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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Maria Bota has 35 years’ experience in the arts, encompassing artistic director, chief executive, sector development, policy and marketing roles. She has commissioned, programmed and presented work indoors, outdoors and online, responding to contemporary and heritage settings. She is experienced within international arts companies, festivals, local authorities and venues, in subsidised and in commercial environments.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Alex Harvie is Head of City Marketing in Glasgow’s new Destination Management Organisation (DMO) called Destination Glasgow.

This brings together Destination Marketing, Glasgow Conventions Bureau and Invest Glasgow into one organisation, based in Glasgow City Council.

Alex was previously Head of Marketing and Communications at Glasgow Life, one of Scotland’s largest charities, dedicated to improving people’s lives through culture and sport. Glasgow Life operates the city’s museums (including the award-winning Burrell Collection, Kelvingrove Art Gallery, and Riverside Museum), as well as libraries, arts and cultural venues, sports centres, and city-wide events.

Alex has thirty years’ experience in delivering complex, integrated communications projects, from being Head of Communications at Wembley, to creating the first definitive cultural study on Iran in 70 years, to setting the UK Government’s language of mourning after 9/11.

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.

With a dynamic career spanning strategic business leadership, cultural strategy and economic development, Elin Williamson is a visionary professional spearheading transformative initiatives in Edinburgh's economic landscape. As the Service Director – Culture, Wellbeing and Economy at the City of Edinburgh Council, Elin champions a sustainable and inclusive economy where all citizens have access to the city’s vast cultural and leisure offerings and given equal opportunities to thrive. She played a central role in shaping the city's economic recovery post-COVID, specifically supporting local businesses and vulnerable communities and has, for the last four years, been the Senior Responsible Officer in the development and implementation of a Visitor Levy for Edinburgh.

Sharon has brought years of experience across a whole host of different sectors to her role as Chief Executive of Sunderland BID, which have all contributed to her ability to bring a variety of skills and insights to her multi-faceted job. 

Her role ensures she is a voice for businesses across the city but to also ensure that the BID plays an active part in helping build a strong and robust Sunderland for the future.

Currently on the schedule is bringing all relevant partners together to create a retail plan for the city high streets, as well as invigorating a health on the high street agenda.

She is the co-chair of The North East Combined Authority High Street Commission, a Visiting Professor for the University of Sunderland’s Business School, a director of Sunderland Business Partnership and a co-chair of the Sunderland Empire Theatre Trust, as well as being part of the British Bids Advisory Board.

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.