Brand Finance Global Forum 2019: Understanding the Value of Geographic Branding

David is the Chairman and CEO 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).

Conrad Bird is Director of Campaigns & Marketing for the Cabinet Office and was formerly Director of Campaigns & Marketing for the Department for International Trade, and prior to that Director of the GREAT Britain campaign, based at 10 Downing Street. While at No 10, Conrad’s role was extended to include responsibility for delivering major cross-government campaigns, as well as ensuring Government spending on communications was efficient and cost-effective.

Previously Conrad worked at the Foreign & Commonwealth Office as Head of Public Diplomacy and Strategic Campaigns. He was responsible for a wide range of policies and campaigns, including soft power, the 2012 Olympics and Paralympics, and campaigns in the Middle East, Libya, Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Conrad joined the Government in 2002, initially working with the Central Office of Information on issues that included teenage drugs, consumer rights and international export. He moved to the Cabinet Office to work with the first Permanent Secretary of Government Communication as Director of Strategic Communications. Here he launched ‘Engage’, a new approach to Government Communication, and was responsible for campaigns to counter-terrorism and animal rights extremism.

Before joining the Civil Service Conrad spent 18 years in advertising, working with a number of agencies on national and international business. During this time he also set up an award-winning communication consultancy which he successfully ran for eight years.

Richard has over a decade in value-based marketing, brand valuation and intangible asset valuation. He sat on the ISO Technical Committee 289 on Brand Valuation and contributed to the Brand Evaluation standard ISO 20671. He lectures on brand valuation and other topics to business schools and has a regular guest lecture series at London Business School.

While at Brand Finance he has overseen an array of the internal initiatives and studies while also leading many of the client relationships. With experience from B2B and B2C industries and brands, Richard has worked across all of Brand Finance’s service lines as a Chartered Accountant (ACA) and member of the Chartered Institute of Marketing but particularly specialises in valuation.

In addition, he has a BA in Mathematics from the University of Oxford.

Abhinav Kumar heads up the Marketing and Communications divisions for Tata Consultancy Service's 45 country international market presence, comprising the North America, Europe, UK, Latin America, APAC and MEA regions.

Recognized with over 70 awards for excellence in communications and branding, his team has established the company as the #1 fastest growing brand in the IT Services Industry from 2010-2020.

Under his tenure, the brand value of the company has risen from US$ 2.3 billion in 2010 to US$ 13.5 billion in 2020. He oversees the company's strategic relationships with multilateral organization such as the World Economic Forum and the European Union.

In 2019, Abhinav was accorded the SABRE award in London, towards outstanding individual achievement in his career as a CMO.

Abhinav has previously served in several leadership roles, including as the CMO for Europe, the CCO for Europe and as the CMO of Latin America at the company. He holds an MBA from the Indian Institute of Management Calcutta and a degree in Economics.

He is based out of Brussels, Belgium.

Marcus Höpperger is Senior Director of the Department for Trademarks, Industrial Designs and Geographical Indications, Brands and Designs Sector of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).

The Department is responsible for providing legal and policy advice to WIPO Member States in all questions of trademark, industrial design and geographical indication law, for servicing the WIPO Standing Committee on the Law of Trademarks, Industrial Designs and Geographical Indications and for the administration of the Lisbon System of Appellations of Origin.

Since taking up his duties with the World Intellectual Property Organization, he worked in various positions in international industrial property law (including patents, trademarks, geographical indications, industrial designs and international classifications, as well as the Madrid System for the International Registration of Marks, the Hague System for the International Registration of Industrial Designs, and the Lisbon Agreement Concerning the Protection of Appellations of Origin and their International Registration.  Prior to his current assignment, he was the Director of the Madrid International Trademark Registry.

In his current function, he acts as Secretary to the WIPO Standing Committee on the Law of Trademarks, Industrial Designs and Geographical Indications and was in charge of the 2006 Diplomatic Conference adopting the Singapore Treaty on the Law of Trademarks and the 2015 Diplomatic Conference adopting the Geneva Act of the Lisbon Agreement on Appellations of Origin and Geographical Indications

Michael began his career in chartered accountancy, training originally with Ernst and Young in 1980, before taking his first Group Finance Director position at Bassett Foods PLC in 1986 gaining an MBA during this time.

In 1989 he transferred his skills to the drinks industry when he was appointed Group Finance Director of H.P. Bulmer Holdings PLC.

Retail beckoned, and in 1994 Michael took up the post of Managing Director of Lloyds Chemists PLC, later cementing a talent for the sector with retail roles at Celsio AG and Apax Partnership.

It was in 2005 that the opportunity came to take up his current role of Managing Director at Harrods Ltd.  Michael has embarked on a programme of significant business development, growing Harrods into the unrivalled successful retail model it is today, while overseeing a smooth transition to new owners in Qatar Holding.   More recently this has involved further investment including Super Brands and Shoe Heaven.

Michael is Chairman of Walpole and was President of the European Cultural and Creative Alliance from 2014 – 2016.

Michael was born in 1956 in Kingston upon Hull. He is married with three children, and away from the shop floor is an expert cook, while indulging a passion for collecting art and art deco glass.

Dr. David J. Reibstein is the William S. Woodside Professor and Professor of Marketing at The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania.  He has been on the Wharton Faculty for more than two decades.  Professor Reibstein’s research focuses on competitive marketing strategies, marketing metrics, and product line decisions, among other issues.

Professor Reibstein has been researching the economic impact of the brands of nations. In January 2016, he released the inaugural Best Countries report at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. In partnership with U.S. News & World Report and WPP’s BAV Consulting, the Best Countries report ranked 60 top nations based on the perceptions of 16,000+ global participants.  Most recently, he released the third edition of the Best Countries report in Davos Switzerland.

Professor Reibstein is the host of his very own radio talk show called “Measured Thoughts” on SiriusXM Radio, Channel 132.

Stefano Fanti has been with the Parma Ham Consortium since 1989. He has covered many roles of responsibility as regards marketing, product and corporate communication, diplomatic negotiations for the opening of new markets.

Since 1998 he is the General Manager. In this role, he works together with the President and the Board of Directors to define and carry out strategies, programmes and management policies for the Parma Ham sector, particularly in protecting its designation of origin and the corresponding trademark and enhancing the product in Italy and abroad. Mr. Fanti manages Public Affairs with Authorities, Public and Private Institutions.

He holds numerous other institutional appointments also at the international level as a natural consequence of his deep knowledge and long-term experience of this sector and of Consortium management.

Since 2012 he is deputy-president of Aicig - Association of Italian Consortia for geographical indications (Rome); from 2006 to 2017 he has been a member of OriGIn’s Executive Committee - Organisation for an International Geographical Indications Network (Geneva); from 2004 to 2016 a member of the Quality Consulting Committee of the Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development of the European Commission (Brussels); from 1999 to 2015 a member of the Board and the Executive Committee of Parma Alimentare - Association for Parma food products (Parma).

Massimo Vittori is the Managing Director of oriGIn, in charge of the Organization’s strategic planning and overall management.

Massimo previously worked as a legal advisor at the International Trade Center (ITC) – a technical assistance agency of the World Trade Organization and the United Nations – where he was in charge of several projects in the field of intellectual property, trade law harmonization, model contacts for SMEs and alternative business dispute resolution mechanisms. Massimo also worked at the United Nations Conference for Trade and Development (UNCTAD) on the improvement of developing countries’ investment climate through regulatory reforms.

Following his Bachelor Degree in International Relations, Massimo obtained a Master’s Degree in International Law at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies of Geneva and an LL.M. in Intellectual Property at the University of Turin. 

Massimo regularly delivers seminars on GIs, trademarks and trade-related issues in several European Universities.

Jonathan Reynolds is one of the leading academic experts in the study of the retail sector internationally. He is Academic Director of the Oxford Institute of Retail Management, Associate Professor in Retail Marketing and Deputy Dean at the University of Oxford’s Saïd Business School. He is also Deputy Director of the ESRC’s Consumer Data Research Centre. 

Jonathan’s teaching and research focus primarily on the retail sector. He is particularly recognised for his scholarship and expertise in the areas of electronic commerce and omni-channel retailing, innovation and entrepreneurship in retailing, retail productivity and skills, and the role of place in marketing and retailing. He teaches Marketing on the School’s MBA, Executive MBA and undergraduate programmes.

Jonathan read geography as an undergraduate at the University of Oxford, and then took an MA in Environmental Planning at the University of Nottingham, and a PhD at the University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne. He returned to Oxford in 1985 to work on research for the British retailer Tesco on the application of new forms of technology and e-commerce, following a post at the University of Edinburgh as founding Research Fellow for the Coca-Cola Retail Research Foundation. He has also been Visiting Professor at the Amos Tuck School of Business Administration at Dartmouth College.

As the School’s Deputy Dean, he is responsible for the School’s education policy and its day-to-day relationship with the wider University. The Business School is a young brand embedded in an ancient University which has an international reputation derived from a strongly geographical orientation, and this gives rise to myths and intangible brand narratives which create both opportunities and challenges for the institution.

As an experienced millennial, Andrew is an Executive Level Marketeer with over 15 years’ experience in the hospitality and FMCG sectors. He currently leads the Digital, Loyalty and Portfolio Marketing function for Marriott International across Europe. He believes in all things digital and has led multiple E-commerce transformations encompassing platform development, conversion optimisation, content strategy, Social, CRM, SEO and PPC. A recent turnaround project that he led resulted in a 20% YOY growth in direct web revenues. He has a wide-ranging brand strategy & activation experience including the launch of new product SKU across multiple European Markets, the ongoing programming & evolution of lifestyle brands such as W, Westin, The Luxury Collection, Sheraton and Aloft in their local markets.

Zahariah (Liza) Abdul Rahman holds over 20 years of various leadership roles in oil and gas’ corporate arena. Her early exposure in Treasury management and the global bond issuance has enabled her to lead in the key roles in Group Treasury and Corporate Finance of PETRONAS.

In 2008, she set up WGC 2012 (later known as iCEP), an event arm to organise the 25th World Gas Conference and PETRONAS’ related events where she was at the helm. Today, Liza is entrusted to lead PETRONAS’ brand and reputation management whilst holding several Board Memberships and Trustees for Petrosains, iCEP, Dewan Filharmonik PETRONAS, Malaysia Philharmonic Orchestra, PETRONAS Lubricant International and Yayasan PETRONAS.

Trevor Little has been editor of World Trademark Review (WTR) since 2009. As a legal and business journalist for over 20 years, Trevor has headed up titles across a range of industries, covering issues as diverse as not-for-profit sector management, the business applications of new technologies and risk management. Throughout his career, Trevor has written extensively on the issues surrounding corporate reputation and identity, brand management and business development. He has also been interviewed about brand and trademark issues on national radio and spoken at a range of international trademark and brand protection events.

Sally is a financial journalist who has been covering financial and economic news for almost 25 years.

She is the co-presenter of Business Live, each weekday morning at 08:30 on BBC World News and the BBC News channel. It’s a packed 30 minute programme that covers all the key business stories and gets the inside track from the world’s leading CEOs.
Sally has also worked extensively in radio including presenting Wake Up To Money on BBC Radio 5 Live. During her career, Sally has covered many momentous events, including the 2008 financial crisis, G7 conferences, historic EU summits and the World Economic Forum in Davos.

Lucia Pennesi is  Scuderia Ferrari’s Head of Commercial & Event Marketing with responsibility for all the strategic partnerships for the Formula 1 team and Attività Sportive GT.

Her career started at Ferrari in the Communications Department back in 2000. Before joining back Ferrari she occupied various positions at FCA, from licensing to digital marketing to communications, including 4 years at Fiat USA, where she was part of the team who relaunched the Fiat brand in the USA, and 2 years at FIAT UK, where she was Head of Product and Communications for the Fiat brand, taking care in particular of the successful advertising campaigns of Fiat 500.

Jayne Barr is MD, Marketing at London & Partners, the international promotional agency for London. She leads the marketing for the organization, aiming to grow London’s global reputation and to attract business, tourists, students, events and talent to London. 

Jayne has spent her career in advertising, marketing and communications, working across both private and public sectors and for a broad spectrum of clients. Prior to London & Partners, she held senior roles with Shell, Aviva, Confused.com and Neilson. She is the Marketing Adviser for the Institute of Directors, holding weekly surgeries for SMEs, and is a visiting tutor at Falmouth and Bucks New universities.

Jayne is an active member of WACL, the campaigning organisation for senior and influencial women in UK communications. She also sits on the Development Board for Mountview Drama School.

In her spare time, Jayne plays saxophone in a rock band, which features regularly on the north London street party circuit.

Chris Tarry established CTAIRA in December 2002 to provide research, consulting services and advice on and to the transport and aviation industries in the areas of business planning, including strategy and strategic development; industry and market forecasting and performance measurement and evaluation. These services are provided to a broad and still growing spectrum of clients from amongst: airlines, manufacturing companies, airport owners, government bodies and banks and other financial institutions, covering a wide range of strategic, financial and market related issues. He has also acted an advisor to government departments, regulators and the UK Parliament on aviation issues. He is, and has also been, a member of a number of industry panels and advisory councils/boards.

Before establishing CTAIRA he worked as an investment analyst in the City of London from 1984 when he began an engineering analyst, focusing first on aviation and was voted the UK’s leading aerospace analyst for the years that there was a separate FTSE grouping, before switching to focus wholly on transport and particularly airlines, a sector he has followed professionally since the early 1980s. In this period Chris was also regularly ranked in the top three European transport analysts and led a number of major international share issues.

Prior to his career as an analyst he had worked in a number of fields associated with economic and related research and analysis. He has undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in economics. He is a Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society, a member of the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport and a Liveryman of the Honourable Company of Pilots. He is also a visiting professor in Aviation Strategy at Coventry University.

He writes a monthly column for Airline Business and regularly writes and comments in other media on industry issues, is a member of a number of judging panels for industry awards as well as lecturing on industry issues at a number of universities, and presenting at and chairing conferences across the world.