Join Brand Finance for the exclusive launch of the UK 250 2026 report, now supercharged with keynote speaker Mark Ritson, the marketing professor renowned for his sharp, data-driven insights on brand strategy and growth.
Bringing together the UK’s leading CMOs and brand decision-makers, this flagship morning event offers insight, discussion, and high-value networking over breakfast refreshments, followed by light lunch bites after the session.
As part of Brand Finance’s global programme of events - launched earlier this year at Davos - this UK gathering explores a critical question: How can brands build trust, and convert it into measurable value, in an increasingly sceptical world?
Set against tightening CMO budgets and growing scrutiny on marketing effectiveness, the event also marks Brand Finance’s 30th anniversary, celebrating three decades of helping organisations understand and unlock the value of their brands.
Please note that attendance is subject to approval and venue capacity. To express your interest in attending, please request an invitation and a member of our team will be in touch.
| 09.00 - 09.30 | Registration & Networking Breakfast |
| 09.30 - 09.40 | Opening Remarks David Haigh, Chairman, Brand Finance |
| 09.40 - 10.00 | Presentation of the UK 250 2026 Annie Brown, Managing Director UK, Brand Finance |
| 10.00 - 10.45 | CMO Panel Discussion Guest speakers to be announced. |
| 10.45 - 10.50 | Comfort Break |
| 10.50 - 11.10 | Keynote Speech | Mark Ritson, Founder, MiniMBA |
| 11.10 - 11.35 | Fireside Chat | Mark Ritson & David Haigh |
| 11.35 - 11.50 | Audience Q&A |
| 11.50 - 12.00 | Closing Remarks |
| 12.00 - 12.30 | Light Lunch & Conversation |
I have a PhD in Marketing and spent 25 years working as a marketing professor. I was an Assistant Professor at London Business School and the University of Minnesota, an Associate Professor and then Adjunct Professor at Melbourne Business School, and Visiting Professor at MIT. My MBA teaching won a shit ton of prizes including best teacher at LBS, MIT & MBS. I have also worked as a global brand consultant for clients that include Baxter, Loewe, McKinsey, Subaru, Donna Karan, Westpac, Shiseido, Flight Centre, Johnson & Johnson, De Beers, Sephora, Benefit, Amgen, Ericsson, Penfolds, Jurlique, Cloudy Bay and WD40. For thirteen years - from 2002 to 2015 - I served as the in-house brand consultant for LVMH - the world's largest luxury group - working in Paris with senior executives from brands like Louis Vuitton, Dom Perignon and Hennessy. I’ve been a columnist for 20 years, writing a weekly column for Marketing, then Marketing Week and now AdWeek in the US and The Drum in the UK. On seven occasions I've been voted Columnist of the Year at the PPA Press Awards, the highest award for magazine journalism in the UK. I’ve also been the British Society of Magazine Editors Business Columnist of the Year in 2018, 2022 and 2023. More scholarly articles include the Sloan Management Review, Harvard Business Review, the Journal of Advertising and the Journal of Consumer Research. I was a Thouron Scholar and spent 1995 at Wharton. I was a recipient of the Ferber Award in 2000 for my doctoral thesis. My co-authored pricing research was cited by George Akerlof during his Nobel Prize acceptance speech. AdNews rated me one of their “Power 50” and I made SmartCompany's top ten business thinkers list. The AMI gave me the Sir Charles McGrath Award, the highest honour for marketing in Australia. I gave the 30th Anniversary Levitt Group lecture for the Chartered Institute of Marketing in 2019 and the Ogilvy lecture for the Marketing Society a year later. In the 2024 honours list I was a made an Honorary Fellow of the IPA.
David is the Chairman 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).
Annie is a qualified management accountant and has worked on Brand and Business valuation projects serving global clients, including Barclays and Shell. She is experienced across of variety of services including brand licensing, research analytics, rebrand uplift and balance sheet valuation. Annie heads up various studies at Brand Finance, including the annual Global Intangible Finance Tracker (GIFT™) and the Brand Guardianship Index. In addition, Annie has conducted research and analysis for the Brand Finance brand rankings, specialising in Banking, Retail and Oil & Gas sectors. Annie has served clients worldwide, with a particular focus on the USA and the Middle East. Annie joined Brand Finance as an Analyst in August 2017 after graduating from The University of Edinburgh with a Masters degree in Philosophy and Economics. She has since completed her CIMA professional qualification.