Todd Babiak CEO Brand Tasmania

Todd Babiak is CEO of Brand Tasmania. He made the switch from place branding and economic development consulting, with Story Engine and Places are People, where he had worked with clients in North America, Latin America, Europe, Africa, and Australia. Why did he move to Tasmania, to join his former client as CEO? He had never implemented a strategy before, and he was inspired to understand why people didn’t always take action on his “brilliant advice.”

Now he gets it.

See tasmanian.com.au and toddbabiak.com.

Camilla Bark Director of Marketing and Communications Invest in Skåne

Camilla Bark is Director of Marketing and Talent Attraction at Invest in Skåne, the official trade and investment promotion organisation for Skåne, the southernmost part of Sweden.

Invest in Skåne help international companies invest and expand in the region, and attract valuable talent to secure a skilled, diverse and competent workforce in Skåne and the Greater Copenhagen region.

In addition, Invest in Skåne has the task of promoting Skåne and the Greater Copenhagen Region internationally as an attractive, dynamic and world-class region for business, research and innovation, and which provides a gateway to, not just the Nordics, but Europe as a whole. Camilla leads a team responsible for marketing, communications, PR and talent attraction/retention. She holds a double Bachelor degree in Business Administration and Human Resources (with a focus on Competence Resourcing) and has several years of experience working with international marketing and branding within B2B as well as competence resourcing and Employer Branding.

Ursula Bauer Head of Section Gender Mainstreaming City of Vienna

Ursula Bauer studied geography with a focus on urban and regional planning in Vienna and  Paris.

From 1992 to 2005 she is working for Municipal Department 57 – Promotion and Coordination of Women’s Issues of the City of Vienna. In October 2005 she is nominated as project director for the implementation of gender mainstreaming in the Vienna City Administration, in April 2012 she is also appointed deputy head of the controlling instruments group.

Since 1998 she is also giving lectures on gender equality and gender mainstreaming at the University of Vienna and the FH Camus Wien – University of Applied Sciences.

Primary areas of responsibility: working out guidelines for the implementation of gender mainstreaming and gender analyses for the Vienna City Administration, training and further education on the issue of gender mainstreaming, developing concepts on public relations and internal applications, advising and initiating pilot projects in the individual municipal departments and cooperating in the gender budgeting process.

Glòria Boix Curós Head of City Branding Projects Barcelona City Council

Gloria Boix is the Head of City Branding Projects of Barcelona City Council.

With more than 15 years of experience in international promotion and strategic project management, marketing and communication.  

Before joining the City Council, she worked in several organizations such as Mobile World Capital Foundation and Fira Barcelona, boosting international promotion with Barcelona Brand as an economic attraction asset. As well as in the private sector developing strategies on business model transition.

Gloria Boix holds a degree in German Studies by the Universitat de Barcelona and a Master in Digital Business by ISDI.

Andrea Centeno Marketing & Communications Director CINDE [Costa Rica Investment Promotion Agency]

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.

Josh Collins Chief Product Officer Zartico

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.

Caroline Dawson Director of Business Development Simpleview

As Director of Business Development for Simpleview, Caroline is responsible for developing new global business partnerships across EMEA and APAC and works closely with her counterparts in the U.S. and South America. She enjoys a global perspective, liaising with organisations to overcome their challenges and to meet their objectives, and loves networking with industry colleagues from all around the world. Caroline is a creative, passionate, and commercially aware sales director with over 13 years experience in travel and tourism — including her previous role as senior account manager at Booking.com, where she headed up the North of England and North Wales regional team at just 27 years of age.

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.

Heike Döll-König Managing Director Tourismus NRW e.V.

Dr. Heike Döll-König is a passionate Germanist and literary scholar. Since 2010 she has been the Managing Director of Tourismus NRW e.V. and in this function has always been a pioneer in forward-looking destination marketing. Previously she was communications and press officer at the state government of North Rhine-Westphalia, most recently head of location marketing and communications at the NRW Ministry of Economic Affairs. She is also active in tourism committees at state and national level, including deputy president of the DTV and member of the DRV Germany Committee.

Sholto Douglas-Home Chief Sales & Marcomms Officer Expo City Dubai

Sholto Douglas-Home is a marketing and communications leader with extensive professional and operational experience across multiple sectors, including Tourism & Entertainment, Media & Telecoms, News & Financial Information and Recruitment & Staffing.

As Chief Sales, Marketing and Communications Officer at Expo 2020 Dubai, Sholto was responsible for sharing Expo 2020 Dubai with the world. A global triumph that welcomed more than 24 million visitors, Expo 2020 was the first World Expo held in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia region and the most significant global gathering to take place since the start of the pandemic. Sholto is now helping continue its legacy, working on the October 2022 launch of Expo City Dubai – a clean, green, tech-enabled district, packed with educational, cultural and entertainment offerings, and host of the United Nation’s COP 28 Summit in 2023.

Sholto joined Expo 2020 after 12 years as the Chief Marketing Officer of Hays, a UK-listed global recruitment services firm. Prior to Hays, Sholto was Global Head of Brand and Marketing Communications at Thomson Reuters, before which he held senior marketing roles at BT Group. After graduating in Management Sciences from Warwick Business School, Sholto started his career in advertising, working for three major communication groups – Publicis, IPG and Omnicom.

Enver Duminy CEO Cape Town Tourism

Enver was appointed CEO of Cape Town Tourism in 2013. Enver has been involved in various
ground-breaking projects, including pioneering the first ever Responsible Pricing policy for the
tourism industry in Cape Town, conceptualising the first Mobile Visitor Information Vehicle in Africa
and implementing the first-ever integrated management system in a tourism organisation. His current
focus is to work alongside his team and stakeholders, driving innovation and transformation though
campaigns that raise Cape Town's profile as a leading and accessible global destination.

Anthony Everett President & CEO 4VI

Anthony Everett, ICD.D currently is the President and CEO of 4VI, a social enterprise formed to ensure that travel is a force for good for Vancouver Island – forever. 4VI transitioned from a destination management organization, previously known as Tourism Vancouver Island, in April 2022. In addition to his CEO position, he is the Chair of the BC Regional Tourism Secretariat made up of the province’s five regional tourism organizations.

Anthony has been involved in tourism in British Columbia for 30+ years starting his career at The Butchart Gardens in visitor services and then establishing Butchart Gardens’ Media Relations department. In 1999, he was recruited to Tourism Victoria to manage the Media Relations Department until 2003 when he joined the team at Tartan Public Relations as Account Director. In 2006, Anthony moved away from Vancouver Island to lead the Northern British Columbia Tourism Association until 2015.

From 2011 to 2017, Anthony Chaired the Board of Directors for the 2015 Prince George Canada Winter Games Host Society. Well versed as a director with various organizational boards, he has gained experience from his involvement with the Myeloma Canada Board of Directors (June 2016 – 2020), go2HR Board of Directors (2012 – 2016), and the Canada Games Council (CGC) Board (fall 2016 – present). Currently, in addition to the CGC Board, Anthony is the Chair of the Bid Evaluation Committee for the 2027 Canada Winter Games to be held in the Yukon.

Anthony graduated from the ICD-Rotman, Directors Education Program in May 2017 and achieved his Institute of Corporate Directors, ICD.D in June 2017.

Anthony has earned significant achievements through his career including the Canadian Sport Tourism Alliance (CSTA) Prestige Award 2016, the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal, and the 2015 Prince George Citizen of the Year.

Jeremie Feinblatt Vice President Resonance

Jeremie has more than 15 years of international experience in marketing, business development, and brand and business strategy, working on culture, hospitality, lifestyle, fashion and destination brands for major agencies in Europe and North America. Prior to joining Resonance, he led growth and strategy for MATTE Projects, a NYC-based culture agency, where he guided development efforts for brands such as Marriott, Equinox, Reebok and Airbnb. Before that, from his base in Paris, he lead business development at Interbrand and Strategy at FutureBrand, advising organizations like Allianz, AccorHotels and Nespresso on their brand strategies and brand portfolios.

Jeremie founded Souple, a destination marketing agency that he grew into a 10-person firm in the tourism and economic development landscape. Clients included VisitUSA; Metz Metropole (France) where he led one of the country’s largest Economic Development initiatives with a 3-year campaign that grew investment awareness by 70%; Sousse, Tunisia; the cities of St. Emilion and Caen in France; and Charles De Gaulle Hubstart, the industrial area around CDG airport. Jeremie has also produced high-profile live B2B and B2C events, including a 5,000-person dance party with the Concorde jet at the Bourget Airport. Most recently, he spearheaded sponsorship development for the virtual WRLDCTY Festival from his base in New York.

Natasha Grand Norman Director Institute for Identity (INSTID)

Natasha Grand is a trained diplomat with a PhD in national identity from LSE. Her work with emerging markets in the City of London convinced her that people eventually come before data in any decision-making. She co-founded Institute for Identity (INSTID) in 2009 to help enhance character and personality of lesser-known places. A previous judge with the CNP awards, an expert with The Place Brand Observer, an author of academic and industry publications, Natasha leads a team of professionals who deliver imaginative and sustainable solutions to tourism and talent attraction agencies.

Hannah Grant Director of Demand Generation & Growth CrowdRiff

Hannah is a marketer with a knack for search engine optimization, content production and digital strategy. A former destination marketer, Hannah has worked closely with her local industry on digital literacy, responsible travel, and sustainability. She is most proud of her on-going disability advocacy work, including spearheading the Vancouver Island accessible travel guides and peer support in her community.

Amy Guttmann Director of Marketing & Brand Strategy Metro Denver Economic Development Corporation

Amy Guttmann is a marketing and strategy lead, freelance creative director, brand storyteller and communications expert with 20 years of experience guiding integrated campaigns. Specializing in public and social issues for nearly two decades, she began her career at SE2 – a communications and marketing firm focused on building public will. Through their proprietary approach, Amy worked to influence awareness, perception and behavior – ultimately supporting positive change on issues with impact. (Think education, energy, public health, inclusion and identity, housing, workforce development, telecommunications and transportation.) Amy’s marketing expertise spans everything from brand strategy to large-scale advertising and culture change campaigns, to audience segmentation and targeted messaging efforts, to a global diversity and inclusion initiative for a Fortune 100 company.

Since 2019, she’s put her expertise to work for the Metro Denver Economic Development Corporation – the first regional economic development authority in the United States. Amy plays a pivotal role in the EDC’s strategic planning, regional brand engagement, and the domestic and international marketing of the Metro Denver region and its key industry verticals – including aerospace, financial services, healthcare, IT/software and outdoor recreation.

In 2021, Amy launched The Elevation Effect, the business and lifestyle brand for Metro Denver – a service area that accounts for 80% of the Colorado population and 85% of the state GDP. Core to the region’s attraction and retention efforts, the brand uses Colorado’s iconic mountains as a metaphor for what it’s like to live and work in the Centennial State – a place where companies and talent dream bigger, collaborate more, and refuse to choose between a rewarding career and an unmatched quality of life.

David Haigh Chairman & CEO Brand Finance

David is the CEO and founder of Brand Finance Plc. 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.

David pioneered the Brand Finance Nation Brands study over 15 years ago and has led the development of our practice from nation brand valuation to soft power insight. He has extensive experience working with nations, regions, and cities, including the GREAT Campaign, Brand South Africa, Seoul Metropolitan Government, and Italian Trade Agency. He has provided strategic advice on tourism and foreign investment campaigns to governments and place brand managers on all continents.

David is a passionate writer and has authored many articles for the marketing and financial press on nation branding and brand valuation, published in numerous 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.

Brent Hill CEO Tourism Fiji

Brent Hill is the CEO of Tourism Fiji, based in Nadi Fiji. After a successful career as a CMO in Australia, Brent joined the South Australian Tourism Commission in 2015. After 6 award winning years leading SATC to a record $8B in tourism revenue, Brent joined Tourism Fiji in July ’21. Tasked with reopening Fiji’s tourism industry by the end of year, Brent led the team who reopening Fiji successfully on December 1, 2021, and has now positioned Fiji well on the way to recovery, with Fiji on track to record region leading tourism numbers in a new sustainable way.

Mayor Armindo Jacinto Municipality of Idanha-a-Nova Portugal

Armindo Jacinto (Idanha-a-Nova, 1964) is the Mayor of Idanha-a-Nova, Portugal, since June 2013.

He is also the President of the Administration Council of Naturtejo, the entity that promotes the Naturtejo UNESCO Global Geopark, located in Central Portugal, near the border with Spain.

Armindo Jacinto has a Bachelor's Degree in Agricultural Sciences from the School of Agriculture of the Polytechnic Institute of Castelo Branco, where he nurtured his interest in agriculture and rural development.

He works with various institutions and associations in the fields of tourism, culture, agriculture, environmental sustainability and local development.

Today, Idanha has three UNESCO designations: City of Music, Global Geopark and Biosphere Reserve, and is also a member of the International Network of Eco-Regions.

Konrad Jagodzinski Place Branding Director Brand Finance

Konrad leads Brand Finance’s place branding and soft power practice. He liaises with clients, directs consulting projects, and is responsible for the creation and promotion of the annual Global Soft Power Index and Nation Brands studies.

Konrad has extensive experience in advising clients in the fields of place branding and public diplomacy. Before joining Brand Finance, he worked at the Polish Embassy in London where he developed and delivered successful marketing communications campaigns as well as media relations programmes of official engagements by the president, prime minister, government ministers, and the ambassador.

In his role at Brand Finance, Konrad has advised a variety of place branding organisations, including New Zealand Story, the Australian Trade and Investment Commission, and the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland.

Konrad has qualified with the Professional PR Diploma from the Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR). He studied European Studies MA at King’s College London and the Humboldt University in Berlin, and International Relations with Political Science BA at the University of Birmingham.

Jay Kinghorn Chief Innovation Officer, Co-founder Zartico

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.

Julia Lumley Place Marketing Manager Destination Harrogate

After starting her career in PR & Comms within visitor attractions, Julia has worked in destination marketing for the last five years, both within the Tees Valley Combined Authority and currently in the newly-launched Destination Management Organisation for the Harrogate district, Destination Harrogate.

Destination Harrogate is the DMO for the Harrogate district, which includes Boroughbridge, Harrogate, Knaresborough, Masham, Pateley Bridge and the city of Ripon, as well as Nidderdale AONB – all located within Yorkshire in the UK. Destination Harrogate is a DMO with big ambition, launching its new Destination Management Plan earlier this year setting out plans to become a first choice Health & Wellbeing destination, a place for exceptional events and recognised for responsible tourism

Maria Lypiatska Head of BRAND UKRAINE and Strategic Communications Advisor Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ukraine

Maria is a strategic communication and nation branding expert.

With over ten years of professional experience in both public and international sectors, Maria has expertise in global PR and communications, public administration, and nation branding. Maria has managed international projects and communication activities for Vice-Prime-Minister’s Office on European and Euro-Atlantic Integration and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine.

As a Strategic Communications Advisor to the Foreign Minister of Ukraine, Maria provides policy advice on public diplomacy and country promotion. Over the last three years, she has set up an official digital ecosystem of Ukraine Ukraine.ua that has reached unprecedented global audiences of 700 mln, developed the Public Diplomacy Strategy of Ukraine, and launched a range of successful country promotion campaigns.

Currently, as the Head of BRAND UKRAINE, Maria is responsible for Ukraine’s brand development.

Maria holds a Master in International Relations from Kyiv Taras Shevchenko National University, Ukraine, and Master in Communication for Development from Malmo University, Sweden.

Jason McGrath Senior Vice President IPSOS Global Reputation Centre

Jason is a research, communications and reputation strategist with 15 years' global experience providing strategic council to public, private and non-profit clients regarding their reputation strategies, competitive positioning, stakeholder engagement, marketing and communications.  Jason consults with clients on their reputation measurement and evaluation programs, and how they can optimise their marketing and communications programming for the greatest reputational impact.  

Ruta Nemunyte Director of Marketing & Communication Invest Lithuania

Rūta Nemunytė is the Director of Marketing and Communication at Invest Lithuania, the country’s investment promotion agency responsible for attracting companies from high-value-added sectors, supporting them in the long run, and improving the country’s business environment.

Together with her team, Rūta is in charge of developing two country brands – Lithuania for business (Invest Lithuania) and Lithuania as a career launchpad (Work in Lithuania). Seeing how much of a game-changer talent attraction can be for international companies, six years ago Invest Lithuania launched Work in Lithuania – an initiative dedicated to encouraging highly-skilled professionals living abroad to build their careers in Lithuania. Work in Lithuania is equipped with a standalone team, dedicated to analysing labour markets, providing guidance and support to companies, running talent attraction campaigns and marketing Lithuania as a prime career destination.

Rūta also was part of a temporary think-tank assembled to develop Lithuania’s brand strategy “Lithuania co-create”. The strategy was rolled out in 2021, with Business + Innovations as one of its core pillars.

Before joining Invest Lithuania, Rūta spent 10+ years in advertising, first at McCann Erickson Vilnius (currently, TRUTH.), and then at DDB Vilnius. She holds a BA degree in Communications from Concordia International University.

Gianluca Rizzo Managing Director Brixton Business Improvement District

Gianluca Rizzo is a Place Management Specialist with over 10 years’ experience in the Business Improvement Districts (BIDs) industry. Gianluca holds a BA in Sociology and a MSc in Geography. He is a Fellow at the Institute of Place Management (IPM) as well as at the Royal Society of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA). He is involved in a variety of organisations including The BID Foundation (TBF) as Founding Member, Cross River Partnership (CRP) as Board Member and the Association of Town and City Management (ATCM) as a Member. Gianluca leads the Brixton BID as well as Stratford Original BID in East London. Gianluca is passionate about places and firmly believes that ‘people make places’.

Jonathan Sloan Managing Director, MMGY Europe MMGY Global

As Managing Director of MMGY Europe, Jonathan Sloan brings more than 25 years of marketing and PR experience in the travel, hotel and restaurant sectors. In his role, Jonathan works across a portfolio of travel and tourism clients offering integrated marketing services across Europe and the Middle East.

An energetic and passionate member of the travel and hospitality industry, Jonathan offers a wealth of industry knowledge and experience having worked with major tourism destinations, hotel brands, tour operators, restaurant brands and media houses. Previously, Jonathan was with MMGY Hills Balfour in London for 17 years, with the last 10 years in the role of Managing Director. He’s also been actively involved with industry associations and committees including The Travel Media Awards and Visit USA Association and has been included in the PR Week Power List on a number of occasions.

Steve Thomson Insight Director Brand Finance

Steve leads the market research practice at Brand Finance, including management of our proprietary research programme in over 30 markets and the Global Soft Power Index survey in 100 countries worldwide.

Steve has a wealth of experience gained across a 30+ year career focusing on understanding consumer values, attitudes, and behaviour around the world. He has widespread expertise in consumer values and trends, brand positioning and strategy, public opinion, nation branding, and advertising effectiveness. He has direct research experience across a diverse range of cultures, from single-market deep-dives through to the management of large global insight programmes.

Steve is an acknowledged expert on the impact of social forces (online social media and offline word-of-mouth) on brand choices, and how these drive commercial outcomes for brand owners. As such he is a regular speaker at industry conferences.

Irina Tolstousov Head of Country Brand Promotion Invest Moldova Agency

Experienced Head of the Country Brand Promotion Department with a demonstrated history of working in the public and private sectors. Skilled in marketing strategy, public relations, and brand promotion. Strong marketing professional, a good communicator and team player.

As a specialist in the economic field, Irina has experience in several European Union projects related to the DCFTA implementation.

Within the Invest Moldova Agency, Ms. Tolstousov is involved in activities related to the Republic of Moldova's promotion as an investment, export offer, and touristic destination. Previously had been responsible for the export promotion activities focusing on the Fashion Industry.

Ms. Irina is a holder of a Bachelor and a Master's Degree in Marketing Management, the master's thesis being the Brand promotion of the Republic of Moldova.

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

George Tykhyi Media and Communications Advisor Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ukraine

Gosha Tykhyi is media and communications advisor to Dmytro Kuleba, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, working on public communications of Ukraine’s top-diplomat in the times of war.

Since Russia threw the bulk of its army over Ukraine’s borders on February 24th, 2022, Ukraine’s governmental communications have played an important role in galvanizing global support and forging a wartime nation brand. Communications team of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry have worked around the clock together with other governmental teams to counter Russian propaganda, convey truthful and fact-based narratives to foreign audiences, as well as to instil global faith in a nation courageously fighting for its freedom.

Gosha started his service in the Ukrainian government at the onset of Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s presidency in 2019. His prior experience had been 12 years with Ukrainian and international media, including as freelance producer, war-zone fixer for German television ARD and New York corespondent for Ukraine’s national news agency Ukrinform. Gosha holds a masters degree in Political Science from Ukraine’s National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy where his primary research focus was cognitive linguistics of political discourse.

Geerte Udo CEO amsterdam&partners

Geerte Udo has been appointed CEO of amsterdam&partners effective March 2019. She is known as being a decisive connector with vision and a creative spirit.

Together with the amsterdam&partners team, Geerte focusses on one mayor goal: to ensure that the Amsterdam Area remains liveable and prosperous for all the stakeholders.

We do this by seizing opportunities and solving problems, with residents being the focal point of these efforts. Visitors and companies that add value to the Amsterdam Area are also guaranteed a warm welcome. amsterdam&partners focuses on quality rather quantity when it comes to the visitor economy and attracting businesses, conferences, and talent to the region.

Udo looks not only at the issues of today, but also those of tomorrow. How do we ensure that the Amsterdam Area will continue to be a great place to live, work, and study for everyone in the future? A place known for its open and diverse culture, where people have respect for each other and the environment.

The company uses data, new technologies such as artificial intelligence, and storytelling to build on the sustainable reputation of Amsterdam Area. They guide residents, companies, and conferences to familiar and less familiar places and contributes to ways of reducing nuisance.

Udo is a born networker, visionary and connector. But most of all she is a source of inspiration. Creating connections between partners in government, the business community, knowledge institutions, and cultural organizations makes it possible to take up challenges and seize opportunities.

Geerte studied Public Administration at Leiden University. After graduating, she joined the consultancy firm Twijnstra Gudde in 2000 as a consultant. There she worked on issues largely related to alliances and change management in the public sector. In 2006, she moved to Amsterdam Partners and in 2013 she joined the management team of what was then Amsterdam Marketing, now amsterdam&partners. Udo discovered her love for art, culture, and good food at an early age. She has lived in Amsterdam for 20 years.

Tracy Vaughan Senior Vice President, Global Trade Development Visit Lauderdale

Tracy Vaughan, SVP Global Trade Development at Visit Lauderdale is responsible for the bureau’s global transient sales initiatives. With over 30 years tourism experience, Ms. Vaughan has travelled extensively on 6 continents, building a network of industry colleagues.

Ms. Vaughan established herself within the Florida tourism industry as she advanced through the ranks at VISIT FLORIDA. As director, international marketing, she led the design and implementation of multiple bespoke marketing ventures which generated more than $3 million in revenue annually. 

Ms. Vaughan adopted Fort Lauderdale as her home and is one of the city’s biggest boosters.  She is an avid cyclist, an activity that allows her to explore Fort Lauderdale and embrace the city’s diversity and many charms. 

Annemie Verschueren Director Media & Communications visit.brussels

Annemie Verschueren is Media & Communication Director at visit.brussels. She has built herself a sterling career in advertising and communication, which has ranged from managing communication plans for small, local brands to participating in award-winning advertising campaigns for large, international names. Brussels has always played a central part in both her private and professional life. It was the prospect of channeling her passion for the capital to contribute to its national and international attractiveness and reputation which drove her to make the bold career move of joining visit.brussels during the covid-pandemic in 2020. She will be happy to share with you how visit.brussels is engaging both private and public stakeholders to build a unified city-brand strategy.

Jonathan Woetzel Director McKinsey Global Institute

Jonathan Woetzel, Senior Partner, McKinsey & Company and Director, McKinsey Global Institute, leads McKinsey Global Institute research on China, Asia, and global economic and  business trends. Helps cities and regions create sustainable growth and  supports the transformation of Chinese companies into global leaders.