Brand Finance Place Brand Forum 2026

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).

Penny Bagnall-Smith boasts an impressive career spanning over 30 years in the field of Brand Communications, showcasing her deep expertise and commitment to the industry.

Penny’s professional path provided her with the opportunity to work with some of the most renowned advertising groups globally, including Saatchi & Saatchi, DDB, GGT, and TBWA. Throughout her career in London’s UK dynamic advertising and digital media industry, she took on the responsibility of developing comprehensive training programs tailored for various agencies. Additionally, she played a pivotal role in working with both the Institute of Practitioners in Advertising (IPA) and Women in Advertising and Communications Leadership (WACL) on numerous training initiatives, further solidifying her reputation as a leader in brand communications training.

Alongside Peter Jones, her business partner at TBWA, they introduced a groundbreaking integrated approach to managing large clients, addressing the complex business requirements and diverse target audiences, which they then applied to the emerging field of place branding in their consulting work with several UK towns and cities.

Her extensive experience in corporate training is complemented by her profound understanding of the strategic importance of a robust brand strategy, whether it pertains to products or places. This unique blend of skills and insights made her the perfect partner to bring her wealth of knowledge and expertise to The Place Brand Academy, where she continues to influence and shape the future place branding education.

Malcolm Allan has spent his career at the cutting edge of place branding and economic development. After graduating from the Glasgow School of Art and Reading University with a focus on town planning and regional development economics, he began his journey as a Senior Planning Officer for the Central London Planning Conference. His career then progressed as he took on roles as Principal Consultant on major projects in Northern Ireland and various boroughs in London, and served as CEO of the Sussex Training and Enterprise Council.

Later, as the CEO of Kent Training and Enterprise Council, he implemented the ‘Global Partnership’ of cities in eight countries, fostering trade and cultural relations. In 2002, he founded "Place Brands," the world’s first agency dedicated to developing brand strategies for cities, regions, and countries. Through Place Brands, Malcolm had the opportunity to advise organizations and governments worldwide, including ING Bank and the governments of Botswana and Israel. His work took him to places like Kuala Lumpur, Taipei, Singapore, and St. Petersburg.

In 2012, he launched "Placematters Ltd," focusing on major projects in Cork City Region, City of Perth, Glasgow Airport, City of Waterford, and other brand renewal strategies across Europe and the UK.

In 2018, Malcolm joined Bloom Consulting as President, contributing to developing nation brand strategies in Australia, Paraguay, Jamaica, and Costa Rica. His passion for place branding led him to collaborate with Dr. Giannina Warren and Middlesex University to develop the Masters Degree in Place Branding. This program, along with The Place Brand Academy offering CPD-accredited skills training in place brand development and marketing, represents the first of its kind globally.

Over the span of his 40-year career, Malcolm has made significant contributions to strategy, leadership, economic development, and training programs in the evolving place branding space.

Now, in the later stages of his career, he is dedicated to educating and informing professionals about the intersection of climate change mitigation and city branding. He frequently writes and presents on topics such as sustainability, risk management, anti-fragility, and urban resilience. His goal is to inspire and educate those aiming to make a positive difference in the cultural, social, economic, and reputational aspects of places both locally and globally.

Meira Pappi leads the Country Brand Team at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland, where she works as Chief Senior Specialist. She has spent close to a decade in the foreign service working on Finland’s international image and strategic communications.

Her academic background is in sociology, with a Master’s in Cultural Politics and Policy. Before joining the MFA, she worked in music and events, specializing in international marketing, media relations and press programmes.

Her main professional interests include happiness, reputational security and the role of culture in international perception. She is particularly interested in the use of research and data in analysing reputation and public perception.

Alongside her work, she writes the Substack On Brand: Suomi Finland, focusing on country branding, identity and how places are understood internationally.

Anna Godlewska, a career diplomat, cultural manager, and project leader with over 20 years of experience at the intersection of diplomacy, arts, and creativity. She specializes in public and cultural diplomacy within the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Her professional background includes bilateral and multilateral diplomacy, international cultural relations, and development cooperation. She has held leadership roles in cultural diplomacy across Europe and currently serves in a senior position within Poland’s public and cultural diplomacy sector.

Damian Jaskowski is a Chinese gaming market expert working as Expert PR Manager for East Asia at 11 bit studios and Chinese Market Coordinator at the Indie Games Poland Foundation. Damian began his research of the Chinese gaming market in 2016, when he joined the Polish Institute in Beijing. Acting as the Institute’s Creative Industry Expert, Damian was responsible for many successful public diplomacy projects strengthening the image of Poland as a creative and innovative country among China's younger generation. His "Game developer's guide to the Chinese market" became one of the most discussed topics among China's gaming community in 2025.

Pawel Miechowski has been working in videogames since the 90s at the Metropolis Software team as a tester, animator, later designer and writer and eventually PR manager (favourite games: The Prince And The Coward, Gorky 17), then at CD Projekt Group, and then from the company\'s start at 11 bit studios as a writer, PR manager, and eventually brand expert (favourite games: Anomaly Warzone Earth, This War of Mine, Frostpunk). Co-founder of the Kultura Interaktywna foundation, organizer of the Student Games Festival and other initiatives expanding the fields of education in and around videogames.

Nils Persson is Chief Marketing Officer and a member of Visit Sweden’s executive management team, leading the organization’s brand and marketing initiatives. By leveraging digital platforms and modern communication strategies, he and his team have positioned Sweden as a premier travel destination, earning repeated recognition at international forums and prestigious awards such as Cannes Lions, One Show, Clio Awards, Eurobest, Effie Awards and many more.  He has a broad background from several industries including Banking, Energy, Telecom and Media, focusing on change management, brand building and business development. Nils is also member of the Sweden Brand Council, and he was named Internationalist of the year 2025 for the bold and category changing marketing that Visit Sweden has done during the last five years.

Tina Olsson is Chief Strategy Officer at Visit Sweden and a member of the executive management team, responsible for the organization’s long-term strategy, business development, governance, and transformation journey. She leads cross-functional strategic initiatives that strengthen Visit Sweden’s role as a state-owned company and as a key driver of Sweden’s international competitiveness through tourism, with a focus on analysis and knowledge sharing.

With a strong focus on innovation, Tina works at the intersection of strategy and organizational development, supporting evidence-based decision-making and long-term value creation.

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, Nation Brands, and City Index 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 the GREAT Britain and Northern Ireland Campaign, New Zealand Story, and Cape Town Tourism.

Before moving on to grow the place branding practice, Konrad was the Communications Director of Brand Finance and Managing Director of Brand Finance’s PR agency – Brand Dialogue for 5 years. He has a proven track record in executing integrated communications strategies, having been responsible for publishing nearly 100 industry and country reports on the world’s most valuable brands on an annual basis.

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.

Paula is a senior leader operating at executive and board levels in the intersection between strategy, branding, and sustainable development with experience in Europe, South America, and Asia. She worked with leading organisations such as the British Council, Samsung, Renault and Arcadis, helping to understand and grow the value of their brands. She also worked on strategic and multi-stakeholder engagement programs for non-profits such as the Gates Foundation, Forum for the Future and the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation.