Event Organizers

This event is being organized by an all-volunteer team of leaders in the field of personal branding. They have collectively gifted hundreds of hours of their time in planning this event.

Chair: Krishna De
Employer Branding and Personal Branding Strategist, Dublin, Ireland
“Bringing YOUR Brand to Life!”

Described as Ireland’s leading Employer Branding and Personal Branding Strategist by the media and clients alike, Krishna De is a branding and leadership development mentor, broadcaster, writer, professional speaker and new media strategist.

Krishna guides executives in how to build distinctive corporate, employer and personal brands, positioning themselves as industry thought leaders. She is an expert in social media and consults with businesses on how to use these new and cost effective platforms to enhance their brand communication and engagement strategy. With an exceptional global track record, Krishna has worked in over 30 countries and lived in 3 continents.

She is a sought after spokesperson on the subjects of branding, new media, business development and career success, and her advice has been featured in leading publications including The Wall Street Journal, The Irish Times, The Independent, The Sunday Business Post, The Sunday Times and Marketing Age.

Program Schedule: Walter Akana
Life Strategist. Owner, Threshold Consulting, Decatur, Georgia, USA
"It's your life, own it."

With his smart, holistic approach, Walter Akana supports mid-career professionals in making conscious plans that enable them to take control of their careers and lives. Enthusiastic and forward-thinking, Walter brings his passion for self direction and personal responsibility to his life and his work.

After delivering career services in not-for-profit settings, Walter translated his social work skills into a career in corporate training and development, where he worked with professionals in commercial and investment banking. He went on to found Threshold Consulting and currently works with clients who want more satisfaction and meaning in their careers and lives.

Walter, a native New Yorker, holds a Master of Science, in social services, from Columbia University. He is a Reach Certified Personal Branding Strategist and RPS Trained and Life Options Certified Retirement Coach. He is also a member of the Association of Career Professionals International, and the Career Management Alliance.

Career Management Success Stream Leads:

Susan Guarneri
Career Assessment Goddess, Three Lakes, WI, USA
“Enthusiastic advocate for savvy executives and professionals who are committed to leaping ahead in their careers by leveraging personal branding, career-assessment insights, and unfailing courage.”

Susan is a National Certified Career Counselor, Certified Personal Branding Strategist, and holds 12 careers-industry certifications. With a Master’s Degree in Counseling from The Johns Hopkins University, she has assisted thousands of individuals as well as Fortune 500 companies, colleges, non-profits and government agencies with career consulting.

Susan has been featured in careerjournal.com, The Princeton Business Journal, careerbuilder.com, monster.com, New Jersey News, Richard Bolles’ Radio Show, The Career Planning and Adult Development Journal, and more than 40 best-selling books.

Author of the New Jersey SUCCESS Program for women re-entering the workforce, her cutting-edge programs for career transition and outplacement leverage career and personal-branding assessments for career success. Leadership roles: 360Reach Certification Leadership Team and BOD for Career Directors International and the Wisconsin Career Development Association.

Bernadette Martin
Brand Strategist, Paris, France

Bernadette is a multi-lingual certified Brand Strategist and Founder of Visibility Branding, LLC. A 20-year career working in various aspects of corporate and personal brand management has taken her to Asia, the U.S., and Europe, holding senior level positions in corporate, agency and academic environments. She has managed brands in industries as varied as hi-tech, airlines, healthcare, financial, automotive, FCMG and hospitality.

Coinciding with a move to Paris in 2002, she transitioned from 15 years working with product brands to working with personal brands where her clients are now executives, professionals, MBA participants, coaches, and entrepreneurs. In helping clients attain personal and professional recognition, she works with them on their brand positioning and messaging in a verbal, written, and/or online context.

As a REACH Facilitator she delivers certification of the REACH personal branding methodology and develops workshops on Personal Branding. Academic credentials include an MBA from Thunderbird, School of Global Management, and a BA Degree in French.

Entrepreneurship Stream Leads:

Megan Fitzgerald
The Expat Career and Entrepreneur Coach, Rome, Italy

Founder of Career By Choice, Megan works with expatriate professionals and entrepreneurs struggling to build a career or business that fits who they are and their international lifestyle.

Having designed her own rewarding, portable career and business that supports her choice of international living, she uses an entrepreneurial approach to help fellow expats find the same flexibility and freedom she enjoys. She is a certified personal branding strategist and certified career and business coach. She draws from over 15 years of experience in career and business development and has worked with professionals and entrepreneurs all over the world, having been to over 20 countries to live, work or play.

Equipped with a clear vision, a compelling personal brand, and the right strategies to compete in today's global market place, Megan and her clients are living proof that you can have a fulfilling professional life, wherever you call home.

Elodie Le Gendre
CEO of SEVENSTONES, Paris, France.

Aligning people and business to create the conditions of a financially and humanly sustainable success in the long run… That is the summit that she wants to reach!

Passionate about communication, coaching and innovation, Elodie is adept at helping entrepreneurs and leaders to find accurate solutions when they launch, develop or sell a business. With energy and enthusiasm, Elodie brings a unique blend of corporate, financial and academic experiences to the mission of her company, Sevenstones, and to work with her clients. It fosters and nurtures the human side of finance in focusing on values, cultures, talents, and organizational consequences of every M&A deals.

She develops and uses specific tools and methods to empower people and companies to reach their own summit, through strategic and financial consulting, negotiations, mediation and conflicts, resolution and talent management.

Talent Management Stream Lead: Nancy Branton, M.A.
Executive Coach, Minneapolis/St. Paul, USA
"Inspires and equips current and future leaders to build a meaningful career, achieve work and life goals, and be a principled-leader who creates a successful workplace through the application of her professional coaching skills, extensive background in human resources/talent management, and vast knowledge of assessments and tools."

Nancy Branton is an executive coach, career/leadership coach faculty member, leadership and career assessment instructor, and corporate trainer. After 30 years in human resources and talent management, she founded People Potential Group, SM Inc. Her clients include both corporate and individual clients. In addition to a master's degree in industrial organizational psychology and being qualified to administer over 100 assessments, she is a certified career management coach, certified leadership and talent management coach, certified life coach, and certified personal brand strategist.

Social Cause Partnership: Bernadette Martin and Megan Fitzgerald (see bios above)

Online Communications: Kirsten Dixson
Kirsten Dixson is an authority on building credible online identities for career success.

She is a partner in Reach, a founder of Brandego, and the coauthor of Career Distinction: Stand Out by Building Your Brand (Wiley 2007). Kirsten appears nationally as a speaker, is a contributor to 15+ career books, and has been quoted in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Boston Globe, Newsday and Advertising Age.

As one of the world's first Reach-Certified Personal Branding Strategists and a Certified Job and Career Transition Coach, she has successfully helped hundreds of professionals market themselves for new careers since 1997. Kirsten earned a BA degree from Vassar College and a Certificate in Adult Career Planning and Development from New York University. She served on the executive board of Career Masters Institute (now The Career Management Alliance) for five years.

Sponsorship Team Leads:

Dan Schawbel
Personal Branding Spokesman, Waltham, MA, USA
”Navigating you to future success!”

Dan has 6 years of experience as a marketing consultant, business owner, web designer, and market strategist. He has motivated, advised and mentored both students and young professionals, watching them excel and uncover new job opportunities.

As the Personal Branding Spokesman, he has preached, blogged, and written articles for major magazines and newspapers around the world. He also directs a TV show podcast series, gives out the Personal Brand Awards, and publishes the Personal Branding Magazine. His Personal Branding Blog is one of the top 25 recruiting blogs.

Currently a full-time Marketing Specialist at EMC Corporation, Dan works in services marketing, social media, and six sigma.

Jason Alba
CEO – JibberJobber.com, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA
"Job seeker advocate. Creator of career tools for job search and beyond."

After getting abruptly laid off, Jason was sure he would have a job within a month. Even with great credentials and in a job-seeker’s market, he could hardly get a job interview.

He decided to step back and pick apart the job search process, including figuring out all of the available resources. Within a few months he had designed a personal job search CRM tool. His tool, JibberJobber.com, is designed to help professionals manage career and job search information the same way a salesman manages prospect data.

Jason passionately blogs about career management issues. He recognizes people who use technology to quantify their personal brand with the “You Get It” award. Jason’s blog and website have been featured in many publications and newspapers across the country.

Brand Identity: Sue Brettell
Personal Brand Creative, ID Creative Solutions, Cambridge, UK
"Online Identity Design & Communication: compelling personal brand web design and copy for dynamic solopreneurs and professionals."

Sue provides fresh, contemporary designs and authentic copy to creatives, coaches, and entrepreneurs who want to build a vibrant online presence and maximize the impact of a unique personal brand.

A graduate of the Central School of Art & Design London, Sue’s creative background includes three-dimensional design, advertising and publishing. She has been a solopreneur since 1989, providing graphic, web and book design, writing, print-buying and online research services. As a part-time actor, she combines her talents as a member of, and creative consultant for, DayWalker Productions, a theatre and film company.

Sue is a Reach Certified Personal Brand Strategist, and has designed for Reach for four years. As a multi-disciplinary creative, and a passionate exponent of personal branding, she works with her clients collaboratively to express their unique brand attributes online through effective visual and written communication.

Supporting Team:

Deb Dib
The CEO Coach, Metro New York, USA
“Unabashedly passionate about helping visionary, gutsy, fun CEOs with a conscience build great careers, mold great companies, and even change the world a bit.”

A pioneer in branded resumes and career management for corporate leaders, Deb, and her clients, believe in capitalism as a tool for growth and good. Her clients are successful senior executives who want to enjoy their work, command excellent compensation, build robust profits, and make a positive world impact.

A careers-industry professional since 1989, Deb holds eight certifications, is a contributor to 30 career books, has been featured in the Wall Street Journal, Newsday, and Fox News; and serves on the BOD of The Career Management Alliance. She limits her monthly executive roster so she can personally work with her clients to help power their extraordinary careers, companies, and legacies.

Rui Miguel Coelho
CEO and Founder of PersonalBrands©, Portugal

A European expert in Services Marketing, Miguel works with marketing-driven professionals to increase the value of their professional services inside multinational corporations.”

Miguel has a pure and intense passion for marketing and branding. Having the opportunity to share his vision with other marketing driven professionals is a fantastic way to contribute to the relevance of Personal Branding inside companies. He loves what he does and that reflects highly in his success and in the success of the people he touches.

Miguel also has a natural ability to create a strong human link with people, taking into account his previous experience as an “entrepreneur inside corporations”. He is involved frequently in conferences, training programs and workshops worldwide focusing on Marketing issues. His current projects include the extension of the Personal Brand Experience for Portugal, Spain and Brazil.

Vivian Van Lier
Certified Coach, Personal Brand Strategist, and Resume Professional, Los Angeles, California, USA

A graduate of the Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley, Vivian Van Lier broke several “glass ceilings” early in her career, managed financial reporting for a $120 million division of a global company, and then “dropped out” of corporate to inspire others to find self-expression and success in their careers.

Long known as an entertainment industry expert, Vivian was named one of Hollywood’s top Career Counselors on E! Entertainment and was featured as “The Résumé Goddess” in Hollywood Drive–How to Break In, Hang In and Make It in the Entertainment Industry. Always at the leading edge, Vivian is also of the world's first certified retirement coaches.

Vivian has contributed to over 30 resume and career books, been quoted in over 100 US newspapers, and presents at conferences in the US and Canada. She twice co-chaired the International Career Development Conference and served on the Certification Board of PARW/CC.

Myriam-Rose Kohn
International Career Expert and Executive Director, JEDA Enterprises, Valencia, California, USA
“Your passport to international career success.”

If you are an executive who would like a rewarding career with an international company or want to experience living and working in another country, then you need to have Myriam-Rose Kohn as your travel companion in your career quest. She will help you to plan your journey and equip you with exactly what you need to reach your destination successfully, including personal and business protocol.

Myriam-Rose is the only international career transition expert with top credentials in everything from personal branding to résumé writing to language translations. With her highly professional and caring approach, as well as access to world-class resources, Myriam-Rose is your multilingual career strategist.

A careers-industry professional since 1993, Myriam-Rose holds seven certifications, is a contributor to 30+ career books, has been featured in the Wall Street Journal, and is a member of The Career Management Alliance.