finest of fabrics
and delivers worldwide.
Marie-Laure Bonnaffous joined the Italian luxury fashion house FENDI in 2015. Based in Rome, Italy, Marie-Laure handles IP matters at 360° for the Maison and on the worldwide basis; coping with both IPRs and domain names portfolio managements, protection strategy, contract negotiations, support to licensing and cobranding as well as brand protections and litigation. Before this, she acquired an extensive experience in the field by working successively with Procter & Gamble in Geneva and L’Oréal in Paris.
Rick Perkal is the CEO and a Managing Partner of Firelight Capital Partners, a private equity firm focused on investing in consumer brands. Firelight Capital is a partnership between experienced investment professionals and marketing firm Yard NYC. Previously, Rick was a Senior Managing Director with Irving Place Capital, where he focused on investments in the consumer & retail sectors, and prior to that, Rick headed the corporate practice of the Washington, D.C. office of Kirkland & Ellis. Rick has served on various boards, including Pets Supplies Plus, New York & Company, Vitamin Shoppe, Aeropostale, and Stuart Weitzman, and is currently on the board of Three Dog Bakery, LLC. Rick is a member of the Board of Overseers of the Cardozo School of Law.
Nikki Gershbain is Chief Inclusion Officer at McCarthy Tétrault. An advocate for social change for 25 years, and a recognized leader in diversity and inclusion initiatives and pro bono programming, Nikki’s role, combining equity and social responsibility into one portfolio, is a first of its kind for the Canadian legal industry. A sought-after expert on topics related to social justice and diversity, she regularly speaks at professional conferences and has delivered dozens of presentations, workshops and keynote speeches nationally and internationally. Her reputation for excellence includes 2013, 2015, 2017 and 2019 nominations as a top legal “Changemaker” by Canadian Lawyer.
Whether vetting product claims or ensuring regulatory compliance, Nancy
Felsten is guided by both practicalities and the law, which often in this space
comes in the form of guidance and not regulation. She leads the firm's
advertising, marketing, and promotions practice and this attitude is how DWT
approaches the complicated problems of our day. Whether working with
advertising agencies, our media and telecommunications clients, or with
consumer electronics, FDA-regulated OTC, banking and consumer product
companies, we provide a 360-degree practice for any and all kinds of
advertising, marketing, and promotions programs. Nancy helps clients create
compliant marketing campaigns pursuant to FTC and FDA regulation and
guidance, state consumer protection law, rights of privacy and publicity, and
other advertising and intellectual property issues. And when clients are
embroiled in competitive challenges or a government investigation, Nancy is
there for them. Nancy feels that her public accolades from Chambers Band 1 to
New York Super Lawyers year after year are nice, but what matters to her the
most are her deep and long-lasting relationships with clients. She believes that’s
what makes her practice so exciting and personal.
"Born in Bogota Colombia in May 1984, Esteban Cortazar is
a Paris based designer. His distinctive style pays homage to
his Latin heritage and combines it with French craftsmanship,
and feminine structure.
Referred to by Vogue as “the most uninhibited designer showing
in Paris” Esteban Cortazar’s collections are found in the most prestigious on-line retailers, department stores and luxury boutiques including Colette, Barneys, Le Bon Marché, Browns, Net-a-Porter and Matches. Cortazar has dressed celebrities including Cate Blanchett, Gal Gadot, and Rhianna to name a few.
The president of Colombia recently named Cortazar an official ambassador of the arts for the country.
Cortazar started his fashion career in Miami at the age of 16
and soon after debuted his first collection in New York in 2002.
In 2007 Cortazar moved to Paris to helm the House of Emanuel Ungaro. In 2012 Natalie Massanet approached Esteban to create a series of capsule collections for Net-a-Porter. This process ushered the relaunch of his eponymous Paris based brand in 2014, where he has been showing for the past 8 seasons.
Esteban Cortazar’s signature style is confidently articulated through slick, sculptural lines tempered by ease, grace and flow.
"
SERENA VISWANATHAN is Acting Associate Director in the FTC’s Division of Advertising Practices. She started her FTC career as a staff attorney in the Division of Advertising Practices in 2000, litigating deceptive advertising cases on a broad range of practices, including health claims and endorsements. Serena held positions at all levels of the agency, including as an Attorney Advisor and Acting Deputy Director in the Bureau of Consumer Protection, where she advised senior agency leaders on pending enforcement matters, as well as legal and policy issues affecting the agency’s consumer protection mission. Serena received a J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center and a B.A. from the University of California, Berkeley.
Laura Brett is the Vice President of National Advertising for Better Business Bureau National Programs (BBBNP), part of the advertising industry’s system of self-regulation founded in 1971 to boost consumer trust in advertising. Laura began leading the National Advertising Division (NAD) in August of 2017, after serving NAD as a staff attorney and Assistant Director. Laura has helped develop NAD’s body of guidance in the evolving area of truthfulness and transparency for advertising in digital media, including the review of the adequacy of disclosures in influencer marketing as well as other digital formats. In addition to speaking regularly on the issues surrounding digital advertising in the U.S. and internationally, Laura has published articles on the ethical standards of advertisers in social media and participated on a panel at the FTC’s Native Advertising Workshop in December 2013. Prior to joining NAD, Laura was a litigator with her own private practice after having worked in commercial litigation at Willkie Farr & Gallagher. Laura also was elected to her local City Council and served as Deputy Mayor.
As Managing Director, Federica Pietrogrande has both a business and legal role.
Federica is a member of the Investment & Finance team with a focus on the development of Gordon Brothers’ special situations strategy across Europe, which utilises a highly flexible and opportunistic approach for alternative debt and equity investments, involving companies in distress or in need of capital solutions. Federica’s focus is on structuring the deal and is committed to the entire lifecycle of the investment from origination through exit.
Federica also manages Gordon Brothers’ legal strategy in Europe – and supports the international business. She works with the business divisions, across all jurisdictions, to structure and manage deals, addressing specific legal issues, qualifying, quantifying and mitigating the relevant risks involved.
Before joining Gordon Brothers in early 2018, Federica practiced law for 15 years in major international law firms in Italy and abroad, specialising in corporate bankruptcy and restructuring, with a focus on distressed investing and cross-border transactions. She now brings her experience to unlock opportunities in different jurisdictions.
Federica has a law degree from Rome Universita’ La Sapienza and an LL.M in Banking, Corporate and Finance from New York Fordham Law School. She is also a member of the International Insolvency Institute.
Federica is a native Italian speaker and fluent in English.
James Nurton is an editor and writer, specialising in IP. He was formerly editor of Managing IP and now works as a contributor and consultant to organisations including MARQUES, EPO, WIPO, Bloomsbury Publishing, IPWatchdog and various publishers. He contributed to the book “The Great Catapult” written by Zeeger Vink and published in 2020, and is a director of the consultancy Lextel Partners.
Gregory has helmed the City of Dubai Brand and Brand Experience division for Dubai Tourism since 2015, overseeing brand management and collaborations, event marketing and content to accelerate the city’s vision of becoming the world’s leading tourism destination and commercial hub. A French-Scottish branding expert with an entrepreneurial spirit, he previously founded and managed a successful creative agency that specialized in the luxury sector with offices in Dubai, Singapore and Hong Kong. His prestigious clients included brands from LVMH, L’Oréal and Richemont Groups (such as Dior, Lancôme and Cartier to name a few). When not in the boardroom, Gregory is usually out on the local rugby pitch or spending time with his family.
Inga Romanovskienė, Director of Go Vilnius
Inga is a marketing expert who has worked with travel, retail, education in both private and public sectors. She holds the position of Director of Go Vilnius, the business and tourism development agency of the city of Vilnius, since 2017. Go Vilnius covers a wide variety of responsibilities, related to the representation and promotion of Vilnius for different audiences, including tourism, business and talent.
Place branding and communications expert. Hjörtur has worked with cities and countries on their brand positioning, communications strategies, tourism development, stakeholder management, PR and crisis management, including places in all of the Nordic countries, Russia, Balkans, Asia, Middle East and Africa. He holds a degree in anthropology from University of Iceland, political science from Lund University in Sweden and studied business and economic development at Copenhagen Business School. Hjörtur is currently CEO of Visit Greenland.
Brian P. McGowan is the Chief Executive Officer of Greater Seattle Partners - a public/private partnership created to advance economic growth and competitiveness for the Puget Sound region. There, he and his team focus on attracting new investment, promoting international trade and growing existing industry clusters in the Greater Seattle region. He is currently a non-resident fellow at the Brookings Institution. Before GSP, Brian was the CEO of the Atlanta Beltline Inc., worked as a Principal with the global law firm Dentons, and served as the COO/Executive Vice President at the Metro Atlanta Chamber. He was also appointed to lead Atlanta's Development Authority - Invest Atlanta where he fiscally stabilized and rebranded the organization to be a catalyst for economic growth. In 2009 Brian was appointed by President Obama as U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of Commerce. In this capacity, he was the Chief Operating Officer of the U.S. Economic Development Administration. Brian became detailed to the White House as an Economic Advisor to lead the Economic Solutions Group within the National Incident Command in response to the BP oil spill. Brian also served as California's Deputy Secretary for Economic Development and Commerce by the appointment of Governor Schwarzenegger. Earlier in his career, Brian was appointed as the Economic Development Agency Administrator for the County of San Bernardino and was a consultant for the U.S. Agency for International Development where he developed economic growth programs for cities in Bulgaria and Serbia.
Louise is Global Head of Brand Protection at Diageo, driving Diageo’s strategy to fight counterfeit spirits and help consumers celebrate safely every time. Louise previously led Diageo’s Europe Brand Protection program. Prior to joining Diageo, Louise worked as an IP lawyer in the UK and Ireland.
I am responsible for creating and implementing brand protection strategies (online and offline) across the EMEA + APAC regions and have a track record in achieving results.
Martin Dubbey spent 30 years with UK law enforcement up until October 2010. Of that time most was spent with H M Customs in a range of operational and intelligence roles. This included fiscal fraud, drug and corruption enquiries at the highest level. He spent several years overseas working closely with the US authorities countering drug trafficking supply chains for which he received the International Narcotics Award of Honor. On transfer to the Serious Organised Crime Agency (now NCA) in April 2006 he was responsible for drugs intelligence and the coordination of various organised crime control strategy programmes.
For the past 10 years he has been involved in private sector commercial fraud and asset tracing work combining his experience of government, global connections and the use of cutting edge technology. In particular, he has specialised in supply chain security and anti counterfeit work, recently being interviewed for BBC Panorama concerning the various PPE scandals.
Kate Anthony Wilkinson is Group General Counsel & Company Secretary for Mulberry, the English luxury leather goods manufacturer and retailer, famous for its iconic leather bags such as the Bayswater and Alexa. Kate is based at Mulberry’s main manufacturing operation in the Somerset countryside. She is responsible for all legal facets of Mulberry’s global business, including intellectual property, counterfeits and brand protection issues.
Previously to Mulberry, Kate was a corporate finance Solicitor with a national UK law firm, following which she moved in-house and has held General Counsel roles with a number of international companies. She remains a practicing English solicitor.
Kate is involved with a variety of voluntary and charitable organisations. She is a Trustee of the Bristol Old Vic Theatre (the oldest continuous theatre in the English-speaking world!) and until earlier this year was also a Trustee of the Bristol Aero Collection Trust, a charity operating an Aerospace museum in Bristol. She is Advisory Editor to the technical publication ‘Jordans Corporate Governance & Administration’; and writes articles and blogs and presents on a variety of legal and commercial matters.
Attorney Roy Kornick manages the enforcement department of Gilat, Bareket & Co of the Reinhold Cohn Group. He has extensive IP experience, specializing in enforcement (anti-counterfeiting).
Roy and his team work in cooperation with state authorities, including customs and the police, to prevent counterfeits from being imported and distributed in Israel and the Palestinian territories.
Roy is diligent about protecting his clients’ IP rights and business interests. He has more than two decades of experience managing IP cases and representing prestigious brand owners in various fields, world-renowned organizations and prominent Israeli companies.
Roy’s areas of expertise include: intellectual property; litigation; enforcement of IP rights; protection against unfair competition; managing civil and criminal proceedings before Israeli courts and authorities concerning IP infringement; issues relating to computer, internet and commercial law; and litigation before the registrar of trademarks, patents and designs.
Ed Barker is Head of Intellectual Property & Legal Governance at Manchester United Football Club. Ed oversees the club’s global anti-counterfeiting & brand protection programmes and manages the club’s global trade mark portfolio. He is also the club’s data protection officer and has responsibility for legal governance and compliance matters. Ed joined Manchester United in 2016, prior to which he was Head of Legal at Digital Science and before that spent over a decade in private practice at Bird & Bird and Baker McKenzie.
With more than 15 years of experience in sales and marketing, Florian now aims to deliver highly effective brand protection solutions to the Central European market by supporting tesa scribos. As a Sales Director, he has vast and long-standing experience in developing and implementing highly customized solutions for various industries.
Emma-Jane is in-house counsel within Richemont’s Group Legal & Intellectual Property Team. She has been with Richemont for 8 years, and is responsible for anti-counterfeiting and brand protection matters for the Group’s 21 luxury brands.
As Director, Brand Protection and Manufacturing Initiatives, Christina serves as the AAFA liaison for the Brand Protection Council. She is a former AAFA intern and has focused on Brand Protection issues through her past internships at the National Intellectual Property Rights Coordination Center and the Intellectual Property Department at Louis Vuitton. Christina also supports the Government Contracts Committee. She received her Juris Doctor degree from The George Washington University Law School and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Classical Civilization and a minor in Legal Studies from Trinity College.
Jesse R. Bader is an associate at Epstein Drangel, LLP. He graduated from Fordham Law School with a concentration in intellectual property law. He focuses his practice on various aspects of intellectual property law, including trademark, anti-counterfeiting, licensing and trade dress. He regularly counsels clients, including in the cannabis industry, regarding the procurement and enforcement of their intellectual property rights, helps clients manage their domestic and international IP portfolios and has extensive experience with all phases of trademark prosecution.
Expertise: Intellectual Property, Trademark Counterfeiting, Brand Protection, Criminal Investigations, Internal Investigations, Private Investigations, Enforcement, Evidence, Fraud, and Surveillance.
Lorne M. Lipkus practices throughout Canada with a principal focus on protecting the intellectual property/capital of his clients. He customizes proactive and defensive solutions to combat the piracy, theft, and counterfeiting of IP. He actively litigates all manner of anti-counterfeiting/piracy cases, fraud/theft of confidential information, trade secrets, corporate opportunities and tangible property. Lorne has extensive experience obtaining and enforcing extraordinary remedies including, Anton Piller Orders, injunctions and other declaratory relief and has a proven track record working with law enforcement, customs, and other professionals extensively coordinating multi-country and border enforcement. He coordinates computer, domain name and Internet issues relating to anti-piracy\counterfeiting enforcement.
Melissa Tarsitano is a lawyer at Kestenberg Siegal Lipkus LLP in Toronto, Canada. Melissa has a demonstrated history of working in the global brand protection industry across multiple sectors including luxury goods, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, fitness, sports and entertainment. Melissa is involved in many aspects of the firm’s intellectual property and anti-counterfeiting practice, including trademark matters, border enforcement, domain name disputes/cybersquatting, and online and offline investigations and enforcement.
Ashly E. Sands, Esq., is a partner at Epstein Drangel LLP and head of the firm’s anti-counterfeiting group. Ashly’s practice focuses in the areas of IP, including: anti-counterfeiting, trademark, trade dress, copyright, licensing, internet, false advertising, and unfair competition law. She specializes in advising global brands in a multitude of industries in building, managing, using, protecting and enforcing their intellectual property rights and assets, and is known for her innovation and experience in developing, implementing and managing successful, tailored anti-counterfeiting programs.
Doctor in Law and Social Sciences from the University of the Republic (1996). Postgraduate degree in Commercial Law, University of the Republic (1998). Master in Intellectual Property.
Specialist in trademark and anti-piracy law. Trademark Agent. President of the Chamber for the Fight against Piracy and Smuggling. President of the Uruguayan chapter of the World Jurist Association. Expresident of the CERTAL Uruguay Chapter. Founding member of the Permanent Commission for the Defense of Intellectual Property Rights of the Ministry of the Interior. Member of the Anti-Piracy Committee MARQUES. Vice President of INTA’s global committee on trademark counterfeiting for the 2016-2020 period. Member of the Uruguayan Association of Intellectual Property Agents (AUDAPI) and currently a member of the Board for the period 2020-2023.
Notary Public, National University of the Republic, Uruguay (2011). Diploma in Intellectual Property, Austral University (2021). CEO Free Trade Zone Office operations. Horus CEO and online regional monitoring. Trademark and patent specialist consultant. Specialist in new modalities to combat falsification and online monitoring. Moderator of the Online Monitoring Roundtable – INTA 2018, Seattle. He has been speaker in several national trainings on the identification of counterfeit products, intended for Customs officers, the National Police and members of the judicial system. INTA’s Internet Committee member.
Julie was born and raised in El Salvador, graduated as a Mechanical Engineer and was the 5th woman to graduate in that profession at the university.
She joined the company in 1999 in El Salvador working for CBD as the Regional Wholesalers Leader. She took care of Pricesmart opening as a modern channel customer in El Salvador and managed Walmart.
For 15 years she managed several account as a Sales manager and in charge of trade marketing and innovation roles, giving her the opportunity to have the knowledge across Latin America about customer, channels and portfolio.
Since July 2013 she has been the responsible for the brand protection program for Latin America, implementing a Global business-oriented strategy, working with External Partners and US Protection Agencies (Customs, CIA); also working very closely with partners like INTERPOL, OLAF.
Experienced corporate lawyer Daniela Della Rosa provides the full range of corporate M&A transactional advice as well as advice on all types of commercial agreements, JVs, franchising and brand management.
Dual qualified in New York and Italy, Daniela advises international companies on their operations and portfolio management in Italy, the U.S. and internationally. Her career spans both private practice and business affairs and she was most recently Worldwide General Counsel for the Gucci, Bottega Veneta and Sergio Rossi brands, for which counterfeiting is an ongoing challenge.
Clients benefit from the unparalleled insight into the legal and commercial operation of premium businesses Daniela has developed, which she combines with a practical, commercial approach to driving value and minimizing risk for investors.
Having worked in Rome, Milan, Washington, D.C., and Brussels, Daniela has excellent insight into EU environmental, social and governance regulation, among others. She teaches a Fashion Law Masters and she is Adjunct Professor and Co-Scientific Director at the prestigious L.U.I.S.S. Business School in Milan, Rome and Amsterdam.
Jason M. Drangel is the managing partner at Epstein Drangel, LLP. He graduated from Fordham Law School and has been involved in U.S. federal practice for over twenty five years, concentrating on instituting and effecting anti-counterfeiting programs, trademark and copyright litigation and prosecution and intellectual property due diligence and agreements. Jason has been recognized by his peers as an Intellectual Property Super Lawyer for the past eight years. Jason is an active member of the International Trademark Association and IACC.
In February 2015, Ilham Chahboune joined SICPA SA as Sales and Marketing Manager, responsible for Product and Brand Protection marketing materials and product management. In 2017 she moved as Industry Solution Sales Manager within the same department. In 2020 Ilham become Business Development Director, in this role, she is responsible of developing and growing business in W&S, Luxury, and Cosmetics segment by introducing SICPA technologies from materials to digitals.
Prior to SICPA, Ilham worked at PMI, Nestle Product Technology Center, and SC Johnson.
Ilham holds an International Business degree from Iona College, New Rochelle – NY &
New York University - NY - USA.
Ryan Short is the co-founder of CivicBrand, a place branding consultancy specializing in engagement-led projects across the United States. Over the past 17 years, Ryan has guided CivicBrand’s team in crafting strategies that elevate communities through place branding, placemaking, and destination marketing. His work has impacted cities, towns, and regions nationwide, helping them become more vibrant, equitable, and loveable places.
Ryan is also the host of the Eyes On The Street podcast, where he explores the intersection of community, culture, and design with thought leaders and changemakers. He is the author of the upcoming book THE CIVIC BRAND: The Power and Responsibility of Place Branding, set to release in summer 2025.
Passionate about the profound role place plays in shaping our lives, health, and happiness, Ryan advocates for a people-first approach to branding and placemaking. He is committed to ensuring that place branding not only fosters connection and identity but also champions sustainability and equity for the betterment of both people and the planet.
A digital native with international experience building products and alliances in multiple verticals including Media, Content Subscription Services, Internet of Things and now Brand Protection where I lead Strategic Alliances for Smart Protection.
With nearly 20 years of media and communications experience, Karolyn Raphael has taken clients from near-obscurity to recognition on a national level. Her work in strategy, media placements, PR training, and digital marketing includes business-to-business consulting firms, nationally-ranked healthcare systems, trade associations, law firms, art shows and non-profit organizations. She’s created city-wide awareness campaigns and landed stand-out media placements in national and local news outlets.
Terri Pepper Gavulic is Chief Business Officer of TerraLex, a global network of law firms. At TerraLex, Terri manages the association’s business operations and is responsible for strategy planning, innovation, and staff management, as well as member and client development.
Previously, she was Director of Legal Support at Fisher & Phillips LLP, a labour and employment law firm in the US, where she had oversight of the firm’s 33 offices and led programs in legal project management, client and customer service, firm growth issues, training and coaching, and operations. Before that, she was a Vice President with management consultancy Hildebrandt and led that company’s client assessment team. Terri holds an MBA from the Warrington College of Business at the University of Florida. She is a Fellow in the College of Law Practice Management and serves on that organisation’s Board of Trustees.
Moray was formerly head of international marketing for one of the global law firms. Today he is a Partner at Lexington Consultants, supporting law firms around the world as they review their client strategy then put that into practice. He also delivers “building your business” workshops to associates and partners at a number of top law firms.
Moray is also a member of the Möller Institute at Cambridge University and a Fellow of the Harvard affiliated Institute of Coaching. Since last year, he has been the President of the Advisory Board of Law Without Walls – a global forum bringing together law firms, investors and alternative legal providers to address change and innovation within legal services.
For over a decade, he has been an Associate Professor at IE Business School in Madrid. He is also a faculty member of the Financial Times IE Corporate Learning Alliance.
Terri Mottershead is the Executive Director of the Centre for Legal Innovation (Australia, New Zealand and Asia-Pacific) at The College of Law (CLI). Terri works internationally with leaders of legal businesses supporting them in identifying trends, developing strategies, and transforming their capabilities and practices to deliver legal services/products in the new legal ecosystem. She is the instigator, designer and developer-in-chief of CLI’s global initiatives, networks and programs including the Legalpreneurs Lab and the Innovation Incubator Program.
Julia is Managing Director of Hayhoe Consulting, focused on the professional services sector, with the mission to enable clients to achieve strategic, sustainable growth by adapting to changing market dynamics.
Her expertise spans strategy, leadership and client success, including how to incorporate sustainability and ESG into strategy, client servicelines and organisational alignment.
Julia’s career includes Non-Executive Directorship (Specialist Risk Group), global Executive Leadership roles in Strategy and BD & MarComs (Baker McKenzie and Clifford Chance); Management Consultant Partner (Hildebrandt/Thomson Reuters), a practicing lawyer and In-house Legal secondee.
She is an independent advisor to The World Economic Forum’s GC Community and the Managing Partners Forum.
Julia holds an MBA, advance studies in Sustainable Business Leadership; Organisational Behaviour & Design; a Law Degree and is a Meyler Campbell qualified business coach.
Gaia Francieri heads the Communication and Business Development team at Chiomenti, a leading Italian Law Firm that has more than 300 lawyers across its international offices. She is in charge of Chiomenti’s business development strategy, and managed the implementation of the firm’s new visual identity, new website and new intranet and she managed the Firm’s sustainability policy launch.
Gaia is founding partner and President of the unique “Marketing the Professional Services Association” in Italy (www.mopi-italia.org). She has also been a member of the Working Group on Marketing and the working group on Diversity at University Bocconi Alumni Association. Gaia is also the creator and coordinator of the SheMOPI think tank group and organizer of round tables with the City of Milan and the Milan Stock Exchange. Gaia created and was the lead administrator of the Gender Balance in the Professional Services survey.
She has been a speaker at several events on procurement services and served as moderator at closed door meetings between senior procurement executives of legal services of the major national and international financial institutions, and companies in Italy.
She regularly teaches courses at the Italian National Bar Association on communications, organisation and business development.
She is co-author of the book “Business Development for Professional Firms” edited by Alpha Test – 2016
Dr. Akhil Prasad is Director, Country Counsel India and Company Secretary with Boeing India and is based at New Delhi. In past, he has held offices as Head of Legal and Company Secretary with Fidelity Worldwide Investment (2007 to 2013); Director India Legal Affairs & Company Secretary of The Walt Disney Company India (2005 to 2007); as Senior Attorney & Company Secretary of General Motors India (2003 to 2005); and as Assistant General Manager Legal with Electrolux Kelvinator (2000 to 2002). Prior to these assignments, he has also worked with the legal teams in Modicorp Group (including Modi Xerox and Graphtech India from 1995 to 2000). Akhil has about over 25 years’ experience as an In-house Counsel and has worked with legal teams spread across different countries.
Akhil is currently a member of the board of directors of entities in Boeing group (Boeing India Defense Private Limited and Boeing India Private Limited) and in the past has been on the board of directors of entities within the Fidelity group (Devonshire India Real Estate Holding, Eight Roads Investment Advisors, and FIL Research India). Akhil has worked across various industries in the area of legal, risk and compliance, taxation, regulatory and corporate affairs. He has worked for Steel, Office Automation, White Goods, Computer Hardware, Media & Entertainment, IT/ITES, Private Equity, Mutual Funds and now Aerospace and Defence. His areas of practice includes Contracts (including International Contracts) & Litigation, Corporate Laws, Competition Law, Environmental Laws, Intellectual Property Laws, Industrial & Employment Laws, Information Technology and Information Technology Enabled Services, Private Equity, Risk Management, Oversight and Regulatory Compliance, Media Laws, Mergers Amalgamations & Restructuring, Real Estate / Property Laws, Tax Laws.
Akhil has been nominated among the Included among Top General Counsels in India by Forbes India and Top 100 India Inhouse Counsel by Business World for 2020, Team Power List 2019 India by Legal 500; GC Power List 2018 India, Team Power List 2017 India by Legal 500, GC Power List 2016 India by Legal 500; 100 Legal Luminaries of India by Lexis Nexis; and among the Finest India In-house Counsels by Indian Corporate Counsel Association. He has also been appointed as member Editorial Board of Asia Business Law Journal www.vantageasia.com and International In-house Counsel Journal www.iicj.net/editorial-board both of which are international journals. Akhil has been nominated to the Corporate Law Committee of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry. Nominated as a Jury Member for 30 under 30 by BW Legal World – 2021. Nominated as a Jury Member - ALB India Law Awards 2021.
Akhil is a visiting faculty with the National Law University – Delhi and Jodhpur (NLU), the Master of International Business program of the Delhi School of Economics (DSE), the Indian School of Business, Chandigarh (ISB); the Department of Management Studies of the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi (IIT-Delhi); the Management Development Institute, Gurugram (MDI – Gurugram); the Management Development Institute, Murshidabad (MDI – Murshidabad); OP Jindal Global University (OPJGU); the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad (IIM-A), the Indian Institute of Management Kashipur (IIM-K), the Indian Institute of Management Indore (IIM-I), the Indian Institute of Management Rohtak (IIM-RK), the Indian Institute of Management Raipur (IIM-RP); the Indian Institute of Management Calcutta (IIM-C); the Indian Institute of Management Shillong (IIM-S); the Indian Institute of Management Sambalpur (IIM-SR); the Indian Institute of Management Sirmaur (IIM-SiR) (IIM-S); Rajiv Gandhi School of Intellectual Property Law – IIT Kharagpur (IIT-Kharagpur); Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT); T. A. Pai Management Institute, Manipal (TAPMI); Jamia Millia Law School and Faculty of Management Studies, Delhi University (FMS); the IILM University, Gurugram. Akhil has also judged international moot competitions at NLU Delhi, IIT Kharagpur, Army Institute of Law, Mohali and participated as a panelist at the i5-Summit on Start-ups organized by IIM Indore and IIT Indore. Addressed the national conference of Corporate Company Secretaries organized by the Institute of Company Secretaries of India (ICSI). Recently addressed the LinkedIn Local Lucknow on Leadership during disruptions. Akhil participated as an industry expert at the International Legal and Policy Conference on “The Future of Transport: Opportunities and Challenges in Aviation and Space Industry” organized by NALSAR University of Law, Hyderabad.
Akhil holds a Doctorate in Law (LL.D), Doctorate in Commerce (Ph.D); is a post graduate in Law (LL.M); is a Fellow Member of the Institute of Company Secretaries of India (FCS) and the Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators, UK (FCIS); is a non-practicing Solicitor of England & Wales; has done the Master of Laws (Honors) program in US laws (LL.M US) with the Northwestern University, Chicago and Certificate in Business Administration program from Instituto de Empressa, Madrid, Spain (IE); took leadership training under the program “Leaders Shaping Our Future”, conducted by Boeing Leadership Center, USA and most recently completed Wharton Advanced Management Program. Akhil, therefore, has legal expertise in India, UK and the US. Akhil holds professional memberships with the Institute of Company Secretaries of India; the Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators, UK; the Law Society, UK; Indian Council of Arbitration, India; FACT Panel of Arbitrators & Conciliators, India.
Akhil has been nominated as a Member of the Editorial Advisory Board for the year 2020 of the widely acclaimed monthly journal “Chartered Secretary” of the Institute of Company Secretaries of India. Akhil is the Vice – Chairman and an Advisory Board member to the Corporate Counsel Committee and a member of the India Working Group of the International Bar Association. He has also been nominated as an India Representative to the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Committee of the International Bar Association. Akhil has also been nominated as a member of the Advisory Board of the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC) to develop a “Guide for Corporate Counsel on Corporate Sustainability”, a joint initiative by Linklaters. Link to the guide: http://www.upj.de/fileadmin/user_upload/MAIN-dateien/Aktuelles/Nachrichten/generalcounsel_gc_linklaters.pdf
Akhil is the founder member of the Indian Corporate Counsel Association, an organisation of In-house Counsel in India www.iccaonline.org.in He is an avid speaker and has participated in seminars in India and outside (Boston, Dubai, London, Madrid, Paris, Singapore, New York, Tokyo, Vancouver, & Vienna). Some of recent publications and speaking moments are in the links below.
Articles Videos
https://www.legaleraonline.com/zoom-in/independent-directors-areality-or-a-concept-770685?infinitescroll=1
https://open.spotify.com/episode/5J8pizGjWUToUO3ttqr04Y
http://bwlegalworld.businessworld.in/article/-Routine-work-wouldeither-be-automated-or-outsourced-which-will-provideopportunities-to-law-departments-of-high-quality-Akhil-PrasadCountry-Counsel-India-Boeing/08-07-2021-395960/
https://www.thefinancestory.com/10-questions-with-the-generalcounsel-company-secretary-at-boeing-india/
https://law.asia/getting-whats-rightfully-due/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vD0GU4kyK68&feature=youtu.be
https://www.thefinancestory.com/from-facing-rejections-to-beinglaid-off-to-country-counsel-company-secretary-at-boeing/
https://youtu.be/mkj9-inTAfk
https://superlawyer-in.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/superlawyer.in/drakhil-prasad-director-country-counsel-india-and-companysecretary-at-boeing-shares-his-insights-about-legal-educationand-working-with-the-most-renowned-names-in-business-andlaw/amp/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WEBz937HSHM
https://www.thefinancestory.com/country-counsel-cs-of-boeingindia-akhil-prasad-money-advice/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EEstbPtJF20
http://bwlegalworld.businessworld.in/article/BW-Legal-World-sList-of-Top-100-General-Counsel-Out-Now/08-02-2021-374971/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_SHwHGPeWRs
https://www.thefinancestory.com/from-facing-rejections-to-beinglaid-off-to-country-counsel-company-secretary-at-boeing/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EzHLd8UYRH4
https://law.asia/reach-sky-aviation-industry/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eGuWa1eYP3A
http://bwlegalworld.businessworld.in/article/In-Conversation-withDr-Akhil-Prasad-Director-Country-Counsel-India-and-CompanySecretary-Boeing/23-11-2020-345089/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=riWHaR6fnHs
https://www.legal500.com/gc-magazine/interview/dr-akhil-prasaddirector-country-counsel-india-and-company-secretary-boeingindia/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bVBjoP7GHzU
https://www.legal500.com/gc-magazine/interview/dr-akhil-prasaddirector-country-counsel-india-and-company-secretary-boeingindia/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t2Bhjg0Bp40
https://law.asia/2017-whats-ahead/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BugHqYU8hdE
https://law.asia/buying-into-business-ethics/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=36ob9iMy_4U
https://law.asia/why-fear-virtual-currencies/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MSwvQwOqiCg
https://law.asia/risky-management-akhil-prasad/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wXPLaiSX9Bs
https://law.asia/measuring-up/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DQoU5j1z6zA
https://law.asia/the-fightback-begins/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=95mt8fLk-WY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nAjJFgVP3Xg
https://bit.ly/3lrTH7j
Teaching Sessions : Aviation & Defence Lecture Series
Session 01: Introduction : Aviation & Defence https://photos.app.goo.gl/Stz4UH7YECswb9Mt8
Session 02: Civil Aviation 01 – Overview https://photos.app.goo.gl/tfNTUGojyQM93VkGA
Session 03: Civil Aviation 02 – Overview https://photos.app.goo.gl/Cq9ajXNCygVz6bws5
Session 04: Defence 01 - Overview https://photos.app.goo.gl/9b8HdX6wnEvcCshJ6
Session 05: Defence 02 - Overview https://photos.app.goo.gl/9cm7CefpetU3V3WC9
Session 06: Defence 03 - Overview https://photos.app.goo.gl/3e6KrfVeqhCJHNhY8
Assessments https://photos.app.goo.gl/vufZfo6M4yKzcN4u8
https://photos.app.goo.gl/VtZHHb1AjkC5MHBY8
Richard Levick, Esq. is Chairman & CEO of LEVICK, a crisis communications and public affairs firm, representing countries and companies in the highest-stakes global matters – the Venezuelan crisis; Qatar; the Chinese trade war; the Gulf oil spill; Guantanamo Bay, the Catholic Church and many others.
He and his firm have represented more than 300 of the world’s largest law firms, hundreds of companies and over 30 countries, providing heads of state with communications, access and insight into Washington.
Mr. Levick has been honored multiple times on the prestigious list of “The 100 Most Influential People in the Boardroom” and has been named to several professional Halls of Fame for lifetime achievement.
He is the co-author of four books including two on litigation communications, hosts daily podcasts for a variety of publications and is a regular commentator on television and in print.
James is client partner for a number of the firm's major sector clients for example, adidas, Wm Morrisons Supermarkets Plc, LEGO and NOKIA. In practice, James has a track record of getting substantial and valuable retail property deals done.
Clients say "he prioritises our needs and makes sure his team is engaged with us" and he "almost acts as though he is in-house, so good is his understanding of the drivers" and that “he invests a lot of time to understand the business and bases solutions on that” (quotes from Chambers & Partners).
James is a long standing Ambassador of the Retail Trust, a Board Member of Lawwithoutwalls ( a global innovation and training programme for younger lawyers) and is actively involved in a range of mentoring and inclusion programmes focussed on getting access to the law. James is an FA Youth coach (with mixed success).
Kenny heads up the Outsourcing, Technology & IP legal team at NatWest. He joined the bank is 2006 as a legal counsel and has progressed to lead the full team, sitting on the department’s Senior Leadership Group. He has led on some of the largest technology outsourcing projects in the UK and provides extensive support to the bank's technology, innovation, payments and Fintech initiatives. He Chairs the Law Society of Scotland’s Wellbeing Steering Group.
Bendita Cynthia Malakia is the Global Head of Diversity & Inclusion at Hogan Lovells, and serves as Treasurer for the National LGBTQ+ Bar Board, among other diversity leadership appointments. She serves to transform the legal profession into a place where underrepresented professionals can thrive. A Harvard-trained lawyer, Bendita practiced finance law for nearly a decade at a large law firm and two global financial institutions. Connect with Bendita at www.linkedin.com/in/bendita and www.benditamalakia.com.
Recognized by the ABA as a Legal Rebel and by the Financial Times Innovative Lawyers (North America) as one of the top 20 most innovative lawyers, Michele DeStefano is a Professor of Law at the University of Miami and a Faculty Chair in Harvard Law School’s Executive Education Program and at IE School of Law. She is the founder of LawWithoutWalls, a part-virtual experiential learning community of more than 2,000 lawyers, business professionals, entrepreneurs, and students that leverages intergenerational, cross-culture, multi-disciplinary collaboration to create innovations in the business of law and, importantly, change the mindsets, skillsets, and behaviors of legal professionals. Recently, Michele helped co-create and spearhead the development of the Digital Legal Exchange, a non-profit designed to inspire general counsel and their teams to become digital leaders in their businesses to drive commercial value. DeStefano researches, writes, and speaks about creative problem solving, collaboration, culture change, and innovation in law. Her latest books include Legal Upheaval: A Guide to Creativity, Collaboration, and Innovation in Law and New Suits: Appetite for Disruption.
Michele earned her B.A., magna cum laude, from Dartmouth and J.D., magna cum laude, from Harvard Law School.
Cam works in the commercial team at Passle as a Business Development Director. He has worked with a number of the world's leading law firms and consultancies to ensure their experts are regularly sharing their expertise with key clients and prospects.
Deborah Farone has had the unique opportunity to play a role in developing the best practices in professional services marketing by working with some of the most respected and demanding professionals in the world. Over the past two decades, she has carved out a niche by distinguishing herself as the chief marketing officer of two of the country’s most prestigious law firms, Cravath Swaine & Moore LLP and Debevoise & Plimpton LLP. Prior to entering legal marketing, Deborah honed her management skills by working at Towers Perrin (now Willis Towers Watson), a global management consulting firm.
Deborah is the author of the best-selling legal marketing book, “Best Practices: Marketing and Business Development for Law Firms” (PLI 2019), a book based on more than 60 interviews with leading law firm leaders and marketers, general counsel, and innovators in the profession. Heidi K. Gardner, PhD, of Harvard Law School’s Center on the Legal Profession, has called Deborah “the leading expert in law firm marketing. Not only has she studied this complex topic from the peak of the legal profession, her research into what works and what doesn’t is priceless for anyone interested in growing their business.” Her firm, Farone Advisors LLC, focuses on helping law and consulting firms, technology companies and individuals with strategic planning, marketing strategy, and marketing training. Deborah often presents at law firm retreats and workshops, as well as to general counsel and inhouse legal departments. She has also been involved in the academic and management consulting arena and has spoken at University of Pennsylvania Carey School of Law, Cornell Law School, Fordham Law School and McKinsey & Company. Deborah previously served as an adjunct Assistant Professor on the faculty of New York University where she developed and taught several marketing courses.
Stephen practised at Freshfields, the international law firm, as a corporate transactional lawyer for over 41 years on 3 different continents and was a partner for 33 years. He held a number of leadership and management positions in Freshfields. As a lawyer, he specialised in debt and equity securities offerings and M&A. Virtually all of his work was cross-border – he has worked on transactions in over 50 countries. He is known for his global perspective and local knowledge. He is now a consultant to the firm and is involved in Freshfields’ StrongerTogether initiative, its network of relationship firms around the world that allows it to deliver Freshfields’ service to clients in any market.
He has recently established a consulting firm in Singapore/London/Vancouver – Making Change Happen (https://makingchangehappen.com/) – through which he provides management advice to law firms and other professional service providers.
He is co-author of a variety of books and a regular speaker on law firm management, business development, market regulation and anti-money laundering topics. His most recent publication is the 2nd Edition of Business Development (https://lnkd.in/g4QCzNJ). This has become the ‘bible’ for law firm business development.
Stephen is very active in the IBA and has attended over 30 annual conferences. He is the Vice Chair of the Law Firm Management Committee.
David Kaufman is Nixon Peabody’s Director of Global Strategies. He runs the firm’s International Practice, including overseeing the firm’s international offices, managing relationships with law firms around the world, working extensively with clients from the United States doing business around the globe, and helping international clients operating or investing in the U.S. Over the past several years, he has handled hundreds of transactions and other matters involving almost 140 different countries. His current role is innovative in that it is an externally facing, high-velocity sales role within a large global law firm.
He received both his MBA and B.S. in Economics (magna cum laude) from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
dkaufman@nixonpeabody.com
+1 415 244 2224
Wendy Bernero is the Global Chief Marketing Officer of Baker McKenzie, a leading international law firm with 77 offices in 43 countries. The Firm leverages its strong global platform, its deep local market knowledge, and its market-leading practices and sector experience to deliver value to multinational clients around the world.
Wendy has more than 25 years of experience helping professional services firms increase their profitability and revenue growth by developing high-value service offerings, building strong brands and value propositions, and implementing metrics-based business plans, budgets and go-to-market strategies.
A regular presenter at industry conferences and roundtable programs, she is co-author of the book, "Optimizing Practice Management: Driving Profitability and Market Position", published by ARK Group (2015). In recognition of her contributions to the marketing and legal professions, she became a Fellow in the College of Law Practice Management in 2014 and serves on the Council of CMOs of the Conference Board, a think tank that delivers trusted insights to help leaders navigate the biggest issues impacting business and better serve their stakeholders.
Rolf Chr Trolle Andersen is a corporate lawyer and partner in the Norwegian law firm Hjort. After starting his career as a legal advisor in the Norwegian Ministry of Justice, he joined Hjort in 1999. Today, he is a member of the firm’s Board of Directors, and he heads international relations at Hjort. A significant part of his work concerns international and cross-border matters, both inbound work for foreign clients doing business in Norway and outbound work for Norwegian clients venturing abroad. He is a member of the International Bar Association.
Mr Andersen is also a member of the Board of Directors of TerraLex, the global network of independent law firms, where he serves as Regional Co-Vice Chair for Europe.
Paul is Global Head of Internal Communications for Clifford Chance. Previously he advised BG Group on their acquisition by Shell, was Global Head of Internal Communications at Philips, a Partner at Brunswick and Communications Director at Colt Group.
Catherine specialises in thought leadership consultancy on the legal market, particularly the role of the general counsel, the future of the legal profession and inclusion in law.
She is an experienced keynote speaker and moderator covering topics such as the business of law; future of the legal department; the changing role of in-house counsel; innovation and disruption in legal services; inclusion and diversity in the law.
Her website can be found at www. catherinemcgregor.co.uk
Lawson Crawford is Director of Legal and Company Secretary at University College London’s wholly owned subsidiary UCL Business. UCLB commercialises the research emanating from UCL by way of licensing it, creating and supporting spinout companies and establishing investment funds. All of this with a view to the ideas, research and innovation of UCL’s academics being of benefit to the wider world. His role spans the bio-pharm and physical sciences, the arts and humanities. He is a solicitor with a background in corporate and commercial law and was in private practice before joining UCLB. Among his interests, Lawson is a trustee of Dulwich Picture Gallery.
Selene is General Counsel at Open Banking Limited, the entity established by the UK’s Competition and Market Authority to promote innovation in retail banking. She advises on a wide range of matters including governance, regulatory, commercial and contentious matters. Prior to Open Banking, Selene spent 5 years as Chief Counsel for Aon UK and before that was GC at Which? Selene is passionate about social mobility.
Leigh is a Managing Legal Counsel at the Royal Bank of Scotland. She provides strategic and transactional support on a variety of technology, outsourcing and innovation projects, with an increasing focus on emerging tech. She is passionate about innovation within the legal sector using approaches such as design thinking to drive change.
David co-founded Top Ranked Legal in June 2019 with the aim of providing a one stop shop for both clients and law firms to access easy to use, comprehensive ranking data. Top Ranked uses a unique algorithm based on the quality and frequency of law firm rankings and has produced easy to search tables showing the highest ranked law firms in more than 150 jurisdictions and across key regions.
David is a senior legal market media professional with over 20 years’ experience in the legal publishing sector. His experience includes managing several successful industry events as well as editorial and management roles with magazines and websites in the legal and business sectors, including Expert Guides, IFLR 1000 and MIP.
As a consultant, David provides strategic services to clients on a wide range of issues, including, branding, positioning, PR and editorial advice. He co-founded the Law Firm Marketing Summit – Europe’s leading event for law firm BDs and marketers. David has an MBA from The University of Liverpool.
John is editor-in-chief of The Global Legal Post. He is an experienced editor and publisher with a deep knowledge of the legal market. Previously, he was international segment leader at ALM Media where he oversaw Legal Week, China Law and Practice and Law.com’s international coverage. He was a member of the team that founded Legal Week in 1999, going on to hold a variety of senior roles, including editor, editor-in-chief and publishing director.
Anne Gallagher is Executive Director of the Global Legal Post's Luxury Law Alliance, where she works with in-house counsel at the world's luxury brands and facilitates content, events and relationship building. She has spent her entire career in the legal industry, having served as a global director of communications for an AmLaw 100 firm, and as a widely respected industry consultant.
Joy Price is the Digital Communications Manager at Howard Kennedy and is responsible for creating and implementing the strategy for all digital channels including website, social media, email marketing and intranet.
Clare Barker is currently kaitiaki (guardian) of the Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland Place Brand. She was delighted Auckland was awarded City Nation Place Global ‘Place Brand of the Year’ in 2020, a highlight in her more than twenty years building successful brands, developing marketing and brand strategy and leading marketing and creative teams to success. Clare is an enthusiastic member of the global place branding community, having participated in podcasts and interviews on the subject. City Nation Place, The Place Brand Observer, Frank Cuypers, Simon Anholt, Greg Clarke and Richard Florida continue to inspire her work in this fascinating and rewarding area.
David is the Chairman and CEO of Brand Finance Plc – the world’s leading brand valuation consultancy. He has worked in the area of branded business, brand, and intangible asset valuation since 1991. He specialised entirely in the field after becoming the Director of Brand Valuation for Interbrand in 1995. He subsequently left Interbrand in 1996 to launch Brand Finance which is celebrating 25 years in business this year.
David represented the British Standards Institution in the working parties responsible for crafting international industry standards: ISO 10668 on Brand Valuation in 2010 and ISO 20671 on Brand Evaluation in 2019.
David is a passionate writer and has authored many articles on brand valuation, published in numerous marketing and finance newspapers and magazines, such as: Financial Times, Accountancy Age, and Marketing Week. He has also lectured on the topic of brand valuation for Harvard, Chicago, and London Business Schools.
David graduated from Bristol University with an English degree, qualified as a Chartered Accountant with Price Waterhouse in London, and obtained a postgraduate diploma in Marketing from the Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM). He is a Fellow of The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) and has a practising certificate with the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW).
David Nottage is an award-winning producer, director and executive producer with more than 25 years of experience in broadcast and branded content. In that time, he has devised and delivered content to many UK and International broadcasters including the BBC, ITV, Channel 4, UKTV and Discovery, with programmes selling around the world in all major markets. Alongside his programme making, David has developed an enviable reputation in a number of specialist fields, most notably for food and travel content. He has also been a leading light in the development of Advertiser Funded Programming and Branded Content.
David is currently MD of Rock Oyster Media, an independent production company he founded in 2019 with business partner Charlotte Davis. Headquartered in South West England with offices in London, Rock Oyster is a leading supplier of food and lifestyle programming to major national and international broadcasters and is currently ITV’s biggest independent supplier by volume.
Since 2018, Remi is COO at Choose Paris Region, managing global initiatives to offer a 360° experience for foreign investors and international talents seeking to bring impactful initiatives to the Paris Region. Additionally, Remi is Managing Director at Film Paris Region, promoting a vibrant ecosystem through the development of film and audiovisual production.
Prior to moving to Paris, he was working in Silicon Valley, as CEO for Choose Paris Region USA supporting transatlantic technological partnerships and open innovation initiatives between disruptive startups, Fortune 500 companies and world-class research institutes.
Remi also worked as an international Fintech specialist at Paris Region, connecting north American, European and Asian innovative companies as well as Fortune 500 groups with the French ecosystem, and supporting them in their expansion on the European market from the Paris Region. He was deeply involved in attracting corporate venture and impact investment funds in direction of French innovative companies. Remi’s professional background also combines more than 10 years of experience in investors relations in the investment banking industry with major European groups. Remi holds a Master of Sciences in Management from EM-Lyon and is a former visiting student from Colombia University in Comparative Politics and in Psychology.
Sarah Lehman is a dynamic leader, innovator, and the current CEO of Zartico. Her vision and leadership have been instrumental in shaping the company's path as makers of the first Destination Operating System. Zartico harnesses the power of data science, AI, and technology to create strategic planning and optimization solutions for destination leaders throughout North America.
Before stepping into her role at Zartico, Sarah Lehman was the CEO/President of ENVE Composites. Under her leadership, the company transformed from a startup into one of the most viable businesses in the cycling industry. This journey culminated in the successful sale of ENVE to Amer Sports Group. Her leadership at ENVE earned her prestigious accolades, including CEO of the Year by Utah Business Magazine, Entrepreneur of the Year by Ernst & Young, and the Women in Technology Award.
Lehman also brings over twenty years of experience from the biotech and pharmaceutical sectors, where she held various marketing, sales, and operational roles. She holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and a BA/BS from Boston University.
Lehman serves on several boards, including Visit Salt Lake City Board, U.S. Travel Board, and is current Board Chair of the Rowland Hall Board of Trustees. She has also served as Chapter Chair for Utah’s Young Presidents Organization and was a member of the Governor’s Economic Council, Utah’s STEM Action Center, and Utah’s Commission for Higher Education.
In her free time, she enjoys spending her free time hiking, biking, and traveling with her husband and three children. A native of Green Bay, Wisconsin, she is also a passionate Packers fan.
Rt Hon Boris Johnson MP served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Leader of the Conservative Party, Foreign Secretary, Mayor of London and is the Member of Parliament for Uxbridge and South Ruislip.
In 2019 he led the Conservative Party to an extraordinary election victory, winning their biggest majority in the House of Commons since 1987 and the highest share of the vote of any party since 1979. The result was a major realignment in British politics, with Boris Johnson’s Conservatives winning unprecedented support in areas they had never before represented.
Delivering Brexit - the UK’s exit from the European Union - was Mr Johnson’s first major achievement in Downing Street. His government shattered the political and parliamentary deadlock that crippled the process since the 2016 referendum result. Under Mr Johnson’s leadership, the UK restored sovereign control over its borders, economy and lawmaking, finally enacting the will of the British people.
At home, he unleashed a visionary agenda of domestic policy reform, with a focus on infrastructure, education and technology. He worked to ‘unite and level up’ the country, a major cross-government project to address regional economic and social disparities with his ‘levelling up’ agenda. He worked to protect the union of England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, and tackled unresolved challenges avoided by other administrations, such as adult social care.
When Covid-19 struck, he led the UK through the darkest days of the pandemic, at one point becoming seriously ill from the disease. He commissioned the world’s foremost scientists and industrialists to work on a UK vaccine, resulting in the discovery of the Oxford AstraZeneca jab. His government delivered the fastest vaccine rollout in Europe and the fastest booster rollout, allowing the UK economy to reopen and lifting restrictions more quickly than comparable countries. Under Mr Johnson’s leadership, the UK emerged from the global crisis as the fastest growing economy in the G7.
More recently, Mr Johnson emerged as the preeminent global leader in the effort to support Ukraine in its fight against Russian invasion. Under his leadership the UK committed more than £2.4 billion in military assistance, huge humanitarian support and became Ukraine’s foremost European political partner. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is a close friend. The Kremlin said it considers Mr Johnson ‘enemy number one’.
Mr Johnson first entered Parliament in 2001 as MP for Henley. He was twice elected Mayor of London (with the biggest personal mandate ever won in British politics). As Mayor he oversaw the London 2012 Olympic Games, commissioned the new Routemaster bus, and introduced the now-ubiquitous “Boris Bike” cycle hire scheme.
After being returned to the House of Commons in 2015, Mr Johnson served as Foreign Secretary, prioritising global development work on girls’ education and female empowerment. He also led the Foreign Office response to Russia’s use of a nerve agent on the streets of the English city of Salisbury.
In addition to his work in politics, Mr Johnson is an award-winning journalist, writer and editor. He is the author of almost a dozen books, from the globally bestselling historical biography of Winston Churchill, The Churchill Factor, to the self-illustrated children’s book The Perils Of Pushy Parents. He edited the Spectator magazine for six years and has written for dozens of major publications including, most notably, London’s Daily Telegraph.
Mr Johnson, who was born in New York City, has a special affection for the United States. He was educated at Eton College and the University of Oxford, and married his wife, Carrie, in May 2021.
Andrew Neil is a publisher, broadcaster, speaker and company chairman working out of London, New York, Dubai and the Côte d’Azur.
In March 2015 The Times said: “The ultimate test for assessing whether a party leader was fit to be Prime Minister is to put them in front of Andrew Neil for 40 minutes, the most forensic interviewer in broadcasting.”
In April 2016, a poll of UK Members of Parliament voted him the best overall political journalist in the country.
In the 2019 General Election his prime-time interviews with the party leaders were among the most talked-about broadcast events of the election, including the one Boris Johnson refused to do!
In the course of his career, he has interviewed seminal world leaders such Kofi Anan, Richard Nixon, Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan; Tony Blair, Margaret Thatcher and Boris Johnson; Boris Yeltsin; Nicholas Sarkozy and Valery Giscard D’Estaing; PW Botha.
In September 2020 he announced he was leaving the BBC to be Chairman and lead prime time presenter of GB News, a new news channel to be launched early 2021. He left GBN shortly after its launch in June 2021, citing irreconcilable differences about the direction of the channel with the Board and CEO.
In May 2022 he launched a new political programme, The Andrew Neil Show, for Britain’s Channel 4 Network. In the aftermath of the Queen’s death he hosted a 90-minute special prime time discussion programme for Channel 4
His final major broadcast for the BBC was to anchor BBC TV’s 10-hour global coverage (BBC1, BBC News and BBC World) of the US election results on November 3rd, as he did from Times Square in 2016.
Peggy Liu, Chairperson of JUCCCE, is a leading environmentalist at the heart of the greening of China since 2007. Named the "Green Goddess of China" by Chinese press, she travels the world to consult companies and governments on how to catalyze societal-scale change, scale sustainable innovation, and collaborate with China.
Peggy keynotes around the world on lessons she learnt in tackling China's toughest environmental challenges: pollution, urbanization, epidemics, drought, obesity and diabetes.
Introduced Smart Grid to China and catalysed the revolution of electricity distribution to allow for renewable energies and energy efficiency at scale. Now China is the world leader in implementing Smart Grid innovations.
Catalysed China’s change from incandescent lighting to energy efficient lighting, the largest leverage point in saving energy. Now China is the world leader in LEDs.
Launched Food Heroes in 2013, teaching young kids and parents to eat in a way that is good for themselves and the planet. Now China's diets are incorporating more planetary friendly foods and food waste policies are strictly implemented.
Peggy is a World Economic Forum Young Global Leader. She was awarded the "Nobel" of climate change, the "Hillary Step". The Economist called her "one of the most innovative thinkers in Asia." Previously, she was a venture capitalist and founded one of the earliest ecommerce companies in Silicon Valley. A "Red Herring" cover story dubbed her an "Internet Pioneer". She started her career as an MIT-trained engineer and McKinsey consultant.
Fredrik Reinfeldt has been active in Swedish and international politics for over 25 years. As Party leader and Swedish Prime Minister, Mr Reinfeldt reinvented the Moderate Party (centre-right) and formed a four-party alliance that won two successive elections.
Today Mr Reinfeldt is active giving lectures on geopolitical situation, leadership, economy and European and Nordic politics.
In August 2019 he was appointed chair of the newly formed Centrum for AMP. Centrum for AMP is a centre of excellence in the field of activating public spaces. It´s a Swedish model of the BID-concept (Business improvement district) that successfully has been used in for example New York and London.
During the years 2016-2019 Mr Reinfeldt held the post as chair to the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI). The EITI is an international coalition of stakeholders working together to promote open and accountable management of natural resources.
In May 2022 Mr Reinfeldt was appointed chair of Visita. Visita represents approximately 8.000 hotels, restaurants and other enterprises in the Swedish hospitality sector.
Since May 2021 Mr Reinfeldt is chair of Drivkraft Sverige. The Swedish Industry Organisation for Sustainable and Innovative Mobility (Drivkraft Sverige) is a national industry organisation for fuel and biofuel producers and marketing companies its members. Drivkraft Sverige works actively with the change to a carbon neutral society by 2045.
Nuseir Yassin is the Founder and CEO of - Nas Company and Nas Studios, with over 60 Million followers across the world. Nas.io and Nas Academy are housed under Nas Company with the mission to Bring People Together by building innovative education and community tools for creators.
Nuseir started out by creating of a Facebook page known as Nas Daily, where he would create and release a one-minute-long video daily for 1,000 days. After meeting Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg in early 2018, Nas Daily was upgraded to "show" status, and by September 2018, his page had amassed over 8 million followers.
In 2020, Yassin created Nas Academy, a school for video creators and Nas Studios, a video-production studio. He also released a series of podcasts.
H.E Dr. Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi is UAE Minister of State for Foreign Trade, a position he has held since July 2020. His primary responsibility is to oversee the development of non-oil foreign trade, the expansion of global trade partnerships and the increase of UAE exports.
His Excellency is currently presiding over the nation’s efforts to secure Comprehensive Economic Partnerships Agreements with strategic allies around the world, a key part of the UAE’s efforts to boost exports by at least 50 percent by 2030. In May 2022, the first of these CEPAs, and the first ever bilateral deal signed by the UAE, was concluded with long-standing trade and investment partner India.
His Excellency also leads the efforts to enhance the UAE’s investment climate and strengthen its position as a prime destination for business and investments at both regional and global levels. This includes his portfolio as Minister in Charge of Talent Attraction and Retention, in which he ensures the best global talents have the pathways, incentives and opportunities to contribute to the UAE’s long-term economic objectives.
Dr Thani serves as Vice Chairman of the Industry Development Council and Chairman of the Council’s Executive Committee, as well as Deputy Chairman of Etihad Credit Insurance’s Board of Directors. His Excellency is also a member of the Supreme Committee for the 28th Conference of the Parties (COP28), the decision-making body of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.
Prior to his appointment as the Minister of State for Foreign Trade, H.E. held the position of Minister of Climate Change and Environment and supervised the implementation of the country’s strategies on climate action, agricultural development, animal husbandry and fisheries, in addition to combating desertification and preserving biodiversity. He led efforts to enhance the sustainability of natural systems, food diversity and the transition to a green economy.
His Excellency led the UAE’s efforts to mitigate and adapt to the impact of climate change, and protect the country's natural ecosystem by developing and implementing a set of effective policies and initiatives to achieve sustainable development at both regional and international levels. This was achieved by forging and strengthening partnerships with government and private sector entities, ensuring food security and biosafety in the country as well as increasing the quality of national agricultural production.
H.E. has also served as the Director of the Department of Energy and Climate Change at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation and was appointed as the UAE’s Permanent Representative to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) as extraordinary Ambassador.
Minister Al Zeyoudi started his career as an oil engineer at the Abu Dhabi Marine Operating Company (ADMA-OPCO), and then moved to Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company (Masdar), where he worked on the development of renewable and clean energy technologies and solutions. He also played a key role in the success of the UAE’s 2009 campaign to host the headquarters of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) in Abu Dhabi.
In 2020, H.E. was chosen by the Davos World Economic Forum to become a member of the Young Global Leadership Council, recognizing his outstanding international efforts in the field of environment and climate. In 2015, Dr. Al Zeyoudi received the first award for Excellence from the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf in recognition of his pioneering efforts in the field of renewable energy.
Deborah Bonetti is the Director of the Foreign Press Association in London and the UK Correspondent for Il Giorno, an Italian national daily newspaper.
She is a member of the UK Lobby and Chair of the Foreign Lobby (the group of International Journalists who have regular briefings with departments of State and Number 10 Downing Street).
She is also an Observer on the National Committee for the Safety of Journalists (DCMS) and a Royal Commentator on various outlets, including RAI (the Italian public broadcaster).
She has co-written a book on “Boris Johnson, the Media and the Pandemic” and one on Brexit, titled: “Do They Mean us? The Foreign Correspondents’ View on Brexit”, both published by Bite-Sized Books.
Robert leads Brand Finance’s sustainability research and consulting practice – advising businesses on the role perceived sustainability plays in helping businesses to grow revenue, attract talent, and access finance and how they can maximise these benefits.
Robert has a longstanding interest in sustainability and the role of brands in delivering better environmental and social outcomes and is overseeing Brand Finance’s approach to addressing its own sustainability.
He holds an undergraduate degree in Geography from the University of Oxford, and more recently completed a course with Cambridge Judge Business School on the Circular Economy and Sustainability Strategies.
In his spare time Robert volunteers with the Blockchain and Climate Institute, a progressive think tank providing expertise in the deployment of emerging technologies for climate and sustainability actions.
Mishal was a former presenter on BBC World News, spending time in Singapore and Washington as well as presenting live on location from around the world in places as far and wide as Abu Dhabi, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, China, Egypt and Norway. She has covered international summits, royal weddings, assassinations and reported from refugee camps as well as live stories documenting the deaths of Osama bin Laden and Benazir Bhutto.
She is now part of the Radio 4 Today presenting team, reads the Sunday evening bulletin on BBC1 and appears across BBC News. Her first book, The Skills: From First Job to Dream Job – What Every Woman Needs to Know was published in 2018.
Helen Brocklebank is the Chief Executive of Walpole, the industry association for the British Luxury sector. Walpole's mission is to promote, protect and develop luxury in the UK in fashion, automotive, retail, e-commerce, wines and spirits, hospitality, jewellery and watches, small leather goods, ceramics. It represents 270 British luxury brands and develops a pipeline of economic growth for the sector through its flagship programme, Brands of Tomorrow, which invests the time and talents of established luxury players into 12 fledgling brands each year. In 2020, Walpole launched the British Luxury Sustainability Manifesto, developed with McKinsey.
In addition to her role at Walpole, Helen is an Executive Member of ECCIA, the European Cultural and Creative Industries Alliance, working with sister luxury associations across Europe to ensure the legislative and regulatory framework supports and protects the business of luxury. She is also a Member of the DIT Trade Advisory Group for British Manufactured and Consumer Goods, Chair of Consumer Goods Advisory Group and is a Member of the London Philharmonic Orchestra Advisory Council and on the Duke of Edinburgh's Women in Business Committee.
Veetika is an experienced professional with varied sectoral background across - Hospitality, Retail, Financial Services, Telecom and Consumer Goods. Skilled in Digital Strategy, Data and Analytics, Business Planning, Strategic Planning, Product Management, Consumer Strategy, Brand and Marketing Management and PR.
She has a strong marketing and finance professional with a Fulbright Scholarship for Leadership and Strategy from Carnegie Mellon University - Tepper School of Business
Since joining Women in Sport in 2019 Steph has renewed the charity’s strategy based on its proud 40 year history and has developed the charity around its existing strengths in insights and research. As CEO she has been making sure the charity is tackling major policy issues, growing its influence in government and its partnerships in sport, whilst diversifying its people and its funding base. Before Women in Sport, Steph was CEO of a major environment movement and campaigned on climate change and nature’s recovery. She is experienced in achieving legislative change and is a strong advocate for the outdoors, active living and team sport. She is passionate about freeing up the lives of women and girls in all their diversity to experience the joy of sport. She believes it is wrong that so many women and girls are missing out on the wellbeing, resilience and leadership skills sport can instil.
Harold Thomas was born in 1947 in Alice Springs, in the Northern Territory, Australia. His mother was a Luritja woman and his father a Wombai man. A member of the stolen generation he was taken from his family at the age of seven and sent to South Australia’s St Frances House, an Anglican institution for Aboriginal boys. When he was eleven he was fostered by an Anglican priest and his family, who lived in Willunga, south of Adelaide, South Australia.
Harold started out on the long journey as an artist after winning a scholarship to the South Australian School of Art at the age of seventeen. He went on to become the first Aboriginal to graduate from an Australian art school. Later, he was awarded an honorary degree in social anthropology from Adelaide University.
In 1970 Harold Thomas started working as a survey artist at the South Australian Museum. He took advantage of the rich cultural collection, immersing himself in Aboriginal art and artefacts.
While studying, Harold became involved in the Civil Rights Movement. In 1971 Harold created a bold graphic artwork which was adopted for the Australian Aboriginal flag, first flown in Victoria Square, Adelaide, at the NADOC march. To this day the Aboriginal Flag remains a strong and unifying symbol for Aboriginal rights and justice. “In my university days there was a question of identity amongst Aboriginal people”, Harold says. “People stood up during marches for civil rights to express their Aboriginal identity. The flag stood for all of that. The colours reflect an awakening of their emerging political consciousness.”
Over fifty years have passed since the Aboriginal Flag’s creation. It is a national flag of Australia and copyright now belongs to the Commonwealth of Australia, as custodian for the people of Australia.
Harold says: “When I created the Flag, I created it as a symbol of unity and pride. That pride we have for our identity that harks back to the birthing of our dreaming, to the present existence and beyond. And we humble ourselves and give homage to all that has been created and left for us. The Aboriginal Flag was never intended to be a political platform. In the future, the Flag will remain, not as a symbol of struggle, but as a symbol of pride and unity.”
“My people’s capacity to rise above such depressing circumstances to express themselves in art is one of the greatest phenomenal art movements in the world. And what it has given to Australia as a nation is the finest gift and contribution to its identity as a whole.”
Corrs Chambers Westgarth is Australia’s leading independent law firm with a full-service offering, a team of over 1000 people and a 175-year history of legal excellence in Australia.
Chrystal Dare is one of Corrs’ leading IP practitioners with over 15 years’ experience advising Australian and international clients on intellectual property issues.
Chrystal is a copyright specialist and expert in trade marks and brand protection.
Chrystal led Corrs’ team acting in one of Australia’s most significant copyright matters, negotiating the ultimate assignment of copyright in the Australian Aboriginal Flag by Harold Thomas to the Commonwealth of Australia – a ~$20m deal announced by the Australian Prime Minister in 2022, and one of the largest art transactions in Australia’s history.
Aside from her strong IP advisory and litigation practice, Chrystal is passionate about shaping the future of Australia’s IP system to properly recognise and protect Australian Indigenous cultural knowledge and Indigenous art.
Chrystal also sits on the board of the peak body for art galleries, the Public Galleries Association of Victoria (PGAV) – representing over 60 art galleries in Australia who together reach 5.3 million visitors annually – and in that role advocates for greater inclusion and profiling of Australian Indigenous art and artists.
Professor Dr Megan Davis grew up in Eagleby and Hervey Bay and is a Cobble Cobble woman of the Barunggam Nation. Prof. Davis is the Pro Vice-Chancellor Society (PVCS) at UNSW Sydney. Professor Davis is also the Balnaves Chair of Constitutional Law, a Professor of Law and Director of the Indigenous Law Centre UNSW Law.
She is a renowned constitutional lawyer and public law expert, focusing on the human rights of First Nations peoples. She has been a leading lawyer on constitutional reform for the recognition of First Nations rights for two decades and has led the Uluru Statement from the Heart work for the past five years. She was a Commissioner on the QLD Commission of Inquiry into Youth Detention Centres in 2016 and was the Chair and author of ‘Family is Culture’, an inquiry into NSW Aboriginal Out of Home care (2017-2019).
She is a globally recognised expert in Indigenous rights and was elected by the UN Human Rights Council to the United Nations Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples based in Geneva in 2017 and again in 2019 (2019-2022) and was previously elected by the Economic and Social Council in New York serving for six years as an expert member and Chair of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, UN Headquarters in New York (2011-2016).
Prof Davis is an Acting Commissioner of the NSW Land and Environment Court, a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Law, and a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Social Sciences. She is a Commissioner on the Australian Rugby League Commission, a director on the Cowboys Community Foundation Board, a Commissioner for Western Australia Rugby League Commission and director on the International Rugby League board.
Ed Vaizey (Lord Vaizey of Didcot) is a senior British politician who is the UK’s longest-serving Minister for Technology and the creative industries. During his time in office, Ed transformed the technology scene in the UK, leading huge investment in tech, film, TV and video games, and supporting the UK’s start-up scene. He even received a credit in a Star Wars movie for his hard work!
Now an adviser to multiple technology companies and funds, Ed can speak knowledgeably and entertainingly about the UK and global tech and creative ecosystem and emerging trends in many different areas.
As well as being a member of the House of Lords, Ed is a successful writer and broadcaster, presenting Times Radio’s flagship Friday evening show every week.
Hugo is Head of Sports Services, and works with corporate sponsors and rights holders on brand valuation, sponsorship return on investment and sponsorship strategy.
He has worked across football, motorsports, rugby, and other sports, consulting on brand strategy and sponsorships of teams, organization, stadia and competitions.
Hugo is also experienced in Brand and Business Valuation, Business Strategy, Tax & transfer pricing, Reputational Damage Litigation and valuation for M&A.
Hugo is a chartered accountant, ACA, and graduated from the University of Oxford with a MEng degree in Engineering, focusing on Biotechnology and Energy.
Richard has over a decade in value-based marketing, brand valuation and intangible asset valuation. He sat on the ISO Technical Committee 289 on Brand Valuation and contributed to the Brand Evaluation standard ISO 20671. He lectures on brand valuation and other topics to business schools and has a regular guest lecture series at London Business School.
While at Brand Finance he has overseen an array of the internal initiatives and studies while also leading many of the client relationships. With experience from B2B and B2C industries and brands, Richard has worked across all of Brand Finance’s service lines as a Chartered Accountant (ACA) and member of the Chartered Institute of Marketing but particularly specialises in valuation.
In addition, he has a BA in Mathematics from the University of Oxford.
Jack Sim, Founded the World Toilet Organization in 2001 and broke the taboo on the unspeakable agenda of toilets and sanitation. With his unique blend of humour and serious facts, he is the Voice of Sanitation, triggering governments all over the world to prioritise sanitation for their people.
WTO's founding day 19 Nov was unanimously approved by all 193 countries of the UN General Assembly as the Official UN World Toilet Day.
He was named Time Magazine's Hero of the Environment, Schwab Fellow of the World Economic Forum, Queen Elizabeth's Commonwealth Points of Light Awardee, and he received an Honorary Doctorate Degree from the University of Strathclyde last year.
David is a Brand Consultant specialising in personal, corporate and sports brands.
For nine seasons, he was the external brand consultant to the Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 team. He worked behind the scenes advising the team, drivers and the team principle on brand and reputation management. This has given him a unique insight into how sport is used by nation states and major corporations to influence their audiences.
He’s has also worked with INEOS to support them as they developed a brand that could work across a global business and a diverse portfolio of high-profile sports teams.
He has had a twenty-year career in marketing in the technology industry with companies such as Dell, Compaq, Intel and Xerox, encompassing senior roles in a variety of marketing disciplines.
Samantha is VP of Advertising Sales within the international commercial arm of the BBC. She is also co-president of the World Media Group, an alliance of leading, global media organisations, united in providing trusted and renowned journalism.
She joined the BBC in 2019 and is responsible for developing the BBC's sales strategy and creating innovative partnerships to enable clients to tell authentic brand stories. Across her career she has worked on partnerships with Rolex, Corteva, FedEx, Ministry of Tourism India and Bosch to name a few.
Prior to joining the BBC, Samantha worked at some of the world's leading media brands including The New York Times and Dow Jones, gaining extensive experience across branded content, TV, digital, programmatic and print media.
Alessio Nesi is a Creative Director who specialises in content marketing campaigns and ad funded editorial content.
In previous roles, he ran ground-breaking content campaigns for world class brands at Vice Media, and NBCUniversal. There, he specialised in the production of advertising and editorial content (video, written and graphic) both for brands and for publishers.
Eight years ago, Alessio started at the BBC, where he has helped set-up the award-winning branded content arm, BBC StoryWorks. He is passionate about cinema, technology, and digital products, and has a deep interest in advertising and the world of content. His role focuses on translating brand sentiment into online films and TV commercials, where the creative vision meets the commercial need.
Saskia Tidey is a double Olympian in the sport of sailing. Tidey holds dual nationality both Irish & British. After representing Team Ireland at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games in the 49er FX women’s skiff, Tidey switched to Team GB for Tokyo 2020 placing 6th.
Saskia has had multiple medal success at 49er FX European, World, and World Cup championship during the Tokyo Cycle.
In Tokyo, Tidey and her teammate Charlotte Dobson made the perfect start with a double win of the first to races at the Olympic Games. Narrowly missing our on the podium and overall finished in 6th.
Dobson subsequently retired from Olympic sailing. Tidey is currently pursuing her third Olympics with the goal to represent Team GB and challenge gold in Paris 2024 with her new team mate Freya Black.
Tetyana Filevska is a creative director of the Ukrainian Institute, Ukraine’s cultural diplomacy organisation. Art-manager, curator and writer. Her background is in philosophy with experience in contemporary art and Ukrainian art history of the 20 century. Author of the books “KAZIMIR MALEVICH. Kyiv Period 1928-1930″, “Kazimir Malevich. Kyiv Aspect” and ” Dmitro Gorbachov. Sluchayi “. Worked in various art institutions in Ukraine. Tetyana curated a public programme of the Ukrainian Pavilion at the 59th Venice Biennale dedicated to decolonisation.
David Gilbert serves as President and CEO of Greater Cleveland Sports Commission, an organization dedicated to making Greater Cleveland the nation’s foremost destination for amateur sporting events and activities, and Destination Cleveland, the region’s destination marketing and management organization. He re-established the Sports Commission in 2000 and assumed his role with Destination Cleveland in 2011. From April 2015 through December 2017, David also served as the president and CEO of the Cleveland 2016 Host Committee for the Republican National Convention.
Greater Cleveland Sports Commission is responsible for attracting, creating, managing, and enhancing significant sporting and competitive events. Since 2000, the organization has attracted over 200 events including the NFL Draft, MLB All-Star Game, NBA All-Star Weekend and NCAA Women’s Final Four in addition to the upcoming 2024 Pan-American Maters Games. These events have contributed more than $820 million in local economic impact.
At Destination Cleveland, Gilbert is responsible for carrying out the organization’s mission to drive economic impact and stimulate community vitality by positioning and promoting Cleveland as an exciting, vibrant destination. Under his leadership, visitation and economic impact increased dramatically for nine consecutive years (2011-2019) before the onset of the COVID-19 global pandemic. During that time, annual visitation grew at a pace greater than the U.S. visitation growth rate.
Gilbert serves as vice president on the board of the International Children’s Games, based in Lausanne, Switzerland, and sits of the boards of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, Huntington Convention Center of Cleveland and the U.S. Travel and Tourism Advisory Board of the Department of Commerce. He was named by Crain’s Cleveland Business as one of Cleveland’s “30 influencers of the past 30 years,” Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year and in 2016, he received the SME Cleveland Business Executive of the Year Award.
Gilbert has a Bachelor of Arts degree in marketing from The Ohio State University and an MBA from Cleveland State University.
Claire de Braekeleer is Regional Arts Director, Wider Europe for the British Council. She leads the strategic direction and delivery of a portfolio across 15 countries, including Ukraine, and actively led the development of the UK/Ukraine Season of Culture 2022/23. Claire has held other senior roles for the British Council covering arts, education, partnerships and communications, and has been based in Istanbul, Cairo and Moscow. She has an MA in Cultural and Creative Industries from King’s College London.
Dmytro Kuleba was born in 1981 in Sumy, Ukraine.
In 2003, Dmytro Kuleba graduated with honour from Institute of International Relations, Taras Shevchenko University (Kyiv,Ukraine), where he studied international law. In 2006 Mr.Kuleba obtained Ph.D. in Law.
From 2003 to 2010 he worked at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and at the Permanent Mission of Ukraine to the OSCE.
He also worked at the office of Ukraine’s Foreign Minister from 2010 to 2013 in charge of the issues related to the image of Ukraine abroad, international organizations, relations with the United States.
During January-June 2013, Mr.Kuleba served as advisor to Deputy Prime Minister for Humanitarian Affairs.
After quitting civil service in 2013, Dmytro Kuleba chaired the Board of the UART Foundation for Cultural Diplomacy.
In 2014 Dmytro Kuleba returned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as Ambassador-at-Large to launch strategic communications. He introduced the concepts of digital diplomacy, strategic communications, cultural diplomacy and public diplomacy into the Ministry’s work.
In 2016 Mr. Kuleba was appointed as Permanent Representative of Ukraine to the Council of Europe.
From August 2019 to March 2020 – Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration of Ukraine.
Minister for Foreign Affairs of Ukraine since March 04, 2020.
Dmytro Kuleba is author of a book "The War for Reality. How to Win in the World of Fakes, Truths and Communities".
Martin Green is currently BBC’s Managing Director of Eurovision Song Contest 2023 where he is responsible for leading and overseeing all aspects of this milestone event in UK broadcasting history. An accomplished leader with over twenty years’ experience in major global events he has earned an international reputation for delivering world-class, large-scale productions. Before joining the BBC he was the Chief Creative Officer of Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games where he delivered the opening and closing ceremonies alongside a major cultural programme, and Chief Creative Officer of Unboxed: Creativity in the UK. Prior to that he was CEO of Hull UK City of Culture 2017, a ground-breaking world class arts festival that reinvigorated the city and as Head of Ceremonies for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, he oversaw the delivery of the Torch Relays and Opening and Closing Ceremonies of the Games – showcasing the best of British culture on a global stage.
Dr. Giannina Warren is a Senior Lecturer in Place Branding and Promotional Culture at Middlesex University, London UK. Her research examines the intersection of promotion and policy in the development of ‘Creative Cities’, identifying ways in which private sector discipline in consumer research, marketing, branding and PR can help guide cultural public policy and sustainable urban planning for competitive cities and regions in the 21st century. Her work has been published in Tourism Management, Annals of Tourism Research, Marketing Theory, Journal of Place Management and Development and International Journal of Tourism Cities.
Prior to embarking on her postgraduate studies in the UK, her career spanned 17 years in Toronto, Canada as a specialist in visual identity, branding, advertising and public relations in high impact sectors such as finance, energy, legal, tourism, festivals and economic development. She spent six years at Toronto City Hall, managing city branding strategies, international promotional campaigns for public cultural events, resident-engagement programmes and tourism initiatives.
David Magliano played a lead role in two of the highest-profile campaigns of recent times as Director of Marketing of the London 2012 Olympic bid, and as Director of Commercial and Marketing for the England 2018 FIFA World Cup bid.
David was one of the first employees at London 2012, the organisation which bid to host the 2012 Olympic Games. David worked with Sebastian Coe to promote London's candidature to the International Olympic Committee, and to build support for the bid at home and around the world. He was responsible for the bid's marketing strategy, and technical proposals relating to the marketing of the Games themselves. David devised and directed the crucial final presentation in Singapore, described as the fiercest competitive pitch of all time.
David performed the same role at the FA for England's bid to host the 2018 FIFA World Cup, although with markedly less success.
David has been UK Marketer of the Year twice, and Advertising Age's Global CMO of the Year. He was awarded an MBE in 2006.
Latika Bourke is a journalist with The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age based in London.
She has been based in the UK for seven years and previously covered federal politics in the Canberra press gallery. In London, she covers and writes opinion pieces on a range of topics including her specialty Australian politics, British politics, foreign affairs as well as the arts, travel and business.
Latika began her career as a radio presenter in her home town of Bathurst in country New South Wales in Australia before joining the Sydney Radio 2UE newsroom. She was posted to Canberra in 2008 and quickly rose to become one of the press gallery's most prominent news breaking journalists and also widely regarded for her innovative use of social media for both newsgathering and news-telling. Between 2010 and 2014, she worked in television and online as a Political reporter for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
In 2015, Allen & Unwin published her first book, From India with Love, a memoir about being adopted into an Australian family as a baby from India.
She is an experienced moderator and MC and regularly appears as a guest and panelist on Australian and British television programs.
In 2018, Pumela was featured as a POWERHOUSE in DESTINY magazine. She is the 2018 recipient of the African Achiever Award. In 2019 she received the BRITISH Award for African Development. Prior to serving in this role Pumela was the Chief Director for Economic Policy Development and Planning at the Department of Economic Development in South Africa.
The Rockefeller Foundation acknowledged her contribution and innovation in formulating systems which address poverty by selecting Salela to be one the 18 global recipients of the foundation’s inaugural Global Fellowship on Social Innovation–an only South African to receive the honour. Pumela has also worked as a Consultant for the World Bank, based at the organisation’s headquarters in United States, Washington D.C. and a Director: BPO at the dti, South Africa, The Director role was preceded by her position as Deputy Director for Investment Promotion at Trade and Investment South Africa. She has also been a lecturer in Strategic Brand Management at VEGA, The School of Branding.
Salela studied to complete her MBA with distinction (cum laude) in England through a Nelson Mandela Scholarship where she received the Council Award for being the Best MBA student. Pumela is the Chairperson of the Nelson Mandela Scholarship Alumni Association and a Mentor to Graca Machel Scholars. She is featured in the 2013 issue of the book: South Africa’s Most Inspirational Women. She has also been featured in the 2012 issue of DESTINY magazine as one of South Africa’s Young and Powerful Achievers. In 2013 the DESTINY magazine showcased her as one of the Top 40 young leaders, innovators and job creators in South Africa. Ms Salela has served as an On-air Advisor to investors on an Entrepreneurship Television Show called Rize Mzansi (Rise South Africa).
Olena Zelenska has been a member of the Kvartal 95 studio team since its foundation. The studio is engaged in the production of show projects, entertainment programs, movies, series and is the most famous and the most rated in Ukraine.
Mrs. Olena is a member of the author group and participates in writing texts for all projects of the Kvartal 95 studio, worked on the concept of "Make the Comedian Laugh" program and was one of the screenwriters of “Like the Cossacks…” comedy. She is also one of the producers of "Women's Kvartal" project.
On January 13, 2020, she became a member of the Development Council of the Mystetskyi Arsenal National Art and Culture Museum Complex.
On September 11, 2020, at the initiative of the President's wife, Ukraine joined the Biarritz Partnership, undertaking commitments in the areas of gender equality and the development of barrier-free public space.
In the humanitarian sphere, Olena Zelenska takes care of sending orphans for a long-term stay abroad. The First Lady also oversees humanitarian aid to family-type orphanages, large families, and elderly people who have remained and live in the liberated territories.
To reinforce the connection with the Homeland for forcibly displaced people, the First Lady initiated the project "Books without borders". 260,000 books in Ukrainian were printed for children who left their homes due to Russian aggression and found shelter in 20 countries.
In June 2022, together with the First Lady of Latvia, she opened a joint summer camp for Ukrainian and Latvian schoolchildren on the basis of the Riga Ukrainian Secondary School. And together with the First Lady of Lithuania, she opened the first Ukrainian center in the European Union in Vilnius for citizens who were forced to leave Ukraine. It will become a place of training, career counseling, psychological help, recreation for children, youth and adults. It is also a platform for cultural diplomacy between countries.
On September 22, Olena Zelenska presented her Foundation during a charity evening in New York during the 77th UN General Assembly.
The Foundation's primary goal is to restore Ukraine's human capital so that every Ukrainian feels physically and mentally healthy, protected, and able to exercise their right to education, work, and build a future in Ukraine.
Dhanushika is a Chartered Certified Accountant and she joined Brand Finance in May 2017, prior to which she worked as a qualified accountant at Ernst & Young, Sri Lanka.
During her tenure at Brand Finance, she has been involved in projects covering business and brand valuations serving global clients with exposure in professional services and oil and gas sectors. In addition, Dhanushika is extensively involved in Brand Finance’s Place Brand Valuations.
Dhanushika also holds a Master’s in Business Administration from the University of West London.
Benedict joined Brand Finance as an Analyst having prior experience in valuation, market research and data analysis.
He graduated from the University of Cape Town with majors in Economics and Marketing whilst further completing a BCom (Hons) Financial Analysis and Portfolio Management. Benedict is also a CIMA qualified management accountant and has worked on brand valuation and evaluation projects serving global clients in sectors such as banking, telecoms and oil & gas.
Furthermore, Benedict works within the Brand Finance research team with experience in research and survey statistics and works as a senior member within the Brand Finance Africa team.
Executive Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer
Cecilia Kushner is the Chief Strategy Officer, a role in which she leads multidisciplinary teams to deliver projects and programs focused on developing emerging sectors equitably and building neighborhoods of economic success. Prior to her current role, Cecilia spent over a decade working for the City on a range of infrastructure, transit operations, land use, and community development programs and policies, most recently as the Executive Vice President for Planning and NYC Ferry at NYCEDC, and earlier at the Department of City Planning in the Brooklyn, Resiliency, and Executive Offices.
Prior to immigrating to New York City in 2005 from France, Cecilia lived in London for two years, working on economic analysis for historic preservation. Cecilia received her bachelor’s degree from La Sorbonne and holds a master’s degree in historic preservation from the Bartlett School of Planning at University College London, and a master’s degree in city planning from Hunter College, where she has taught planning as an adjunct. She lives in Brooklyn with her husband and two children.
Director of Riga Investment and Tourism Agency
Fredis Bikovs has obtained a double master's degree in business management and finance at the University of Banking and the Swiss Business School.
His previous work experience is related to customer service, international projects and financial management in international companies, including "Transcom Worldwide Latvia", "Runway BPO", "Nordea Bank AB" Latvia branch. From 2017 to 2021, Mr. Bikovs was the director of the information technology company "EVRY Latvia", from 2019 to 2021 he held the position of chairman of the board of the business services industry association "ABSL Latvia".
Since 14.03.2022. he's been a director of Riga Investment and Tourism Agency.
Iina Ojala is the Director of City Marketing, International Relations, and Public Relations at City of Tampere. Tampere is among the fastest-growing city regions in Finland and has been consistently chosen as Finland’s most attractive city for business, living, studying, and tourism.
Ojala has been leading Tampere’s brand management since 2017, and with over 20 years of experience in her field, she has been involved in several major events projects in Tampere, such as EYOF 2009 and the IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship in 2022 and 2023.
Ojala holds a Master’s degree in Education, a specialist vocational degree in Marketing Communication, and she also has qualified studies in Tourism. Ojala is also a Board Professional having completed Certified Board Member studies to work at boards of various SMEs.
Nakyoung Kim is a city branding specialist and the Chief of the Brand Planning Team of Goyang city, Korea.
She believes that city branding is not just about city logos and slogans, but all the works that improve the competitiveness of a city and the value of citizen’s lives, and that the ultimate goal of city branding is to create a sustainable and livable city.
In addition to managing city branding, she has a 4-year career of destination marketing experience at MICE industry department. During this time, she ran the Destination Competitiveness Forum with Goyang CVB and she contributed to the designation of the Goyang International Meeting Complex Zone by the government. After transferring to the city branding department, she is in charge of the World Cities Forum.
In recognition of her contribution to fostering the MICE industry, she received a commendation from the Governor of Gyeonggi-do.
She holds a BA in English Language and Literature in Korea and a Master’s Degree in Events Management from Bournemouth University, UK.
Adriana Acosta is the Marketing and Communication Director of PROCOMER (The Costa Rican Foreign Trade Promoter) and oversees the strategic direction of the country brand Essential Costa Rica. Adriana has more than 20 years of experience in marketing and advertising, and she had been the head of conception and development of strategies for brands of diverse sectors such as real state, wines and distillates, premium brands, services, and fast-moving consumer goods.
Prior to joining PROCOMER, Adriana as a Marketing Director and Senior Executive, developed marketing strategies, frame and conduct marketing research, develop customer journeys and lead the social media and advertising strategy for different clients and companies. She also explored her entrepreneur side creating and managing her own advertising agency for 8 years.
Adriana is graduate of the Costa Rica University of Communication and Advertising program and has an MBA in Marketing. She has experience developing new business, leading marketing teams, managing the relation with advertising, social media and public relations agencies, commercial partners, press media and events agencies and has served as the spokesperson of different companies.
Amanda Lumley is Chief Executive of Destination Plymouth. She has a wealth of experience in tourism from leading UK national attractions such as Chester Zoo and Leeds Castle, to regional tourism partnerships Visit Essex, Visit Kent and most recently Plymouth, Britain’s Ocean City where she was involved in the Mayflower 400 programme for over 9 years.
As well as being the voice of the city’s visitor economy, she leads on the city’s brand strategy, Visitor Plan, marketing and digital strategy, events, major development projects, public space and place making.
Amanda is Immediate Past President, a Director and a Fellow of the Tourism Management Institute, a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Marketing and Co-Chair of the Great South West Tourism Partnership.
Mia is a seasoned executive providing strategic leadership in destination marketing and business development for the town of Vail, Colorado. Mia is passionate about smart growth that benefits benefit community and culture. Fully committed to principles of stewardship, Mia recently completed the adoption of Vail's Stewardship Roadmap, a ten-year vision that strives to create a balance between the tourism economy, the environment, and the community in Vail. Mia believes in creative consensus with a strong focus on maximizing innovation, technology, and data. A passionate advocate for brand, loyalty, and customer satisfaction, Mia works collaboratively with private and non-profit partners to ensure a positive customer experience. Her global sales and marketing experience provides a unique perspective, having lived in three different countries for over four years.
A place marketing, tourism and communications specialist, Cristian leads the team at Marketing Cheshire, the Local Visitor Economy Partnership for Cheshire and Warrington.
Previously, Cristian served as communications director at Staffordshire County Council, where he launched the We Are Staffordshire place marketing partnership to revolutionise promotion and marketing of the county. We are Staffordshire was shortlisted for City Nation Place international place brand of the year in 2022, the same year that Staffordshire won the comms2point0 Communications Team of the Year Award.
The ex-journalist worked in local government communications for 17 years at a number of London and Midlands Council, and was a peer reviewer for the Local Government Association.
Josh Tatum serves as the Director of Strategic Initiatives for Greater New Orleans, Inc. Tatum oversees regional competitive initiatives such as workforce development, ecosystem coordination, and go-to-market strategies that ensure the GNO region cultivates a business-friendly environment for business attraction and retention efforts. Tatum is responsible for overseeing GNO Inc.'s signature workforce development program, GNOu, and additional business environment initiatives that provide sustainable and equitable talent pipelines for jobs of today, and of tomorrow. Tatum works directly with industry and education leaders to create customized solutions that stimulate a thriving education to employment pipelines for industry’s continued growth. In addition, Tatum works on attraction projects and industry sector ecosystem development efforts that generate job growth and investments in the region.
Tatum is a graduate of North Carolina State University with a B.A. in Political Science and received his M.P.A. from East Carolina University. Before joining GNO Inc., Tatum began his economic development career with the Carolinas Gateway Partnership located in Rocky Mount, North Carolina. Tatum served as the Director of Research and Special Projects and was responsible for generating opportunities for existing and new industries to bring long-term investment and jobs to the region.
Jess Radford is the Acting CEO of Brand Tasmania, leading the organisation’s mission to define, amplify, and leverage Tasmania’s unique identity as a driver of social, economic, and cultural growth.
Brand Tasmania works closely with the community, using research-driven insights and engagement to develop projects that bring the brand to life across government, business, and society while addressing policy challenges and harnessing Tasmania’s distinct competitive advantages.
With a passion for Tasmanian-ness, Jess specialises in uniting diverse stakeholders, co-designing strategies, and shaping narratives that foster sustainable, thriving communities across the state. Her work ensures that Tasmania’s brand is a tool for meaningful action.
Jean Scheltema is Chief Marketing & Innovation Officer at Wesgro: the Official Tourism, Trade, Investment, Film Promotion Agency for Cape Town and Western Cape. She has 18 years' experience in strategic direction and marketing - overseeing approaches to enhance competitiveness and improve efficiencies. She champions transformative initiatives by aligning business strategy with innovative thinking.
Jean is an Oxford Said Business School Graduate, a Board Member at Silicon Cape, with significant time spent in the private sector before moving into the public sector.
She has won multiple local and global awards over the past decade for tourism, investment promotion, digital strategy and innovation. Wesgro became the first Tourism, Trade and Investment Promotion Agency to market a tourism destination in the Metaverse under Jean’s leadership. She has also driven the development of the Western Cape’s “Made in the Cape” region of origin exports brand, which uses product to tell the story of place and connects international buyers to the CapeTradePortal.com – a virtual matching platform, which has been locally and internationally lauded as an example of trade innovation.
Jean leads the Marketing, Research as well as the Policy and Advocacy units within Wesgro. She is also responsible for the data science capability, implementing a fully data-led approach to the mandates of the organisation. She has experience in managing complex stakeholders and delivering effective strategies that enhance the competitiveness of a destination. She has taken on the roles of IT Steering Committee Chairman, Member of the Global Tech Positioning project with the Western Cape Government and is the creator of Pioneers Magazine, profiling innovative tech companies in the Cape.
She has a passion for work that creates meaningful change.
Joe leads on the Destination Management and tourism business support work for Wrexham County Borough Council. In the last decade Wrexham has become one of the fastest growing areas of Wales for visitor numbers and spend, with the award of a UNESCO World Heritage Site being followed by more recent place developments in 2022. These include the award of City Status, the international love-affair with Wrexham via the Disney+ “welcome to Wrexham” docuseries and the city being runners-up in the 2025 UK City of Culture competition.
David Downs, CMInstD
Genetically Modified Optimist
David has had a successful career in the private and public sector and is now CEO of The New Zealand Story, an ambitious government-funded organisation marketing New Zealand to the world. He also acts as a consultant and is a director on several boards, including as Chair of The Icehouse, and the Hi-Tech Trust. David is an ex-comedian, TV and radio actor, semi-finalist for New Zealander of the Year, cancer survivor and a published author of the books No.8 Re-wired, No.8 Recharged, A Mild Touch of the Cancer, and Silver Linings. David founded SOS Business, a hugely successful not-for-profit initiative to help cafes and other small businesses during covid-19.
Fiona is Senior Brand Marketing Manager within the Global Marketing team at VisitScotland, responsible for delivering global campaign activity including partnership collaborations.
With a strategic focus on inclusive and sustainable growth, the Global Marketing team use a data and insight-led approach to ensure Scotland is discoverable in key markets and in the channels visitors are using for travel inspiration, planning and booking.
Having worked at VisitScotland for 10 years, Fiona has held various roles giving her a rounded knowledge of both marketing and the tourism industry.
Anders Nyland is CEO and Director of Tourism at Visit Bergen. He also serves at the Board of Directors at Fjord Norway – the regional destination company in Western Norway. In addition, he serves at the Board of Directors in the companies Bergen City Management, Bergen Christmas market and Cruise Norway. Mr. Nyland works with destination development strategies, destination marketing and management, product development and public affairs.
Before entering the travel industry, Mr. Nyland worked as Senior Advisor and Senior Client Director at Geelmuyden Kiese in Norway. He worked with digital content development, content marketing and content strategies for his clients. Nyland also worked with communication strategies and media/PR advice, and hewas trusted advisor to executives and board members concerning change management.
Anders Nyland has been a journalist, editor and media executive for 16 years. He was Editor in Chief of Bergensavisen (The Bergen City Tabloid) for seven years, where he was responsible for the digital transformation of the newspaper, from being at raditional single sales copy tabloid, to being an online news provider with a subscription model. Nyland started his media career as a reporter in Østlandets Blad in 2000, where he later became Head of News department and then responsible for the paper’s online edition. He was publisher of Akershus Amtstidende from 2006 to 2009, and Editor in Chief of Bergensavisen from 2009 to 2016, when he went to Geelmuyden Kiese.
Anders Nyland has had several national and international board positions. Today, he serves at the board of two charity foundations. Mr. Nyland is former member of the board of The World Editors Forum and former member of the board of International Press Institute’s Norwegian comittee. Mr. Nyland has also been charirman of the board of Hordaland Media Association. He is one of the creators of the Norwegian Media Innovation Cluster (NCE Media) and Media City Bergen, and has been board member of both organizations.
Mr. Nyland is educated journalist from Oslo Met, and has studied political science at the University of Oslo.
Jay specializes in developing imaginative and innovative solutions to complex problems. At Zartico, he is creating software to help the ecosystem of destination organizations focus the economic engine of the visitor economy to make it more beneficial to communities, more valuable to visitors and more equitable and open to entrepreneurs in rural and urban communities. Drawing on his years at the Utah Office of Tourism, experience guiding professional photographers in their transition to digital businesses, Jay's vision is helping to shape solutions for the tenth largest industry in the world.
Whether we’ve recognized it or not, COVID-19 has completely revolutionized the expectations consumers have for brands and destinations. In light of this next normal and the evolving state of the travel industry, this is precisely where Josh Collins, TEDx Alum, Experience Architect and Chief Product Officer for Zartico, comes alive.
Having worked with some of the most powerful and influential brands like Stevie Wonder, The Roots, John Legend, Jay-Z and many others for nearly 20 years, Josh now takes his deep understanding of human connection and experience design to Entrada Insights leading the team in educating DMO’s, both large and small, on how to become better stewards of their destinations.
Walt Leger is the President and CEO of New Orleans & Company, the official destination marketing and sales organization for the tourism industry of New Orleans. Representing over 1100 member businesses, New Orleans & Company’ is the tourism and hospitality industry’s official destination sales, marketing, and trade organization, responsible for driving billions of dollars of diverse annual business to the regional cultural economy. By attracting leisure and cultural travel, business meetings conventions, sporting, and special events to New Orleans in a highly competitive global environment. Founded in 1960, New Orleans & Company is committed to celebrating the richness of our culture, while creating jobs, building careers, and enhancing the quality of life for every New Orleanian.
Walt is well-known in the state of Louisiana as a strategic thinker and fierce advocate. First as an Assistant District Attorney in New Orleans and later as an attorney with the law firm of Leger & Shaw, Walt has been a zealous advocate for his clients and victims of violent crime. Just out of law school, Walt served the people of the City of New Orleans as an Assistant District Attorney specializing in the prosecution of violent offenders and drug traffickers. He tried countless cases before Judges and Juries and earned the respect of his peers and opponents as aggressive, fair, and just.
Walt is a proud graduate of Louisiana State University. In 2018 he was inducted into the LSU Hall of Distinction and chosen as the Young Almnus of the Year. After graduating from Louisiana State University with numerous honors, Walt attended Tulane Law School, earning a certificate of specialization in Admiralty & Maritime Law and his Juris Doctor. At Tulane, Walt served as the Business Editor of the Tulane Maritime Law Journal, the Editor-in-Chief of the Tulane Environmental Law Newsletter, 1L Class President, and Student Bar Association Vice-President. He currently serves on the Tulane University President’s Council and on the Advisory Board of the Ogden Honors College at LSU.
Walt was elected by acclamation in 2012 and again in 2016 to serve as the Speaker Pro Tempore of the Louisiana House of Representatives, the youngest member to ever serve in this 2nd highest ranking position in the Louisiana House of Representatives. He was first elected to be the State Representative for District 91 with 65% of the vote in the fall of 2007 and re-elected without opposition in 2011 and 2015. In the Legislature, he represented parts of Uptown, Central City, the Lower Garden District, the Irish Channel, Broadmoor, Marleyville Gert Town and Hollygrove in New Orleans.
In the Legislature, Leger was a senior member of the powerful Appropriations Committee, and the Joint Legislative Committee on the Budget, as well as the House Education Committee, House Judiciary Committee, House Criminal Justice Committee, House Executive Committee, House Select Committee on Homeland Security, The Energy Council, the Justice Reinvestment Task Force, Multimodal Commerce Advisory Commission, Executive Committee of the Southern Legislative Conference of State Governments, and the Council of State Governments Governing Board for 2017-2018. In October 2012, Leger was elected to the Chairmanship of the Southern Rail Commission formerly known as the Southern High Speed Rail Commission. For many years, Leger served as the Chairman of the Louisiana Juvenile Justice Reform Implementation Commission. On the National Level, Leger served a co-chair of the National Conference of State Legislatures Committee of Health and Human Services for two years. In 2015 he was awarded a Rodel Fellowship of Public Leadership at the Aspen Institute. The Fellowship seeks to enhance our democracy by identifying and bringing together the nation’s most promising young political leaders to explore, through study and conversation, the underlying values and principles of western democracy, the relationship between individuals and their community, and the responsibilities of public leadership; to support and inspire political leaders committed to sustaining the vision of a political system based on thoughtful and civil bipartisan dialogue; and to help America’s brightest young leaders achieve their fullest potential in public service.
Walt has been widely recognized and acclaimed as a problem solver, a consensus builder and someone who gets results. Between 2008-2020, Leger passed over 125 pieces of legislation. His support for tax, revenue and budget reform and stabilization, strategic infrastructure investments particularly for our Ports, rail and multi-modal facilities, Criminal Justice Reform and Reinvestment, Early Childhood Care and Education, Education Reform and Economic Development has been recognized nationally and across the state with dozens of awards naming him a legislative champion, legislator of the year, or advocate of year.
Walt is regularly called upon to lecture at Continuing Legal Education programs for lawyers and Judges through the Louisiana State Bar Association, the New Orleans Bar Association and other organizations. Walt is a founding board member and Vice President of the Louisiana Institute for Children in Families, which focuses on foster youth and adoption as a method for ensuring every child in Louisiana is loved and cared for. Walt currently services as a board member of the U.S. Travel Association (Executive Committee), Louisiana Travel Association, Anti-Defamation League South Central Board, Goodwill Industries of Louisiana, Louisiana Appleseed, Early Partners, the Business Council of New Orleans, GNO, Inc., the New Orleans Chamber of Commerce, the Louisiana Children’s Museum, Agenda for children, PCMA, and the Audubon Nature Institute.
He has served on the Board of Directors of the Louisiana Judicial College and has lectured regularly over the years at Tulane University School of Law, Loyola University New Orleans College of Law, LSU Law School, Tulane University, the Loyola University Institute of Politics, and at conferences around the country. Walt is also an adjunct professor of Law at Loyola University New Orleans, College of Law.
Leger currently resides in New Orleans with his wife, Danielle and daughters Cate and Caroline.
Hannah Belsito built the destination management function at Destination Cleveland beginning in 2011. Today, destination management includes destination engagement, experience, development, and impact. With a background in urban planning and civic engagement, Hannah’s team focuses on strengthening Cleveland as a destination product by activating and engaging local networks, place-building, and scaling collaborations to broaden economic impact of visitation. This work allows her to live her passion for connecting people to place. Hannah’s work has contributed to major events including the 2019 MLB All-Star Game, 2021 NFL Draft, 2022 NBA All-Star Game, 2024 NCAA Women’s Final Four & Total Solar Eclipse. She’s most proud of the now-renowned Cleveland script signs and the impact they’ve made on local pride. Hannah holds a bachelor’s degree in communications from John Carroll University and a master’s degree in urban planning, design & development with a specialization in historic preservation from Cleveland State University. Hannah and her family frequently take advantage of the city’s outdoor experiences, including Edgewater Beach and biking through the Ohio & Erie Canalway Towpath Trail.
Patricia Rojas-Ungár serves as vice president of publicaffairs for the U.S. Travel Association. Rojas-Ungár uses more than adecade of legislative and advocacy experience to lead the development of U.S.Travel’s policy agenda, and represents the travel community before theExecutive Branch and U.S. Congress.
During her tenure, Rojas-Ungár has been frequently honored asone of Washington’s top lobbyists. Prior to joining U.S. Travel in 2008,Rojas-Ungár worked as a professional staff member on the Senate HomelandSecurity and Governmental Affairs Committee for Senator Joseph I. Lieberman(ID-CT). Her work on the committee focused heavily on legislating andoverseeing the implementation of a variety of travel security programs,including Global Entry, the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative and U.S.VISIT. She was also involved in the development of travel security provisionsincluded in legislation to implement the recommendations of the 9/11Commission.
Rojas-Ungár also brings valuable knowledge of the U.S. House ofRepresentatives to U.S. Travel, having worked for nearly five years in theoffice of Representative Lucille Roybal-Allard (D, CA-34) and more than a yearfor former Representative Ken Bentsen (D, TX-25). She is an alumna of theNational Democratic Institute’s Political Leadership Program and the StennisCenter for Public Service Emerging Congressional Staff Leadership Program.
Rojas-Ungár holds a bachelor’s degree from the University ofTexas at Austin and a master’s degree in social work from the University ofHouston.
Chris Gottlieb has led marketing and communications teams at London and Partners, Oxfam, the BBC and Tui UK amongst others.
Campaigns he has led have been industry recognised as best in class by Brand Republic, Drum, City Nation Pace, World Media, BAFTA, Promax and the Benchmark awards.
Chris Gottlieb has a BA in English and French from Southampton University and is an alumni of London Business School's Senior Executive Programme.
Fred Dixon is President & CEO of NYC & Company, New York City’s official destination marketing organization. With more than 25 years of experience in the travel industry, Dixon has the overall responsibility for developing and implementing New York City’s tourism and convention development strategy internationally and in domestic leisure and business markets. At NYC & Company, he has built a sales and marketing team that is at the core of the organization’s strategy to increase visitation and economic impact across the City.
Dixon oversees 20 global offices comprising sales, marketing and press professionals in diverse feeder markets from Australia to the UK, China to Mexico and India to Brazil.
Fred is a respected leader with positions on travel industry association boards and committeesincluding the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Travel and Tourism Advisory Board, the U.S.Travel Association Board and Executive Committee,Tourism Cares Boardand theU.S. Travel IPW PlanningCommittee.
Isabel Hill is the Director of the National Travel and Tourism Office at the U.S. Department of Commerce. She and her team support and implement policies and programs that foster the competitiveness of U.S. travel and tourism industries in collaboration with the private sector and other federal agencies. Her office also produces the national statistics on travel and tourism and represents U.S. travel and tourism policy in bilateral and multilateral fora.
A leader in tourism policy and planning, Ms. Hill led the development of the first National Travel and Tourism Strategy for the United States across 12 federal agencies and with the private sector, reflecting her commitment to public-private engagement and partnerships to advance shared objectives. Ms. Hill led negotiations to open the market for packaged leisure travel from China to the United States, and developed the successful economic case for extending reciprocal visa validity between the United States and China from one to ten years. She has played a significant role in the development of policies that advance both economic and national security for the United States. . Ms. Hill is the U.S. Chair of the U.S.-China Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade Tourism Working Group and of the U.S.-India Strategic Economic and Commercial Dialogue Tourism Working Group. She is past Chair of the Tourism Committee of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development and sits on the Advisory Committee of the World Tourism Forum Lucerne. Additionally, Ms. Hill directed the first International Tourism Promotion Program for the United States. Based on the platform “You’ve Seen the Films, Now Visit the Set”, the award-winning campaign paved the way for the creation of Brand USA, the nation’s first dedicated tourism marketing organization
Prior to federal service, Ms. Hill served in the South Carolina Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism, and in the South Carolina Department of Commerce. During her State service, she and her team were credited with facilitating more than a billion dollars in investment in large-scale tourism development, sports venues, heritage tourism projects, and filmed entertainment.
Prior to joining Bloomberg Associates, Gordon was the inaugural Chief Executive of London & Partners, the UK Capital’s official promotional and economic development company.
Under Gordon’s leadership, the company attracted investment and spend which contributed £1.2bn GVA to the London economy, creating more than 38,000 jobs. From 2011 to 2016, the company experienced 50% growth, increased non-grant revenue from 20% to 50% and delivered a return-on-investment to the city of 18:1. It contributed to London becoming the world’s most popular visitor destination, with tourism numbers growing 20% and spend growing 35%. London also rose from 19th to 5th in international congress city rankings. Further, the city retained its position as the No.1 destination for foreign direct investment and international students.
The company was twice voted one of the UK's 100 best, not-for-profit companies to work for.
Gordon has also held senior positions in UK national government, for example, developing the government’s low carbon industrial strategy, leading the creation of the UK Green Investment Bank and spearheading the Government’s trade and foreign direct investment efforts in the United States.
Before entering public service, Gordon worked as a solicitor in both England and Australia.
Frans van der Avert is CEO of Amsterdam Marketing in Amsterdam, NL. From 1991 to 2002, he worked at Amsterdam’s celebrated Rijksmuseum in public relations. In 2002, Van der Avert was named Director of Communication, Education and Marketing for exhibition centres De NieuweKerk and Hermitage Amsterdam. There he was responsible for marketing the launch of the new Hermitage Museum, which opened in June 2009. For his success, he was awarded the title of Communication Person of the Year by the Dutch Association of Communication Professionals.
Since 2011, Van der Avert has been the Chief Marketing Officer at Amsterdam Partners of the Amsterdam Metropolitan Area. In this function, he was responsible for merging three marketing organisations into one new city marketing organisation, Amsterdam Marketing. In January 2013, he was appointed CEO of Amsterdam Marketing. Van der Avert resides in Amsterdam, and serves as a member to several different boards and advisory committees of the Dutch Museum Association and various companies
Richard Florida is one of the world’s leading urbanists.
He is a researcher and professor, serving as University Professor and Director of Cities at the Martin Prosperity Institute at the University of Toronto, a Distinguished Fellow at New York University’s Schack Institute of Real Estate, and a Visiting Fellow at Florida International University.
He is a writer and journalist, having penned several global best sellers, including the award winning The Rise of the Creative Class and his most recent book, The New Urban Crisis published in April 2017. He serves as senior editor for The Atlantic, where he co-founded and serves as Editor-at-Large for CityLab.
He is an entrepreneur, as founder of the Creative Class Group which works closely with companies and governments worldwide.
A 2013 MIT study named him the world’s most influential thought leader. And TIME magazine recognized his Twitter feed as one of the 140 most influential in the world.
He previously taught at Carnegie Mellon, Ohio State University, and George Mason University, and has been a visiting professor at Harvard and MIT and Visiting Fellow at the Brookings Institution.
He earned his Bachelor’s degree from Rutgers College and his Ph.D. from Columbia University.
My background is in political science and integrated communication.
I have more than 15 years experience in communication working within different areas - public and digital diplomacy, stratcom, government affairs, media relations, PR, country branding.
Together with my team in 2019 we have launched a new brand strategy and platform - Lithuania Co-Create.
Mr. Staufert graduated as a Certified Public Accountant from the University of Tepeyac. In addition, he received his Master's Degree in Hotel Finance and Tourism Marketing through Cornell's Distance Learning Program.
He has developed his professional career in the hotel industry over 27 years, during which he worked mainly at Intercontinental Hotels Group (IHG), spanning five countries and seven cities throughout Mexico.
In 2000, he was appointed General Manager, a role he would hold for 14 years as both General Manager and Regional Director.
The Intercontinental Hotels Group chain presented him with the Torchbearer Award for Best Hotel in Latin America in 2005.
On two separate occasions, in 2008 and 2012, he was named General Manager of the Year by the IHG.
In 2014, he became the Director of the Visitors and Convention Bureau of Guadalajara, where he continues to date.
Currently, he holds the positions of Technical Secretary of the Tourism Trust of the Guadalajara Metropolitan Area, General Director of the Guadalajara-Guadalajara brand, Secretary of the Mexican Meetings Industry Council, as well as consisting of 1 of the 12 board members of the BestCities Global Alliance.
Sveinn Birkir Björnsson leads marketing and communications for Business Iceland, a public-private partnership that serves as a joint DMO, TPO and IPA for Iceland. Business Iceland‘s campaign, Inspired by Iceland has been widely recognised and awarded for its creative output and results.
Tourism industry visionary David Peacock is the Senior Advisor to the Future Tourism Group @ Simpleview, the global leader in software and services for digital destination marketing.
Peacock followed up two decades of international success as a senior executive in television and electronic media by accepting a challenge to spearhead the creation of a ground breaking tourism development incubator (RTO4.ca) in Ontario, Canada in 2011. He joined Simpleview in January 2020. He has track record in growing and strengthening tourism economies, as well as working with Destinations International and DestinationNEXT,
Peacock describes the Future Tourism Group as a vehicle for industry leaders to prioritize issues and participate in creating and beta-testing tools and processes to address them, with much of the work mirroring strategies he successfully developed for creating sustainable destination management networks, developing channels for distributed marketing and storytelling and strengthening stakeholder competencies.
Brisa is a seasoned place brand strategist with an extensive track record of successfully leading place branding, planning, and community engagement projects. Her commitment to the vitality and identity of places is not just a profession but a passion. In her capacity as lead strategist at CivicBrand, Brisa assumes a pivotal role in steering the community engagement and brand strategy process. Her expertise lies in collaborating with communities to craft and share their unique stories, inspiring residents, investors, and visitors alike.
Layne serves as the Director of Placemaking for CivicBrand. He is skilled in public space and multi-modal street design and has extensive experience working with cities and districts across the country on placemaking and place-branding initiatives. Prior to CivicBrand, Layne served as the Director of Design for Team Better Block, where he worked with cities on engaging the community through pop-up urbanism projects. Most notably, he co-authored the award-winning ‘Pop-Up Placemaking Toolkit’ in coordination with AARP Livable Communities that has been downloaded in cities across all 50 states by practitioners and active citizens as a tool for actionable steps to engage communities and implement placemaking demonstrations in their communities.
Sara Meaney has 25+ years of leadership experience across public, private, nonprofit and government entities. She is a Principal consultant with Coraggio Group and leads the firm’s travel and tourism consulting practice. Sara also serves as senior vice president of the firm’s parent company, Miles Partnership.
Prior to joining Coraggio, Sara served as Wisconsin Tourism Secretary, where she led the state’s $22.2 billion tourism industry. During her tenure as secretary, she achieved the state’s first tourism budget increase in over a decade, established one of the first Offices of Outdoor Recreation in the Midwest, and championed the allocation of over $100 million in CARES Act funding for the state’s tourism-related businesses and organizations. Her career also includes executive leadership and owner/partner roles within the advertising and brand agency space, leading strategy for clients spanning diverse outdoor recreation & active lifestyle consumer products as well as a variety of travel and tourism brands.
Sara is a Business Journals Forty Under 40 alum and was hailed as one of “20 Executives to Watch in 2020”. In addition to her Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Wisconsin – Madison, she completed executive education programs at both Harvard Business School and Kellogg School of Management. She has also completed the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) professional training program. Sara and her husband Brian live in Milwaukee, Wisconsin with their four children.
Jordan Kuglitsch is an Account Director for Miles Partnership. She is committed to helping destination brands tell their story and leads Miles’ internal teams to deliver exceptional service and products. Brand strategy is central to her work across accounts where she is an active steward of helping clients achieve their business goals and objectives by laying a strategic foundation for project initiatives.
Jordan has led the rebranding efforts, multichannel campaign development and overall agency of record services for a variety of clients, including Chattanooga Tourism Co., San Francisco Travel, Maine Office of Tourism, and Discover Puerto Rico.
After more than nine years at Visit St. Pete/Clearwater, most recently as Vice President of Digital & Communications, Leroy joined Adara in the fall of 2021 and now serves as VP of Sales for Tourism. He has long been passionate about empowering destination marketers with the tools they need to advocate for their organizations. Using third-party tools like Adara’s Impact platform, Leroy was able to more than double St. Pete/Clearwater digital marketing budget over time. He now works closely with destination marketing organizations across the country to help them leverage Adara’s traveler data and tools. Leroy is a proud member of the 2014 Destinations International’s 30 Under 30 class and is a proud Purdue Boilermaker.
Laurence is a brand specialist and consolidated marketing services business developer with 26+ years of experience directing client engagements in brand-building disciplines encompassing valuation, B2B and B2C research, strategy, corporate identity, and packaging across numerous sectors and markets. With experience throughout Latin American and North American markets, Laurence serves as Managing Director for the Americas Region of Brand Finance, the world’s leading brand valuation and strategy consultancy.
Laurence is a frequent contributor on marketing and branding topics in media outlets such as Bloomberg, and The Drum. Laurence is a representative for Mexico before the ISO Technical Committee responsible for reviewing the creation of a transparent, reconcilable, and repeatable approach to brand valuation, ISO 10668 on Monetary Brand Valuation, and participates in the US Marketing Accountability Standards Board (MASB), with Brand Finance.
Laurence holds an undergraduate degree from Southern Methodist University and a postgraduate degree from the University of Miami.
Artur joined Brand Finance in 2018 after graduating from the King's College London in Political Economy. Artur is the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA). Artur is fluent in three languages - English, Russian and Ukrainian. Artur has experience in valuation, strategy, market research analysis for clients including Chevron, Iberia, Etihad, and stc. Artur also has experience in Brand Finance’s sports services offering, in particular, measurement and return on investment projects with global clients like Formula 1. Currently, Artur leads place branding projects at Brand Finance, in particular, the Global Soft Power Index and Brand Finance City Indices.
Anita Cassidy is an accomplished leader responsible for the strategic direction and management of Burlington Economic Development + Tourism. Anita has worked for Burlington Economic Development since immigrating to Canada from Europe in 2011, becoming Executive Director in 2018. In January 2025, Burlington Economic Development successfully merged with Tourism Burlington and Anita was named the Executive Director of the new organization, which is the city's official destination marketing organization. She has 25 years’ experience in Economic Development blending the perspectives of an extensive background in European and North American economic development practice. A graduate of the University of Glasgow Masters of Economic Development program, she is multilingual and has lived and worked in seven countries. She has led a number of transformational initiatives for Burlington including the Burlington Economic Vision, GO Investment Corridor and Red Tape Red Carpet strategies. Anita also co-founded TechPlace, an Innovation Centre led by Burlington Economic Development that has supported thousands of entrepreneurs since it launched in 2017.
As a director at Fourth Economy, Nicole serves as project manager on many of the firm’s strategic planning projects, helping clients access their unique financial, natural, and human capital assets to create robust, sustainable, resilient local economies that increase quality of life for all. With more than ten years of economic development experience, Nicole specializes in designing meaningful community engagement to build a shared understanding and vision for the future. A pragmatic leader, Nicole uses her skills and experience managing projects and teams to effectively inspire collaborative action. She brings a systems approach to analyze situations, develop strategies, and design new processes, and she thrives in entrepreneurial environments where she can continuously learn and solve problems creatively.
Before joining Fourth Economy, Nicole worked at a regional start-up incubator, where she led social enterprise and impact investing initiatives to support entrepreneurs building triple-bottom-line companies, helping them to assess market opportunities, prove their concept, and test assumptions. She currently serves on the board of the Union Project, a local arts organization and community gathering space.
Areas of Expertise
Cultural Planning
Entrepreneurship and Small Business Development
Food Systems
Housing Analysis and Strategy
Innovation-Based Economic Development
Main Street Strategy
Outdoor Recreation Economy
Placemaking
Program Design and Implementation
Project Management
Moriya is an Account Manager in US Reputation practice at Ipsos. She serves as the program lead of the Anholt-Ipsos Nation Brands Index (NBI) and Anholt-Ipsos City Brands Index (CBI), syndicated programs that evaluate the strength of 60 nations and 50 cities globally. In her role Moriya leads the annual review and modification of the program to ensure questions remain relevant each year and explore recent global trends. She manages the team of researchers running the operations of the program, and conducts the data analysis, visualization, and client reporting. Utilizing these data Moriya consults with various nations and cities to evaluate the implications of the annual results and provides actionable strategies for clients to continue to enhance their reputation.
Ipsos is the world’s third largest market research company, present in 90 markets, employing more than 18,000 people, and serving more than 5000 clients across the world with 75 business solutions.
Moriya holds a Bachelor of Science in Public Health from Rutgers University – New Brunswick. Her research, in partnership with Ipsos, regarding trust of philanthropy groups and the success rate of addressing public health issues in Nigeria was presented in a symposium hosted by the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy and later published as part of a collection of research studies.
Joe Veneto, Chief Experience Officer, Veneto Collaboratory, is a Tourism Industry expert specializing in destination development, placemaking and experience design. He collaborates with Destination Management Organizations which include Convention & Visitors Bureaus, state and provincial offices of tourism, and regional tourism associations as well as Economic Development Agencies, destination attractions and travel corporations.
Veneto Collaboratory partners with destinations throughout North America to design and develop unforgettable places and experiences that are the essence of place. They are marketed to leisure visitors, residents and groups to drive visitation, create economic development and innovate destinations’ tourism landscapes.
Joe created the Experience Design Studio process that converts the attributes, attractions and essence of a destination into unforgettable market-ready visitor experiences. The process has been implemented in multiple destinations throughout North America. Sample destinations include Richmond, The Columbia Valley and Surrey, BC, Canada; Scottsdale, AZ; Houston TX; Louisville, and Paducah, KY; Gulf Shores and Orange Beach, AL; Deadwood, SD; Madison, Green Bay and Eau Claire, WI; and others.
He is also a highly regarded thought leader and professional speaker on tourism trends, destination placemaking and customer experience. He presents programs annually at Industry Conventions, Tourism Conferences, International Associations and Economic Development Agencies.
He is creator of The Experience Lab, an annual immersive placemaking event that showcases the Design Studio process in a destination in North America.
Joe began his travel career as a tour director escorting busloads of beautiful, blue-haired, bingo card carrying women and a few men on tours throughout North America.
As president and CEO of VISIT PHILADELPHIA®, Angela Val is charged with building Greater Philadelphia’s image, driving visitation and boosting the economy through day and overnight leisure visitation. The tourism marketing agency’s work supports local businesses, creates jobs, generates taxes and ultimately enhances residents’ quality of life.
A recognized trailblazer within Philadelphia’s tourism and hospitality industry, Val brings more than two decades of destination-marketing experience to her role, which she assumed in June 2022.
Previously, Val served as the chief operations officer at Tempest, an integrated marketing agency helping destination organizations and convention and visitors bureaus across the country strengthen their local communities. She was responsible for establishing policies that fostered company culture and vision and implementing business strategies.
Val brings more than two decades of destination-marketing experience to her role.
In 2021, Val led Ready. Set. Philly! as executive director, initiating the yearlong collaborative initiative with the City of Philadelphia and the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce to reopen and reinvigorate the city’s economy following the COVID-19 pandemic.
Prior to joining Tempest, Val served as deputy executive director of the Philadelphia 2016 Host Committee for the DNC and then as chief administration officer at the Philadelphia Convention & Visitors Bureau (PHLCVB), where she oversaw government and external affairs while managing day-to-day operations.
Val’s homecoming to VISIT PHILADELPHIA is a full-circle moment for her. She began her career at the organization in 1998 and worked her way up from executive assistant to the executive leadership team. Her efforts helped establish the organization as a powerhouse, and Val was at the helm of some of its most successful campaigns and initiatives, including With Art Philadelphia, Philly 360, Philadelphia Neighborhoods and the Visit Philly Overnight Hotel Package. Val concluded her first tenure at VISIT PHILADELPHIA in 2016 as chief external affairs officer.
Val is an effective leader, connector and culture builder, always striving to lead by example with an approachable and earnest executive style. She is committed to bringing vibrancy to Philadelphia’s business and cultural communities and currently serves on the board of Horizons Greater Philadelphia.
A Maryland native, Val moved to Philadelphia to attend Drexel University, where she received her bachelor’s degree. Thirty-one years later, she is still living in Philadelphia and currently resides in Point Breeze with her husband Joe.
Scott is the President and CEO of the Economic Development Corporation of Utah (EDCUtah), a public-private, nonprofit partnership focused on catalyzing strategic economic investment and quality jobs in Utah. EDCUtah is funded by the Governor’s Office, about 150 private sector investor firms, and more than 50 communities around the state.
Previously he was COO of The Point, Utah’s generational economic development megaproject, and a management consulting director in the capital projects and infrastructure practice at PwC where he worked on development projects as large as $25B USD.
In Scott’s consulting career, he had the opportunity to advise some of the world’s leading firms including Fortune 5 tech giants, institutional investors, blue chip real estate firms and others across a variety of industries. His project portfolio included North and South America, Europe and the Middle East.
Scott holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Brigham Young University, a Master’s in real estate development from Georgetown University and a Master of Science degree in business from the University of Oxford.
Scott is passionate about Utah and thoughtful community development and is privileged to have served on national boards promoting economic empowerment, business and social causes. His wife and three daughters enjoy spending time in the Wasatch mountains and Utah’s national parks any chance they find.
Darren Reeder is a passionate, results-oriented industry professional with over 30-years experience providing policy, advocacy and industry development supports to community and economic development-oriented organizations spanning many sectors, most notably food processing, culinary and tourism and hospitality. Darren has been a vocal advocate for the expansion of Alberta’s tourism economy, and, for meaningful labour reforms that will enable this industry to reach its full potential.
A respected thought leader who has inspired various issues coalitions, coordinated advocacy campaigns and who also been an ardent defender of the need for tourism sector to better leverage industry data to advance its needs in front of provincial and federal decision-makers, Darren is driven by a simple philosophy: say what you’re going to do and then follow through, without exception.
He has been a vocal advocate on the importance and value of tourism in supporting Canada’s national park objectives through his work with the Banff & Lake Louise Hospitality Association, and, was the driving force behind the creation of the Tourism Industry Association of Alberta where he currently serves as its President & CEO.
Over the years, Darren has undertaken extensive work on tourism destination development, funding model analysis to support destinations, and, conducted various tourism and event feasibility/expansion studies. Most recently he led the charge on a comparative economic analysis study that benchmarked public investment in tourism relative to other sectors of the provincial economy, arguing that government significantly under-invests in tourism relative other economic sectors, on a jobs and GDP-output basis.
Darren was formerly CEO of the Alberta Chambers of Commerce, where he was employed for 13-years. Under his leadership, the Chamber’s efforts to effect substantive provincial fiscal reforms were widely successful.
Darren and his family live in Canmore, Alberta.
Denise Desatnick is Vice President of Marketing and Research for the Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina, where she leads the organization’s efforts to attract business, industry and talent to the state. A native of Philadelphia, Denise is a life-long marketer who started her career in advertising with Young & Rubicam and Ogilvy & Mather, progressed into the B2B and destination marketing spaces, and now happily finds herself doing all of the above for her new home state of North Carolina, which was recently ranked by CNBC as the #1 state for business in the U.S. Denise is a graduate of the College of William and Mary in Virginia, where she studied government.
GREATER MSP is the regional economic development partnership for the 15- county Minneapolis-Saint Paul region. As Chief Executive Officer, Frosch is responsible for leading the global strategy for economic development and job creation for the region, with its 3.6 million residents and Gross Metropolitan Product of more than $260 billion. GREATER MSP is a growing cross-sector partnership that includes over 350 businesses, universities, cities, counties, foundations, and nonprofit organizations. As a partnership, GREATER MSP advances inclusive economic growth and global competitiveness by executing strategies in the areas of job creation, talent, innovation, and capital.
Prior to taking on the role of CEO in 2019, Frosch served as Senior Vice President of Strategy at GREATER MSP. He earned a bachelor’s degree in History and American Studies from Northwestern University and earned a master’s degree in International Relations from Dublin City University in Ireland, where he studied as a George Mitchell Scholar.
Melvin Tennant, CAE, is President and Chief Executive Officer of Meet Minneapolis, Convention and Visitors Association. The private 501(c)6 business organization has a team of 73 who are dedicated to positively impacting the economic and social prosperity of the Minneapolis community. Under his leadership, Meet Minneapolis and Sports Minneapolis annually secure an average of 700 large, mid-sized and smaller meetings, conventions, and sporting events, including major events such as the 2018 Super Bowl, 2019 NCAA Men’s Final Four, multiple years of ESPN’s Summer X Games, and the 2022 NCAA Women’s Final Four.
His current board positions are with Association Forum, the U.S. Travel Association, the 2022 NCAA Women’s Final Four local organizing committee, Minnesota Sports & Events executive board (the newly formed regional sports marketing entity) and Minnesota USA Expo 2027, as well as local community boards for the Hennepin Theatre Trust, the Boys & Girls Clubs of Twin Cities and YouthLink as board member emeritus.
Stewart leads MMGY Global’s brand strategy efforts. He has created brands for destinations, hotel companies, attractions and sports franchises around the world, including Vancouver, Cleveland, Bermuda, Los Cabos, Homewood Suites by Hilton, The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and the Cleveland Cavaliers. Prior to MMGY Global, he served as international creative director at Dentsu, Inc. in Tokyo. He has received awards at the most prestigious advertising competitions, including Best of Show at the HSMAI Adrian Awards, twice.
Billy Nungesser is the 54th Lieutenant Governor of the State of Louisiana. He was elected in 2015 and took office in January 2016. From July 2019 to July 2020, Nungesser served as Chairman of the National Lieutenant Governors Association, a professional association that charts issues and work to be pursued by the second-highest-ranking officials in all 50 states and U.S. territories.
Under his administration, the state of Louisiana celebrated a fourth consecutive year of record-breaking visitation as Louisiana welcomed more than 53.2 million visitors, bringing in more than $18.9 billion to the state.
Billy left a career as a successful businessman to begin his political career following Hurricane Katrina. In 2005, Nungesser rode out Hurricane Katrina at his ranch in southern Plaquemines Parish. In response to his own frustration over the slow response from the government following Hurricane Katrina, Billy decided to run for Plaquemines Parish President in 2006. He was re-elected in 2010 with over 70% of the vote.
On April 20, 2010, Plaquemines Parish became ground zero for the nation's biggest environmental disaster. In the wake of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig explosion in the Gulf, Billy became the voice of Louisiana's frustration.
During the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, the New York Times named him the "Hardest working man in Louisiana" and ABC named him Person of the Week during the same period. He continues to be the "hardest working man in Louisiana" to date on behalf of all of us.
Today Billy is second-in-command in the executive branch and Louisiana's ambassador as Commissioner of the Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism. From natural disasters to promoting our great state...Billy Nungesser is a man for all of Louisiana.
Kevin Ferguson is the Vice President of External Affairs and Membership at New Orleans & Company. His department is responsible for government affairs, membership strategies, community partnerships and engagement and interfacing with cultural entities across the region. Previously, the New Orleans native worked in professional sports with the New Orleans Pelicans and Saints organizations, as well as the New Orleans Hornets and New Orleans Zephyrs. He received a B.A. in History from Florida State University in 2006. He is civically engaged through board service with Habitat for Humanity, the Contemporary Arts Center, UNO Research and Technology Foundation, and GNOInc. NextGen Council.
Joining Economic Development Regina from Canadian Western Agribition (North America’s premiere livestock show), Chris Lane building EDR into a data, analytics, and investment attraction powerhouse. With more than six years of executive leadership experience coupled with 15+ years of communications and media experience, Chris is ready to lead and tell the economic development story of Greater Regina Area while attracting businesses and investments from around the world. Serving on the boards of several local organizations and an avid volunteer, Chris is deeply connected to the Regina community. In his spare time, Chris is a private pilot and aircraft owner.
With over 25 years’ experience in the Tourism, Travel, Tour Operator, Destination Marketing, Visitor Economy, Maritime and Charitable sectors in the UK and Europe with market leading organisations in both B2B & B2C areas
It all started in 1994 at Ripley Castle Estate near Harrogate as Marketing Coordinator for 2 years followed by 5-year tenure as Travel Trade Marketing Manager for Yorkshire Tourist Board in York.
P&O Ferries based in Hull was the next port of call commencing as B2B Marketing Manager for ex-UK business then developing to Destination Manager for the North Sea routes to The Netherlands and Belgium, then as On-Board Marketing Controller for all P&O Ferries routes in the UK.
A new challenge with Vaconsoleil, Europe’s leading mobile home and camping tour operator as UK Sales & Marketing Manager.
A directional change for 4 years at UKSA, the UK’s leading maritime training charity based in Cowes as Head of Sales & Marketing which led to a family move to the Isle of Wight.
His current position as Managing Director of Visit Isle of Wight, the island’s DMO has allowed him to put all his extensive skill set into play whilst marketing and promoting the UK’s leading Island Holiday Destination.
Sarah was appointed CEO of NewcastleGateshead Initiative (NGI) in 2020. Sarah oversees all aspects of NGI, the destination and inward investment agency that delivers for Newcastle, Gateshead, and the wider region.
Prior to NGI, Sarah was the Director of Regions and Nations at CBI. She qualified as a lawyer with Clifford Chance working Hong Kong, London and Shanghai and has a MSc in Urban Regeneration and an MBA. Sarah is also currently completing a PhD scholarship at Durham University, studying the social impact of small businesses on the rural economy.
With a passion for improving the visitor economy, advocate for social mobility and enabler of economic growth in the North East, she sits on the Tourism Industry Council, is an Independent Advisory Board member at Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums (TWAM), a council member at the National Trust and a non-executive director at Ryder Architecture.
Sam is the Business Improvement District (BID) Chief Executive for Our Colchester BID and has overseen the organisation since its formation in 2018. Prior to this spending his career in leisure and hospitality sectors in the UK and Australia. Since taking on his role as Chief Executive at Colchester, Sam has overseen the development of innovative and forward-driven visions and strategy to elevate Colchester's position in East Anglia and further. Through the development of new City Centre brand, InColchester through to chairing Colchester Place Marketing Board, Colchester is placed for high levels of growth with the BID at the forefront ensuring a business-led vision.
Gavin’s primary role is one of place marketing through promotion of Glasgow’s regional technology startup/scaleup and innovation landscape to drive greater cohesion, awareness and investment activity.
A creative brand-building specialist with over 25 years of international marketing experience in private and public sectors, Gavin has worked with premium brands to build awareness, grow equity and increase profitability through leadership roles in drinks, media, arts, technology and government sectors.
Freddie leads our commercial and operational functions. He’s started Patch to increase access to opportunity for people based on who they are, not just where they live. With a background in startups, he’s excited about the potential for technology to bring people together.
Kazadi is an experienced economic development professional who has worked for boroughs and county councils across London, Essex and now Surrey. His current role focuses on taking forward economic programmes and priorities, ranging from innovation, business support, the skills agenda, and the localities and economic infrastructure programme.
Kazadi brings expertise to various challenges local authorities, BIDs, property developers, and small businesses face. In his spare time, he volunteers at his local club, teaching young people martial arts. Before beginning his career in local government, Kazadi was a professional kickboxer competing worldwide.
Vikki joined Marketing Lancashire in 2018 as Marketing and Partnerships Director, to provide collaborative partnering and marketing strategy development. Vikki prides herself on delivering successful, unique and memorable experiences and award-winning marketing campaigns.
Her previous work at Manchester United, where she was responsible for venue marketing and planning activities, included the strategy and planning of all major events at the Old Trafford stadium, as well as sell-out live music concerts, and match day entertainment, ticketing, membership, hospitality and stadium tours. Prior to this she worked as Head of Marketing at tourism agency Welcome to Yorkshire, where her team won numerous accolades. There, Vikki played a key role in the bid to bring the Grand Départ of the Tour de France to Yorkshire and was instrumental in the delivery of the event itself. Before working in Yorkshire, Vikki worked in Oman launching the nation’s airline into several key European cities.
Mrs. Centeno was recently assigned last July 2022, as the Head of Marketing and Communication at CINDE (Costa Rican Investment Promotion Agency).
Before that she was selected by the former President of Costa Rica, Carlos Alvarado Quesada as the Executive President and CEO of JAPDEVA (the port authority of Limon). In that position, she was responsible for leading the transformation process of the port entity.
From 2007 to 2019, Andrea was the Director of Communications of the Costa Rican Investment Promotion Agency. She has led several strategies to promote Costa Rica abroad such as mass high range campaigns, digital campaigns, and the organization of international events.
In the same period, Centeno was part of the Technical Committee of essential COSTA RICA since 2007. This professional communications team developed the new country brand and led its implementation internationally.
Andrea was also part of the team responsible for the development of the CINDE´s rising cities strategy. Her role includes a comprehensive work in two rural areas of the Caribbean Coast of Costa Rica in order to develop better local competitiveness conditions to create employment and social & economic growth opportunities.
She holds a Masters in Communications and Marketing from the Universidad Latina de Costa Rica and a university degree in Public Relations, as well as studies in journalism at the Universidad de Costa Rica and courses in Agile Methodology and Complex Project Management from UDEMY and Cambridge University.
Martin studied law at the University of Sheffield. He had a career in the legal profession spanning more than 30 years, he was a partner at international law firms Nabarro and CMS Cameron McKenna Nabarro Olswang LLP. He retired from practice in April 2018.
Martin works for AESSEAL plc, the Rotherham headquartered global manufacturing company specialising in the manufacture of mechanical seals and support systems. AESSEAL has reached a major environmental milestone by achieving net zero carbon emissions. The company was ranked by the Department of Education as the number one apprentice employer in the manufacturing and engineering sectors in the UK for 2022/23.
Martin is a former board member of the Sheffield City Region Local Enterprise Partnership and Transport for the North Partnership Board.
Martin presently holds a number of Board, NED and Trustee positions across the business, charity, education and voluntary sectors in Sheffield and South Yorkshire, including at Whirlow Hall Farm Trust, St Luke’s Hospice, The Herbert Hughes Memorial Trust and The Burton Street Foundation.
He is Chair of the Sheffield Property Association, the only formally constituted property association in the country outside of London.
Martin is also a Non-Executive Director of Sheffield Chamber of Commerce and Chair of the Northern Regional Assembly of the British Chambers of Commerce, which comprises the 16 Chambers of Commerce in the North of England.
Martin was the High Sheriff of South Yorkshire for 2021/22.