Whether it’s Apple being turfed out of Stockholm, or Amazon scrapping its New York HQ plans, people are making their voices heard when it comes to how their cities welcome in mega-brands. In spite of tangible economic benefits, residents worry about how big businesses will affect their culture and communities – so how can brands better integrate into the fabric of global cities?
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Ben Knapp started early, launching a design consultancy even before beginning university. After completing his degree, and several years of growing his business, Ben went back to university in London to get an MA in Brand Strategy. He sold his business and joined Saffron Brand Consultants in 2006, where he has worked ever since. Saffron is an international brand consultancy that has worked for cities like London and Vienna. In 2018, Ben co-authored a book on disruptive branding, published by Kogan Page in 2019. Ben was born in Vienna and lives there with his wife and child. In his free time he’s a technology and cooking enthusiast that’s progressed from building his own computers to writing about the best recipe for Ma Po Tofu.
Gianluca is a global professional with 20 years of work experience at the intersection of business and technology, with a focus on the strategic management of innovation. He is a social entrepreneur of the NGO “Engineering Without Borders”, a spin-off of University Polytechnics which has become a benchmark in its sector according to the United Nation independent report, with hundreds of projects around the world. He is a passionate leader seeking to inspire leading cities and companies in various industries to establish new business models enabled by the Internet economy, and mitigate climate change through sustainable energy production and consumption. Gianluca’s areas of expertise include smart mobility, the sharing economy, Internet of Things and big data, ultra-broadband, smart energy, green infrastructure, project/program management, public procurement and project financing.
Buzz Carter is the head of Outreach at Bulldog Digital Media, helping clients get great exposure, he's worked with large award-winning campaigns and has even been nominated for multiple industry awards himself during his time in the industry.
Francesca Baker is a journalist, content writer, and communications specialist. You can read more about her on her blog andsoshethinks.co.uk or follow her on Instagram @andsoshethinks.
