Global Soft Power Summit 2022

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).

Zeinab was born in the Sudan, but has lived in the UK since she was two. She studied Philosophy, Politics and Economics at Oxford University and an MA in history at SOAS, London University. Zeinab has worked extensively in the British media and is now best known for her work in the BBC’s international division at BBC World News TV on programmes such as Hard Talk, Global Questions, The History of Africa and Take Me to the Opera.

Zeinab is the current President of SOAS, on the International Advisory Council of Afrobarometer and an advisory board member of MINDS, the Mandela Institute for National Development Strategies. She is also a member of the steering committee of the Africa Europe Foundation, a trustee of BBC Media Action and the Royal Opera House.

Guy Verhofstadt quickly rose through the ranks of Belgian politics, becoming party president in 1982 at the age of 28. By 1985 he was Deputy Prime Minister. Between 1999 2008, he served as Prime Minister of Belgium.

His governments meant a breath of fresh air in Belgian politics. Verhofstadt made Belgium the second country in the world to introduce gay marriage, as well as legalising euthanasia. Additionally, in the economic field he reversed the trend, drastically cutting taxes for businesses and families. Economic growth in Belgium therefore rose beyond what was expected - under his leadership the Belgian public debt fell to 84% from 114% of GDP.

After he left office, he became a member of the 'Renew Europe' group in the European Parliament. He still serves in the European Parliament today, where he is a champion of more European integration to tackle the multiple crises the EU faces for the moment. His latest book is entitled "Europe's Last Chance".

Scott McDonald is the Chief Executive of the British Council.

Previously, he was the President & CEO of the Oliver Wyman Group and sat on the Executive Committee of Marsh & McLennan Companies, including more than 75,000 staff in over 100 countries. Before joining Oliver Wyman, Scott worked in investment banking, the editorial side of the magazine industry, and ran a small publishing company.

Scott is a member of the International Advisory Board and the Global Strategy & Leadership Expert Panel of McGill University’s Desautels Faculty of Management. He also sits on the European Advisory Board for The Nature Conservancy and the Advisory Group for Yodomo, a UK crafting platform. Scott has degrees in Finance & Economics from McGill University and International Relations from Cambridge University.

He is an avid hiker, runner and fisherman and lives in London with his wife and daughter.

Daren Tang, of Singapore, assumed his functions as WIPO’s Director General on October 1, 2020.

In accepting his appointment on May 8, 2020, Mr. Tang pledged that he would be guided by the interests and needs of all Member States. He said that his work and that of the Secretariat will be conducted on the principles of integrity, transparency and accountability.

Outlining his priorities for the future of the Organization, Mr. Tang said that WIPO’s work will be channeled toward the construction of an inclusive, balanced, vibrant and forward-looking global IP ecosystem that serves the interests of all countries and their stakeholders.

Prior to his appointment as WIPO Director General, Mr. Tang served as Chief Executive of the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (IPOS). Mr. Tang also presided as Chair of WIPO's Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights (SCCR) from May 2017 until his appointment as Director General.

Mr. Tang is a graduate of the National University of Singapore (Bachelor of Law, Honors) and the Georgetown University Law Center (Master of Laws, Distinction).

Stephen Nathan Kinnock is a Welsh politician who has served as Member of Parliament for Aberavon since 2015. A member of the Labour Party, he has been Shadow Minister for Immigration since 2022.

Specialist in culture management, marketing and communications. For 11 years he held senior positions in the Ukrainian mission of the British Council. Organizer of numerous cultural projects and events in the UK and 15 European countries: exhibitions, art residencies, film festivals, professional internships, concerts, literary programs, trainings, theater productions.

A graduate of the Institute of International Relations of the Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv. In 2009 received a professional diploma in marketing, and in 2014 - a diploma in digital marketing from the The Chartered Institute of Marketing (UK). In 2011 he graduated from the Summer School of Scottish Universities SUISS in the field of "Contemporary British and Irish Literature" (Edinburgh, Scotland). Member of the 2016 Summer School of Global Governance and member of the international network of Bucerius Summer School (ZEIT-Stiftung, Hamburg, Germany). Member of the IETM International Professional Performing Arts Network and the Total Theater Network.

Sarah Al Amiri is UAE Minister of State for Advanced Technology. Her responsibilities include defining industrial and economic opportunities based on the development of advanced technologies in the Emirates and building the country’s technology and innovation ecosystem. She also serves as the chairperson of the UAE Space Agency, the regulator of the UAE’s space sector and the funding body behind the Emirates Mars Mission (EMM) and other strategic space missions and initiatives.

Sarah joined the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC) in 2009 as a Software Engineer, working on the DubaiSat-1 and DubaiSat-2 earth observation satellite projects. She established the Space Sciences Department at MBRSC and worked on developing several new functionalities and capabilities within the Centre including the Advanced Aerial Systems Program and the Research and Development Office, going on to head R&D at the Centre.

She served as the deputy project director and science lead of EMM before going on to be appointed UAE Minister for Science in October 2017 and then, in July 2020, take on her new ministerial portfolio and Chair the UAE Space Agency. She also serves as Chair of the Emirates Scientists Council and is the Secretary General of the Emirates Research and Development Council.

In 2015, Sarah was selected as one of 50 young scientists by the World Economic Forum (WEF) for her contributions to the fields of science, technology and engineering and in 2020 was nominated as one of the BBC’s 100 Women 2020 and Time Magazine’s 100 Next in 2021.

She holds a Bachelor's and a Master’s degree in Computer Engineering from the American University of Sharjah.

Max is both a serial & parallel entrepreneur with over 25 years’ experience in the start-up and rev-up of fast growth tech and financial services companies in London, New York and Singapore. Passionate about ‘alternatives’, Max is currently focused upon building tech ventures in the blockchain, NFT and metaverse spaces.

In 2015 Max established Anquan Capital, a private investment company, with the mission of launching a set of innovative tech ventures based on scientific research. Between 2015 and 2020, Anquan has launched; Zilliqa, one of the world’s leading public Layer-1 blockchain platforms which has a market cap of over $1billion and is high throughput, environmentally friendly with ultr-low transaction fees; Aqilliz, a leader in blockchain-based digital advertising and Treasure-Cloud; a totally new concept in privacy-focused cloud storage.

Max successfully exited two ventures during COVID-19 in 2020, one in AI (untapt, NYC-based) and the other in voice tech (Speik, Oxford-based).

As a private family investor, Max is currently focused on investing in high-quality, scalable new ventures, built upon Zilliqa including XCAD; a hyper-growth social media venture which allows content creators to create NFTs to get better engagement with their followers and TokenIITraxx; a ground-breaking new music NFT venture.

Looking forward, Max is also building a metaverse, the Metapolis, that is focused on creating an immersive space for luxury brands to showcase their digital assets and who are seeking to develop new channels for hybrid digital and physical products; he is passionate about the use of blockchain technology as a weapon against illicit trade in the luxury goods marketplace.

Max is a highly experienced public speaker and has been a speaker at some of the world's most important blockchain events.  He regularly speaks about blockchain at private family office and fund management events.

Max is an engineer by background. He holds a degree in Engineering Science and was part of the London Business School Enterprise 100.

Max is an avid collector and enjoys fine wine, jazz, and all things automotive.

Professor Alexander Stubb is the Director of the School of Transnational Governance as of 1 May 2020. He has served as Prime Minister, Finance Minister, Foreign Minister, Trade and Europe Minister of Finland (2008-2016).

He was a Member of the European Parliament from 2004 to 2008 and national parliament (2011-2017). He was the Chairman of the Finnish National Coalition Party (Kokoomus) from 2014 to 2016 and Vice President of the European Investment Bank (EIB) from 2017 to 2020.

Stubb worked as an advisor at the Finnish Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Helsinki and Brussels and in President Romano Prodi's team at the European Commission (1995-2004). He was involved in the negotiation of the Treaties of Amsterdam, Nice and Lisbon.

Stubb’s background is in academia, civil service and politics. He holds a Ph.D. in international relations from the London School of Economics, a Master’s degree in EU administration from the College of Europe in Bruges, and a B.A. in political science from Furman University in South Carolina. He also studied French language, culture and civilisation at the Sorbonne in Paris.

Between 2000 and 2007, he was a visiting Professor at the College of Europe in Bruges. Stubb has written numerous books and academic articles on European affairs and publishes columns for several newspapers, including the Financial Times, on a regular basis.

Stubb is also a self-professed sports-nut and avid amateur triathlete.

Sir Martin Sorrell is Founder and Executive Chairman of S4 Capital plc, a new age/ new era, purely digital advertising and marketing services business for global, multinational and millennial-driven influencer brands.

S4 Capital plc merged with MediaMonks, its content practice, in July 2018 and MightyHive, its data and digital media practice, in December 2018. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange under SFOR.L and has over 7,000 people in 33 countries, with a market capitalization in excess of $4.0 billion.

Sir Martin was Founder and CEO of WPP for 33 years, building it from a £1 million “shell” company in 1985 into the world’s largest advertising and marketing services company. When Sir Martin left in April 2018, WPP had a market capitalisation of over £16 billion, revenues of over £15 billion, profits of approximately £2 billion and over 200,000 people in 113 countries. Prior to that, Sir Martin was Group Financial Director of Saatchi & Saatchi plc and worked for James Gulliver, Mark McCormack and Glendinning Associates before that.

Sir Martin supports a number of leading business schools and universities, including his alma maters, Harvard Business School, where he received the Harvard Business School Alumni Achievement Award and Cambridge University, where he is an Honorary Fellow at Christ’s College, Cambridge. He was ranked as the second-best CEO in the world by the Harvard Business Review in 2017 and was nominated as one of TIME’s 100 Most Influential People.

Sir Martin also supports a broad range of charities, including his family foundation.

Helle Thorning-Schmidt has an extensive background spanning politics, international relations and business. In 2017 she was named as one of the world’s greatest leaders by Fortune magazine.

As Prime Minister of Denmark from 2011-2015, Helle steered Denmark through a difficult financial crisis while reducing child poverty and increasing spending on education. She also served as leader of the country’s Social Democrat party for a decade, and was the first woman to hold both positions.

Following her term as PM, Helle was the Chief Executive of Save the Children, overseeing the work of 17,000 staff in 120 countries to reach around 50 million children every year in some of the most difficult and challenging contexts. She was deeply engaged in highlighting the humanitarian crises in Yemen and Syria, and the Rohingya refugee crisis.

Ms Thorning-Schmidt remains deeply engaged in these geopolitical issues as a member of several foreign policy think tanks, including the US Council on Foreign Relations, the European Council for Foreign Relations, the International Crisis Group and the Atlantic Council International Advisory Board. Helle is also a member of the Berggruen 21st Century Council.

In 2017, Helle was a co-chair of the World Economic Forum meeting in Davos, and is on the board of the Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship. Today Helle uses her deep political and international expertise to advise a range of businesses and not-for-profit groups.

Helle is non–Executive Director for a number of Boards - Vestas, one of the world’s leaders in sustainable energy; DJE Holdings, a global communications firm that partners with businesses and organisations to evolve, promote and protect their brands and reputations; Safelane, a global leader in clearing landmines and the explosive remnants of war; Carsøe, a leading manufacturer of retail, customised, and OEM solutions for key suppliers of food processing equipment across the world; and VISTA Equity Partners, an American investment firm focused on financing and forwarding software, data and technology-enabled startup businesses. In 2020 Helle was appointed Co-Chair of The Oversight Board created to help Facebook answer some of the most difficult questions around freedom of expression online; as well as Chairman for the Danish Football Union’s Governance Committee.

Also in 2020, Thorning-Schmidt was appointed by the World Health Organization's Regional Office for Europe to serve as a member of the Pan-European Commission on Health and Sustainable Development.

Helle devotes much of her time to defending and renewing progress, social justice, and democracy. As a strong champion of women and girls’ rights throughout her time in government and at Save the Children, she continues to remain passionate about women’s empowerment.

Helle was previously a member of the European Parliament. She has a Master’s Degree in Political Science from the University of Copenhagen and a Master’s Degree in European Studies from the College of Europe in Bruges.

Alastair Campbell is a writer, communicator and strategist best known for his role as former British Prime Minister Tony Blair’s spokesman, press secretary and director of communications and strategy. Still active in politics in Britain and overseas, he now splits his time between writing, speaking, charitable fundraising, consultancy and campaigns.

He has written eleven books in the past eight years, including six volumes of diaries, three novels and a personal memoir on depression and the pursuit of happiness. His latest book, Winners, is about winners in sport, business and politics and what lessons mere mortals can learn from them. It is due to be published in 2015.

A former “Mind Champion of the Year,” he is an ambassador for the Time to Change campaign to raise awareness about mental illness, and chairman of fundraising for Leukaemia & Lymphoma Research. He continues to advise the Labour Party, and other left-of-center parties, most recently acting as strategic director for the Albanian Socialist Party, who won a landslide victory in June 2013. He is a Humanitas Visiting Professor on media at Cambridge University, and was also recently honored by University College Dublin for his contribution to the Northern Ireland peace process. He is on the advisory board of Portland PR, and independently acts as an advisor to governments, businesses, charities, sports organizations and high-profile individuals.

He was born in Yorkshire in 1957, the son of a vet. His family moved to Leicester in 1968, and he attended school there until going to Cambridge University in 1975. He graduated four years later with a degree in modern languages. His university education included a year in France when he had his first “journalism” published, articles on sex in Forum magazine. He also busked around the world with his bagpipes. Finally, he decided to become a journalist and trained with the Mirror Group on local papers in the West Country before joining the Mirror itself in 1982.

He left in the mid-80s to work for Eddy Shah’s Today newspaper as news editor, but had a nervous breakdown and left to return to the Mirror after convalescence. He rose to become political editor and the paper’s chief political columnist. He then worked briefly for Today under new ownership in 1994 before being asked by Tony Blair to be his press secretary when Blair became leader of the Labour Party. He did this for three years. Blair, in his own autobiography, credited Campbell with coining the phrase ‘New Labour’ as the label for the party’s strategy, and described him as a ‘genius’ for the role he played in helping to create New Labour, return the party to power, and win three general elections. After the 1997 election, he became the Prime Minister’s chief press secretary and official spokesman, which entailed the coordination of government communications and twice daily briefings of the press. He was seconded to NATO in 1999 to oversee communications during the Kosovo conflict. After helping Blair win a second landslide election victory, he became director of communications and strategy. He did this until he resigned in September 2003, saying it had been an enormous privilege but he wanted more of a life with his partner Fiona and their three children.

Campbell’s main hobbies are running, cycling, bagpipes and following Burnley FC. He took up running in 2003 at the instigation of his sons and has since run the London Marathon, the Great North Run and the Great Ethiopian Run, and completed several full triathlons, all for Leukaemia & Lymphoma Research, (Campbell lost his best friend to leukaemia). He returned to the Labour Party for six months prior to the 2005 general election and continued to advise the party informally under Gordon Brown, including during the 2010 campaign, in which he “played” David Cameron in rehearsals for the historic first TV debates between leaders. He is one of the party’s most in-demand speakers at fundraising and motivational events. Together with former sports minister Richard Caborn, he pulled together two of the most successful fundraising dinners in Labour’s history, both on the theme of sport at Wembley Stadium.

Passionate about sport, he was written about different sports for The Times, The Irish Times and Esquire magazine. He was communications adviser to the British and Irish Lions rugby tour of New Zealand in 2005. He has raised funds for Burnley FC, a team he has supported since the age of four. His charity projects have involved playing football with both Diego Maradona and Pele, and appearing in a one-off version of the popular TV program, The Apprentice.

In July 2007, he published his first book on his time with Tony Blair, The Blair Years, extracts from his diaries from 1994 to 2003, which was an instant Sunday Times #1 best seller. He has since published four volumes of the full diaries, and a special edition of the diaries focused on the Northern Ireland peace process, The Irish Diaries. He has continued to keep a diary and is expected to publish his post Downing Street diaries in the future. Campbell’s first novel, All In the Mind, appeared in November 2008, to enthusiastic reviews for its frank examination of mental illness. His second novel, Maya, a gripping analysis of fame and the obsession it attracts, was published in February 2010. His third novel, published in September 2013, is called My Name Is… and tells the story of a young girl’s descent into alcoholism. He has since become an ambassador for Alcohol Concern.

In October 2008, Campbell broadcast an award-winning one-hour documentary on BBC2 about his own breakdown in 1986. Both the films, Cracking Up and All In the Mind, won considerable praise from mental health charities and campaign groups for helping to break down the taboo surrounding mental health. He received the Mind Champion of the Year award in May 2009 in recognition of his work to break down the stigma around mental illness, and continues to campaign on the issue both in Britain and overseas. He has also made a BBC documentary about alcoholism.

In his time in Downing Street, he was involved in all the major policy issues and international crises. Campbell has said that in ten years in the media, and a decade in politics, he saw his respect for the media fall and his respect for politics rise. He was called to the Leveson Inquiry into press standards twice, first for his insights into modern journalism, and second to give his views on the changed relationship between politics and media. He is a sought-after speaker at events around the world,specializing in strategic communications, leadership, team building and crisis management.

John Davis is a Professor of Practice and Director for the Center of Sustainable Business Practices at University of Oregon's Lundquist College of Business, and Chair of BrandNewView, a leadership firm focused on helping organizations become a force for social and economic good.

A former Fortune 500 executive, John led marketing teams for Nike, was Vice President of Marketing and Business Development within the Transamerica group of companies, and Vice of Marketing and Business Development at Informix. He is a best-selling author of several books including The Olympic Games Effect: How Sports Marketing Builds Strong Brands, and Radical Business: How to Transform Your Organization in the Age of Global Crisis.

Steve Thomson leads the survey component of the Global Soft Power Index programme. He has a wealth of experience gained across a 30+ year career focussing on understanding consumer values, attitudes and behaviour around the world. Steve leads the market research practice at Brand Finance including management of our proprietary research programme in over 30 markets. 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 in 60 markets across a diverse range of cultures, from single-market deep-dives through to the management of large global insight programmes. He 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.

Pumela Salela is the Country Head for the United Kingdom (UK) under Brand South Africa, the custodian of the South Africa Country Brand.

Her role is to market South Africa in the UK, attract foreign direct investment (fdi) into South Africa, mobilize Global South Africans (GSA) abroad and to manage the brand reputation of South Africa.

In 2018, Pumela was featured as a POWERHOUSE in DESTINY magazine. She is the 2018 recipient of the African Achiever Award. In 2019 she received the BRITISH Award for African Development. Prior to serving in this role Pumela was the Chief Director for Economic Policy Development and Planning at the Department of Economic Development in South Africa.

The Rockefeller Foundation acknowledged her contribution and innovation in formulating systems which address poverty by selecting Salela to be one the 18 global recipients of the foundation’s inaugural Global Fellowship on Social Innovation–an only South African to receive the honour. Pumela has also worked as a Consultant for the World Bank, based at the organisation’s headquarters in United States, Washington D.C. and a Director: BPO at the dti, South Africa, The Director role was preceded by her position as Deputy Director for Investment Promotion at Trade and Investment South Africa. She has also been a lecturer in Strategic Brand Management at VEGA, The School of Branding.

Salela studied to complete her MBA with distinction (cum laude) in England through a Nelson Mandela Scholarship where she received the Council Award for being the Best MBA student. Pumela is the Chairperson of the Nelson Mandela Scholarship Alumni Association and a Mentor to Graca Machel Scholars. She is featured in the 2013 issue of the book: South Africa’s Most Inspirational Women. She has also been featured in the 2012 issue of DESTINY magazine as one of South Africa’s Young and Powerful Achievers. In 2013 the DESTINY magazine showcased her as one of the Top 40 young leaders, innovators and job creators in South Africa. Ms Salela has served as an On-air Advisor to investors on an Entrepreneurship Television Show called Rize Mzansi (Rise South Africa).

Jeremy is the managing director of Brand Finance Africa and has almost 50 years’ experience working in between London and Johannesburg in marketing, advertising, graphic design, public relations, reputation management and branding. He founded and was the Executive Chairman of the Africa operations of the international branding group, Interbrand until he stepped down in October 2014.

Jeremy himself was awarded the prestigious Financial Mail AdFocus Lifetime Achievement Award, in 2010 and holds over 100 design awards.

Today Jeremy consults/mentors/advises, sits on boards/advisory panels, writes and speaks and is very active in the media, including hosting programmes for Classic FM.

Hugo is experienced in Brand & Business Valuation, Business Strategy, Tax & transfer pricing, and valuation for M&A and Reputational Damage Litigation. Hugo also heads Brand Finance’s sports services team, working with rights-holders and corporate sponsors on brand & sponsorship strategy, and return on investment analysis.

Working for clients including Bayer, London Stock Exchange Group and Liverpool FC, Hugo leads client engagement, project design & management, and technical valuation work. Hugo is regularly featured in media reporting on the business of sport, including live interviews with BBC World News, TRT World and Phoenix, and print contributions including to Bloomberg News, The Economist, and London’s City A.M.

Hugo is a chartered accountant, ACA, and graduated from the University of Oxford with a MEng degree in Engineering, focusing on Biotechnology and Energy.

Simon Chadwick is Global Professor of Sport and Director of the Centre for Eurasian Sport at Emlyon Business School in Paris. His work focuses on the geopolitical economy of sport, which includes research in areas such as the role sport sponsorship plays in projecting soft power, and how soft power in sport contributes to building national competitive advantage. In addition to his academic portfolio, Chadwick has served as a consultant for sport clubs, governing bodies, mega-events, sponsors and for governments.

Nick Bitel is the Chief Executive of the London Marathon, the world’s most successful marathon, and has held that position since 1995.

Nick was the longest ever serving Chair of Sport England and Board Member of UK Sport.  Nick is also a qualified solicitor and consultant at Armstrong Teasdale. He specialises in Sports Law and numbers many major events as clients including Wimbledon and UEFA.  He is a trustee of the Wimbledon Foundation.

In 2021, the Government appointed Nick as the Non-executive Chair of the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency.

Previously, Nick was a board member of the London Legacy Development Corporation (Olympic Park) and a trustee of Wembley National Stadium Trust.

Robert leads Brand Finance’s sustainability research and consulting practice, helping brands to understand the value of sustainability perceptions and how to manage these effectively.

Robert has a degree in Geography from the University of Oxford and an MBA from London Business School.

Robert began his career in marketing communications, later specialising in commercial strategy, due diligence, and insights.

Jeff built his career as an expert and leader in intangible value mainly in varied industrial settings. Along the way he formed a close relationship with BrandFinance and co-founded BrandFinance Switzerland in the mid-2000’s before returning to a corporate career which put him at the forefront of understanding and implementing leadership in sustainability as a key component of intangible value.

Most recently as Corporate VP, Head of Sustainability at Royal DSM until 2023, Jeff fully embedded sustainability leadership into corporate strategy such that DSM become one of the top-5 stocks held in ESG funds and a leader on key ESG benchmarks. Notable achievements include leading the setting of a Science Based Target (first major chemical company to do so) and ensuring year-on-year delivery, achieving auditor Reasonable Assurance on all non-financial metrics and disclosure (one of the first companies to do so, requiring significant organizational change) and co-leading cross-company cultural transformation. During this time DSM achieved notable successes in generating financial value from sustainability leadership.

Jeff now owns Runkerry Consulting Ltd, focusing on advising companies and other organizations on the development and implementation of sustainability strategy and is currently the Senior Advisor – Pathways at WBCSD.

Florian Kaefer, PhD, is the publisher of The Place Brand Observer (TPBO), a Swiss-rooted, independent knowledge hub dedicated to the identity, reputation, and performance of cities, regions, and countries worldwide. Founded over a decade ago, TPBO has become a unique resource bridging research and practice in place branding. Its flagship publication is the annual Place Brand Leaders Yearbook, with the 2025 edition set to be presented at the upcoming summit.

Dr. Kaefer holds a PhD in Management Communications from the University of Waikato, New Zealand, where he explored national identity and brand credibility. He also has a master’s in sustainable development (Exeter University, UK), a diploma in journalism, and a bachelor’s in tourism management (Brighton University, UK).

He is the author of An Insider's Guide to Place Branding (Springer, 2021) and Sustainability Leadership in Tourism (Springer, 2022) and the founder of Sustainability Leaders United (Sustainability-Leaders.com)—a testament to his strong focus on the intersection of place branding, soft power, and sustainability.

Anointed the ‘Brand Guru’ by both the Times and BBC, Marcel is adept at helping build brands as well as commenting on them throughout the media. Marcel has presented various series on BBC and commercial radio and is consistently called upon by the media (including BBC TV; ITV; CNN; the Times, Telegraph, etc) to comment on branding issues. He is currently featuring in various Channel 5 programmes dedicated to telling brand stories.

Marcel is engaged to speak around the world and is responsible for twelve books on the topic including: various ‘Superbrands’ books (known as ‘brand bibles’); ‘Business Superbrands’; ‘ebrandLeaders’; ‘Cool BrandLeaders’; and  ‘Best Ads Never Seen’.

He has worked with some of the world’s strongest brands including: Apple; Chanel, Coca-Cola; Marks & Spencer; Virgin; as well as film brands including Buena Vista.

Working life began with a number of marketing companies and ad agencies, predominantly as an account director within WPP - this followed a degree in Theology and a postgraduate in Advertising (his thesis was ‘Ethical Issues in Advertising’).

Marcel has just launched Brand Solidarity uniting brands to show support for Ukraine and press for peace.