Diane Edwards President Jamaica Promotions Corporation (Jampro)

Diane Edwards is the President of Jamaica’s Investment and export promotions agency, JAMPRO, where sheoversees national projects in the tourism, manufacturing, energy, mining, logistics, agriculture, creative industries and the knowledge services sectors and is instrumental in leading investment negotiations for Jamaica.  A former Trade Commissioner for Jamaica in New York, Brussels and London, Diane is a respected thought-leader and strong advocate for the development and advancement of Jamaica’s business brand, and transformation of the nation’s business environment.

She has successfully managed and executed product launches for Jamaican food brands into mainstream markets, and negotiated substantial European Union funding for the ‘Target Europe’ Trade Development Programme; an initiative that positioned Jamaican products in the European market. This project subsequently evolved into a five-year Private Sector Development Programme (PSDP).She was also successful in landing investments in Jamaica for Spanishresort investors RIU and Iberostarand pivotal to the development of Jamaica’s garment sub-contracting and information and communications technology (ICT) industries.

Diane currently serves as the President of the Caribbean Association of Investment Promotion Agencies (CAIPA) and a member of the UK Institute of Directors, a Trustee for the British Foundation for the University of the West Indies.

Daniel Valverde Country Brand Director Essential Costa Rica

Daniel Valverde Bagnarello has built his career in marketing over 20 years. He holds both a Master in Digital Marketing and a Master in Management from IE Business School, a seat in the British School of Costa Rica's Advisor Committee and most recently, appointed Secretary of the Latin American Country Brands Counsel.

Although he started in advertising, Daniel's career path has led him over the years from a copywriter’s desk at a BBDO network agency, to the commercial director's seat in one of the most successful company holdings in the Central American region devoted to global trade. Along the way he has skilled in the management of multinational marketing teams praising that success in his field lays on two major pillars: The first, embracing data as the main source to spark creative initiatives. And the second, committing to talent development as a KPI.

Currently, Daniel is the Country Brand Director behind "essential COSTA RICA", the country brand that showed the greatest annual growth in America according to the Bloom Consulting Country Brand Ranking 2017/2018. He also leads the country brand's Technical Unit that comprises representatives from Procomer (Costa Rica's TPA), CINDE (IPA), ICT (Tourism Bureau), COMEX (International Trade Bureau) and Costa Rica's Chancellery (Foreign Affairs Bureau).”

Jose Torres CEO Bloom Consulting

Bloom Consulting CEO

www.bloom-consulting.com

Since 2003 Mr. Torres has been advising Countries in the field of Nation Branding and City Branding, working directly with heads of state, directors of National Tourism Organizations and Investment Promotion Agencies.

His clients include Countries, Regions and Cities such as Australia, Costa Rica, Israel, Jamaica, Poland, Sweden, Stockholm and many others spread across all five continents.

Mr. Torres collaborates directly with the World Economic Forum in the matters of Nation Branding and is a guest speaker in some of the most prestigious universities in USA and Europe, such as HARVARD, the London Business School, Stockholm School of Economics and many others, being interviewed by The Economist, BBC, Guardian and CNN.

Since 2011 his company performs a global research project called the Bloom Consulting Country Brand Ranking and most recently the Digital Country Index and the Digital City Index

Agustin Diaz Vega Chief of Cabinet and Brand Manager Tourism of Buenos Aires Province

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).

Larissa Perdomo Country Brand Manager URUGUAY XXI

Larissa Perdomo has been head of the Uruguay Country Brand team since June 2014. She has been Image and Communications Manager at the Uruguayan investment and export promotion agency (Uruguay XXI) since 2009, contributing to the creation and management of the Uruguayan country brand project, and coordinating this activity from Uruguay XXI with the Inter-ministerial Advising Committee for Foreign Trade.

Larissa has a degree in Communication Sciences from Universidad de la República, Uruguay. She has specialized in corporate communications, developing press campaigns and publicrelations and acting as a consultant to several companies and organizations for more than 15 years. She has a post gradúate degree in culture management and public policie s from“Universitat de Barcelona”,Spain; and has specialized in social media and marketresearchwithintheMaster’sdegree in Communication and Media Receptionat“ Universidad Católica del Uruguay”. Larissa participates in the Endeavor´s Mentoring programme at IEEM Business School at the “Universidad de Montevideo” and has achieveda Program for Management  Development (PMD) at the ISEDE Business School of “Universidad Católica del  Uruguay”.

In recent years she has taken part in Country Brand international forums and workshops with specialists in NationBranding. She coordiantes the Jeremy Hildreth consultancy for “Redibero Region Image” Project (Ibero-American Network of Trade Promotion Organizations) within the framework of IDB Regional Public Goods programme.

Larissa has worked as a professor of corporate communications and public relations in the Uruguayan Association of Marketing Executives (ADM) and has trainedmanyexecutivesfromcompanies and organizations in their relationship with the media. She also lectures on country branding for the Tourism degree program at the Universidad Católica del Uruguay.

Before joining Uruguay XXI, Larissa was an independent consultant and has provided communication consultancy services including, but not limited to, the Uruguayan Chamber of Commerce and Services, IBM, STORAENSO, BIMBO, FONDATION FORGE,  BBVA, ENDEAVOR, and PNUD.