International Place Branding & Strategy Expert
Exploring how places create lasting value — through identity, strategy, experience and transformation.
I bring over four decades of international experience and a broader strategic perspective to understanding places, navigating complexity and shaping their future.
About
For more than four decades, I have worked with cities, regions, countries and destinations across the world, from Barcelona to Chengdu, from Dubai to Buenos Aires, exploring the relationship between place identity, reputation, strategy and transformation.
This experience has led me to a fundamental conviction: place branding is necessary, but not sufficient.
Places are complex living systems. Their identity, economy, culture, reputation, lived experience, governance and quality of life are deeply interconnected. Understanding these relationships is essential to shaping their future.
This perspective informs my approach to Value-Based Place Strategy — looking beyond attraction and reputation to ask a more fundamental question:
What value do we want to create, for whom, and how sustainably?
My professional journey has included working with governments, international organisations and multidisciplinary teams across more than 25 countries, as well as senior roles at FutureBrand, Coopers & Lybrand and KPMG.
I am a founding member of the International Place Branding Association and Barcelona Global, and an editorial reviewer for Place Branding and Public Diplomacy.
Today, alongside my ongoing strategic work on Ibiza's tourism development and repositioning, I am increasingly focused on sharing and developing the lessons emerging from this experience through international speaking, writing, academic dialogue, executive education and selective high-level strategic advisory.
See complete profile and experience by clicking below
Places I have worked
I have worked across Europe, the Americas, Asia, the Middle East and North Africa, supporting places at different stages of development and transformation, including
Western Europe
- Andorra
- Belgium
- France
- Greece
- Italy
- Portugal
- Spain
- United Kingdom
Central and Eastern Europe
- Belarus
- Bulgaria
- Czech Republic
- Georgia
- Hungary
- The Russian Federation
- Slovakia
- Ukraine
United States of America (USA)
LatinAmerica
- Argentina
- Bolivia
- Colombia
- Honduras
- México
Northern Africa
- Morocco
- Algeria
- Turkey
Middle East
- Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA)
- Qatar
- United Arab Emirates (UAE)
East and South East Asia
- China
- Vietnam
References
Some of the organizations I have worked for and collaborated with
| Abadia de Montserrat | Ente de Turismo de Buenos Aires | L'Hospitalet City Council. Barcelona | Santa Maria della Scala. Siena | UNWTO |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Barcelona City Council | EU DG Growth / ETC | Moscow Urban Forum | Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities (SCTA) | ESADE |
| Barcelona Global Association | Eurocities | Municipalidad Metropolitana de Lima | Siena ECOC Bid 2019 | Anren. Sichuan Province. China |
| ACCIÓ - Generalitat de Catalunya | EuroPCom, Committee for the Regions EU | Novosibirsk regional Government | The Sakha Republic Government. Yakutia | Invest in Greece. Athens |
| Andorra Global Business | Georgia national Tourism Administration (GNTA) | Barcelona Strategic Metropolitan Plan (PEMB) | Travel Trade Athens | Toposophy |
| Aspen Institute Prague | Global Cities | Petushki. Vladimir Oblast | UFA City Government | Postobón |
| Interamerican Development Bank (IDB) | Global Cultural Districts Network (GCDN) | Poblenou Urban District | Universitat de Barcelona (UB) | Telefonica Group |
| Best Place Institute | Gobierno de Honduras | Porto Business School | Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona (UAB) | Africa Place Marketing |
| BOP Consulting | IBEI, Barcelona | Porto City Council | UIMP, Barcelona. Centre Ernest Lluch | Expo City Dubai |
| CECOT | Institut de Cultura de Barcelona (ICUB) | Reig Capital Group | Universidad de Cantabria | Consell Insular d'Eivissa |
| Cámara Industrial Argentina de la Indumentaria | Institute for the Creative Economy . Kosice | Renewal SA (Government of South Australia) | Universidad Pompeu Fabra (UPF) | |
| Charleston Trust | IPR Praha | Russian State Academy for State at the Russian President | Universitat de Vic (UVIC) | |
| Comune di Siena | Kirovograd Regional Government | Sabino Arana Fundazioa | UNDP | |
| Conseil Régional du Turisme de Marrakech | Manual Thinking | Saint Petersburg Economic Forum | Vietnam Tourism | |
| Diputació de Barcelona | Mattera Hub | Saransk Hospitality Forum | Visit Kosice | |
| ECORYS Polska | MLA + | SATIO. Minsk | World Communication Forum Davos |
Speaking
Drawing on four decades of international experience, I share perspectives on place branding, strategy and transformation through three interconnected themes.
Signature Keynotes:
- BEYOND PLACE BRANDING
Rethinking the Future of Place Branding
Is place branding enough to address the challenges facing places today?
Exploring how place branding can move beyond attraction and reputation to contribute to a broader, value-based approach connecting identity, strategy, experience and transformation — with lasting territorial value at its heart.
- MANAGING SUCCESS
When Success Becomes the Challenge
What happens when a place's success creates new pressures and tensions?
Exploring how successful cities and destinations can balance desirability and prosperity with quality of life, territorial capacity and identity — turning success into lasting value for places and their people.
- MANAGING COMPLEXITY
Connecting People, Strategies and Transformation
How can we navigate the complexity of places and turn strategy into coherent action?
Exploring how systems thinking, strategic alignment and governance can help connect stakeholders, disciplines and competing priorities — guiding complex place strategies and transformation processes.
How I contribute
Drawing on more than four decades of international experience, I contribute through speaking, executive education and selective high-level strategic advisory.
SPEAKING & EXECUTIVE EDUCATION
Sharing perspectives and experience.
International keynotes, masterclasses and executive education exploring place branding, strategy and transformation — connecting strategic ideas with lessons from real-world practice.
SELECTIVE STRATEGIC ADVISORY
Perspective, direction and alignment
High-level strategic advice for cities, regions, countries and destinations facing complex challenges of positioning, development and transformation — bringing an independent, integrated perspective to strategic direction, stakeholder alignment and long-term territorial value.
Contact
Please get in touch with me