Clare Dewhirst Director City Nation Place +447455 232830

Clare is the founder and director of City Nation Place, the global forum for place branding and place marketing.  City Nation Place creates connections and shares best practice between country brands, regional brands, and city brands around the world through articles, interviews, surveys, white papers, a membership group, 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, she launched the first City Nation Place Americas conference, in 2018 City Nation Place Asia Pacific took place in Singapore, and 2019 saw the first City Nation Place UK, specifically for towns, cities and regions across the UK, and the launch of the first City Nation Place LatAm & Caribbean event.  Clare manages the small team at City Nation Place alongside providing event consultancy and management for a number of clients in the publishing and trade association sector, including running the World Media Awards for the World Media Group  and event consultancy for the UK Association for Online Publishers.

Lord Kim Darroch KCMG Former British Ambassador to the USA and former security adviser to Prime Minister David Cameron

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

Christian Biller Brand Strategist Swedish Institute (SI)

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.

Neil Frauenglass Chief Marketing Officer Visit Philadelphia

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.

H E Nouf Al-Bushlaibi Executive Director, Strategic Marketing & Communications Department of Culture and Tourism Abu Dhabi

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.

Sithembile Ntombela Chief Executive Officer (Acting) Brand South Africa

Sithembile Ntombela has been part of the Brand South Africa team for over a decade. A prolific marketer with over 22 years of marketing experience in private and public sector and has a deep understanding of the marketing and brand environments.

She has extensive classical marketing experience in FMCG, global marketing, and destination (Nation Brand) marketing. A leader with the mission to innovate and improve overall company performance. She is a prudent decision-maker and an inspiring leader that strives to build high performing teams.

Sithembile has held senior managerial positions from diverse companies and her experiences include developing and implementing impactful, successful, and sustainable brand strategies.

Sithembile completed her Marketing undergraduate qualification at Mangosuthu University of Technology in KZN. She later pursued and completed a Post Graduate National Diploma in Marketing and BPHIL Honours in Marketing through the Institute of Marketing Management (IMM) and a Masters in Commerce (MCOM) from MANCOSA.

She is a Chartered Marketer (CM-SA) with the Marketing Association of South Africa (MASA) and a member of Black Management Forum.

She is also an Advisory board member the CMO Council (Sub Saharan Africa) and City Nation Place where she continues to share her insights relating to dynamics in brand and marketing world.

Jess Radford Director of Place Branding & Operations Brand Tasmania

Jess Radford is the Director of Place Branding & Operations at Brand Tasmania.

Brand Tasmania is a statutory authority and State Government agency tasked with taking a best practice approach to ensure the Tasmanian brand is strengthened locally, nationally and internationally, and is promoted as a key asset of the Tasmanian community.

In her role, Jess leads Brand Tasmania’s corporate, strategic, and business planning activities, and manages Brand Tasmania’s government relations through a client-service agenda. Together with her colleagues at Brand Tasmania she works with partners on inventive projects to unite Tasmanians around a central brand expression, through communication and action.

Ben Lynam Head of Strategic Communications The Travel Foundation

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.

Laura Citron Chief Executive London & Partners

Laura is CEO of London & Partners, the growth agency for London. Our mission is to create economic growth that is resilient, sustainable and inclusive. We drive investment, innovation and entrepreneurship and make London a brilliant destination for visitors and Londoners.

Laura is proud to lead the teams behind flagship brands including Visit London, Let’s Do London, Grow London, London Tech Week, MedCity London, DotLondon and Opportunity London.

Since Laura became CEO, London & Partners has created 42,500 jobs and added £1.9bn to the London economy.

Before joining London & Partners, Laura led the global Government & Public Sector Practice at WPP, the FTSE 100 global leader in marketing and communications.

Rossana Dresdner Executive Director Imagen de Chile Foundation

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.

Guðrið Højgaard CEO Visit Faroe Islands

Guðrið Højgaard is the Director of Visit Faroe Islands, the official tourist board of the Faroe Islands.  With an MBA in International Marketing and Communication from Copenhagen Business School, Guðrið Højgaard has vast experience in the tourism industry, having worked as marketing director for Visit Stockholm and marketing manager for Visit Denmark in Sweden.

In 2012 she moved back to her native islands after 20 years abroad and took up the position of Director of Visit Faroe Islands where her main task is, quite simply, to put the Faroe Islands on the world map as a must-see tourist destination. In recognition of her achievements so far in leading her small team to develop a successful new marketing strategy for Faroese tourism, Guðrið Højgaard received the 2016 Public Leader of the Year award. Also
 Visit Faroe Islands has won several international marketing awards like Golden Lions in Cannes, Clio Awards, Epica Awards and World Media Awards.

In 2019 Guðrið is on the Politico 28 list over people likely to be “shaping, shaking and stirring Europe in 2019”, the first ever tourism director on the list.

From 2018 Guðrið is also director for the internal tourism development on the islands.

Adriana Acosta Rivas Marketing, Communication & Country Brand Director Essential COSTA RICA

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.

Clare Dewhirst Director City Nation Place +447455 232830

Clare is the founder and director of City Nation Place, the global forum for place branding and place marketing.  City Nation Place creates connections and shares best practice between country brands, regional brands, and city brands around the world through articles, interviews, surveys, white papers, a membership group, 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, she launched the first City Nation Place Americas conference, in 2018 City Nation Place Asia Pacific took place in Singapore, and 2019 saw the first City Nation Place UK, specifically for towns, cities and regions across the UK, and the launch of the first City Nation Place LatAm & Caribbean event.  Clare manages the small team at City Nation Place alongside providing event consultancy and management for a number of clients in the publishing and trade association sector, including running the World Media Awards for the World Media Group  and event consultancy for the UK Association for Online Publishers.

Barry Rogers Head of the Dublin City Tourism Unit Dublin City Council Culture Company

Barry Rogers is the Head of the Dublin City Tourism Unit. The Unit is responsible for tourism development across Dublin City. The Unit is also responsible for the Smart Tourism Programme for Dublin which is focused on driving innovation in the tourism industry and establishing Dublin as a world-leading 'Smart Destination'. The programme manages over 20 projects across the city including the development of new and interactive experiences such as the Dublin Discovery Trails app.

Dublin’s Smart Tourism Programme recently won the prestigious Global Tourism Innovation award for best Digital and Innovation Destination and Dublin is also the 2024 European Capital of Smart Tourism. Barry has previously worked with Tourism Ireland in the areas of strategy development, corporate governance, policy and tourism data and Insights.

He has a BA and MA in Tourism Economics and Policy from the National Centre for Tourism Policy Studies at the University of Limerick.

Daniel Hengeveld Vice President of Investment Attraction Toronto Global

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.

Janneke Hendrikx Global Head of PR Netherlands Board of Tourism & Conventions (NBTC)

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.