| 2023 PAGE INTERNATIONAL EXCHANGE
Building Trust in a World of Uncertainty

Director General for Communication
European Commission

Pia Ahrenkilde Hansen has been spokeswoman of the European Commission since November 2009. Previously, she was the deputy spokesperson and head of the spokespersons’ service planning group.Since May 2006, Ahrenkilde Hansen had been head of the spokesperson service coordination and planning unit. The Danish-born Hansen had joined the European Commission as an administrator in 1995. She holds a certificat d’etudes politiques from the Institut d’études Politiques de Paris, as well as a bachelor of science in business administration and modern languages and a master of science in international business administration and modern languages, both from Copenhagen Business School.

President
Page

Roger Bolton is the president of Page, the premier global professional association for senior corporate communication executives. 

Previously, Bolton served as senior vice president of communications at Aetna with responsibility to lead culture change in a strategic business transformation. Before Aetna, Bolton led IBM’s global media relations and directed communications for the IBM server and software groups.

Prior to his business career, Bolton was assistant secretary of the Treasury for public affairs under President George H.W. Bush; assistant U.S. trade representative for public affairs under President Reagan; and special assistant to President Reagan in the White House, with responsibility for the president’s relations with business and labor.

Managing Partner
Horizon Group

Dr. Margareta Drzeniek is Managing Partner with Horizon Group and a globally recognized expert on global risks, economic development, notably in the Arab World, competitiveness, and innovation.  

For many years she was Member o f the Executive Committee a t the World Economic Fourm, where she led the e conomics unit. She is lead author of The Global Competitiveness Report, The Global Risks Report in addition to other benchmarking reports of the World Economic Forum. She advised government agencies, ministers, national competitiveness councils and the private sector in the Arab World and worldwide on how to manage global risks, improve competitiveness, boost exports and investment, or measure impact. She is a regular speaker at high level conferences and events, including World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos, IMF/WB Annual Meetings in Washington DC, sessions of the UN General Assembly in NY, etc. and serves as expert for media (BBC, CNBC, CNN, Bloomberg, etc.).

Partner
Heidrick & Struggles

​Rachel Farley is a partner in Heidrick & Struggles’ London office and a member of the global Human Resources Officers Practice. She specializes in future-focused human resources leaders driving strategic and commercial value as businesses address the world’s technological, environmental, and social challenges.

Rachel focuses on senior-level human resources talent across all industries and organizational ownership structures. Roles include, chief people officers and their HR business partners, heads of talent and talent acquisition, heads of organizational development, chief learning officers, heads of reward, heads of people analytics, heads of culture & DEI, and more. 

Rachel is also a professional coach in the Executive Coaching Practice and is trained to deliver Heidrick & Struggles’ proprietary Leadership Assessment Framework.

Rachel has lived and worked in London, Singapore, Tokyo, and New York. In 2001, she began her career in digital marketing based in London, before moving to Asia and subsequently to New York to recruit Digital talent. 

Rachel is the co-lead of Heidrick & Struggles’ Women’s Inclusion Network in Europe & Africa. She is a qualified mental health first aider. 

Education:

Meyler Campbell, Qualification in Executive Leadership and Business Coaching, Accredited by the EMCC

University of Manchester, BA in History of Art and Architecture

CEO & Founder
Formative Content

After more than 20 years as a television news journalist and programme editor, Gay founded Formative Content in the UK. The Formative team uses expert journalistic understanding and insight to help corporate comms teams around the world to get the most of their content and stories.

Formative Content works closely with the World Economic Forum digital team creating social and blog content on a daily basis; they also provide live blog coverage and fast turnaround news coverage at Davos. Formative also works with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries creating ongoing quality corporate content, Tata Consultancy Services delivering live coverage and social media and with the World Government Summit, as well as the Nestlé corporate comms team. Formative built
and runs the Centrica 'platform' brand journalism hub. Formative's client roster also includes BlackRock, Allianz GI and KPMG (UK).

Gay Flashman is a former journalist and Managing Editor of Channel 4 News and Channel 5 News in the UK; she has worked as a Management Consultant in various media environments across the world, including working closely with the head of news at ABC Australia to restructure the news division there. Gay is a member of the PRCA, the Chartered Institute of Marketing and sits on the board of the International Association of Business Communicators, and is a member of the PRCA.

Deputy Executive Vice President and Chief Communications Officer
Nestlé

Lisa Gibby is Deputy Executive Vice President and Chief Communications Officer at Nestlé. She is also a member of Nestlé S.A.'s Executive Board and the company's ESG & Sustainability Council. As a seasoned communications leader, she is passionate about telling the stories of the people behind the business - from the agronomists helping cocoa farmers to the nutrition experts working to make foods healthier. Lisa has led global Corporate Communications at Nestlé since July 2022. She is responsible for building trust and partnership through media relations, public affairs, corporate digital content, and internal communications. Working closely with the company's communications teams across 186 markets, she helps advance Nestlé's public affairs and communications strategy and initiatives by connecting with communities, policymakers, NGOs, journalists, and consumers. She previously served as VP of Corporate Communications for Nestlé's US operations, where she focused on driving awareness of Nestlé's impact through innovative PR, corporate social media, and digital storytelling.

Prior to Nestlé, Lisa served as Director of Global Communications of The ONE Campaign, an anti-poverty advocacy organization co-founded by activist and philanthropist, Bono. Previously, she founded LKG Communications, providing a broad range of communications services to corporations, advocacy organizations and PR agencies.

Her extensive communications background over three decades includes roles as Vice President of Corporate Communications for AOL; Senior Vice President of Robinson, Lerer & Montgomery, LLC (a leading corporate and financial communications firm); and Manager, Corporate Communications for Home Box Office (HBO).

Born and raised in the USA, Lisa earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Colgate University in New York with a concentration in political science and French.

Director, Head of ESG
Kirchhoff Consult

Claudia Herzog-Kamensky joined Kirchhoff Consult, a Hamburg-based agency specialized in financial communications, in September 2022. At Kirchhoff, she leads a growing team of eight professionals in the ESG/Sustainability department. Her subject matter expertise lies in developing ESG strategies based on materiality analyses, sustainability reporting frameworks and standards, as well as the integration in non-financial reports. She is specially focused on sustainability reporting standard GRI, also with consideration of current international and European developments.

Before joining Kirchhoff Consult, Claudia Herzog-Kamensky gained more than 25 years of experience in corporate communications, most recently at the Swiss specialty chemicals company Clariant. During her time at Clariant, she was responsible for annual reports, media relations, CEO positioning, crisis and change communications, M&A communications, and internal communications. She also acted as a corporate spokesperson.

In her role as Head of Team External Communications, Claudia Herzog-Kamensky was instrumental in the introduction of Integrated Reporting at Clariant: In 2016, the Group became the first Swiss company to present an integrated annual report. Since then, the reporting has received numerous awards.

She also gained extensive experience and expertise - also in an international environment - during her work as Public Relations Manager at the Swiss GABA International (Colgate-Palmolive) and as an editor and independent communications consultant. 

Claudia Herzog-Kamensky holds a master's degree in communication sciences and German studies, as well as a postgraduate certificate in corporate communication.

Partner & Head of Digital
Farner Consulting

Daniel Jörg is a member of the management team and partner with Farner Consulting. As head of digital marketing & research Daniel and his team help clients across industries in leveraging digital & data opportunities to build closer ties with relevant audiences and stakeholders.

Daniel has been a passionate advocate and enabler of digitalization in various communication, advertising & marketing agencies for over 20 years – both in Switzerland and abroad. Daniel holds a master in Media Science, Economics and international Relations from the University of Zurich.

Global Head Communications
Brand & MarCom

Kim Larsen is the head of Communications, Brand and MarCom at ING and leads a global community of around 500 communications, brand and marketing experts across INGs retail and wholesale banking markets. His organisation is responsible for all areas of external and internal communications as well as ING’s brand & marketing efforts.

Prior to joining ING, Kim was head of Communications, Brand and Marketing at Danske Bank, where he worked for 8 years based in Copenhagen, Denmark. Before joining the financial sector he spent 12 years on the agency side and advised a wide range of companies on issues & crisis management and public affairs.

Co-founder and President
Wiztopic

Since 2014, Jérôme Lascombe is the president Wiztopic, the Franco-American publisher the communication teams' solution of listed companies and finance. In 2019 , he created Wiztrust, the first certification platform for corporate information in the blockchain.

Previously, Jérôme Lascombe founded several PR and digital and financial communication agencies, including Hopscotch, which he managed from 2000 to 2013. He graduated from Sciences Po Lyon and Paris Dauphine (DEA in Information Sciences).

Page Chair & Chief Communications Officer
Mubadala Investment Company

Brian is the Chief Communications Officer of Mubadala Investment Company, responsible for stewardship of the Mubadala brand and management of the Group’s corporate communications requirements

Brian has over 25 years of experience in public relations. He joined Mubadala in 2012 after serving as Executive Director of Communications at the Advanced Technology Investment Company (ATIC), a Mubadala-owned business created in 2008 to diversify the Abu Dhabi economy through significant investments in the semiconductor industry. 

Prior to ATIC, Brian worked at global public relations firm Burson-Marsteller, where he spent ten years providing strategic guidance to the firm’s public affairs, corporate and technology clients. In his last four years at the firm, Brian was leading a global team of 150 professionals across 25 markets. He was the co-chair of Burson’s key client relationship program, a portfolio of the firm’s 20 most diverse blue-chip companies.

Brian began his professional career in Washington, D.C., working for two Members of Congress and serving as chief of staff, spokesman and campaign manager over 14 years, managing six successful re-elections over a period spanning three Presidential administrations. He is a published author and has worked as a journalist.

Brian holds a Bachelor of Arts degree with honors in journalism and mass communication from the University of Iowa, and has studied at the City University of London and the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard.

Deputy Head of Engagement for Public Diplomacy
NATO

Work Experience 

2012: NATO International Staff, Deputy Section Head, Engagements Section, Public Diplomacy Division    

2009-2012: NATO International Staff, Deputy Section Head, Partnerships Section, Public Diplomacy Division

2002 – 2009: NATO International Staff, Senior Programme Coordinator, Outreach Section, Public Diplomacy Division

2000 – 2002: NATO International Staff, Outreach Editor, Planning and Publications Section, Public Diplomacy Division

1998 – 2000: Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Czech Republic, Deputy Head, Policy Planning Section  

1993 – 1998: Charles University Prague, Faculty of Social Sciences, Senior Lecturer in Modern History and International Relations

Education 

1998: Appointed Senior Lecturer in Modern History by the Academic Council of the Charles University, Prague 

1990 – 1993: School of Advanced International Studies of the Johns Hopkins University, Washington D.C, Master of Arts in International Relations and Economics 

Publications

- The West: The United States and Western Europe during and Beyond the Cold War, Prague (in Czech), Prague 1997, 600 pages

- Planning the Unplannable: Warsaw Pact Planning for a War in the Nuclear  Age, 500 p

- Tens of scholarly and newpsaper articles in both Czech and English, regularly contributes to the Lidove Noviny Daily 

Skills

Languages: Czech (native), English (fluent), French (Fluent), Russian (fluent), Italian (proficient), Dutch (basic)

CEO
The Cormorant Group

Barry Lustig is president of Cormorant Group. Before establishing the company, he worked in international development as well as the communications industry. Within the development field, he was a consultant to organizations like the World Bank, National Economic and Social Development Board of Thailand and Group Planning at Shell International London. He also worked for the World Economic Forum in Geneva looking after the societal risk and culture portfolio. Within the communications industry, he has advised entities across brand and public affairs including the Office of the Prime Minister of Japan, Japan Airlines, PG&E and United Technologies. In this capacity, he worked for global communications agencies inclusive of Dentsu Inc., Tokyo. Barry is from the United States and was earned his BA at Kenyon College and M.Sc. at the London School of Economics. He lives in Tokyo with his wife and son.

Chief Brussels Correspondent
POLITICO Europe

Suzanne Lynch is Chief Brussels Correspondent of POLITICO Europe. Based in Brussels, she leads coverage of EU affairs and is also host of the weekly EU Confidential podcast. Prior to joining Politico, she worked as a foreign correspondent and financial journalist for the Irish Times. She covered US politics, including the tumultuous Trump years, as Washington Correspondent for the Irish Times between 2017 and 2021. She was previously European Correspondent, based in Brussels, where she led coverage of the euro zone crisis, Brexit and the refugee crisis. She is a regular contributor to international TV and radio platforms such as the BBC and CNN. She holds a PhD in English Literature from Cambridge University.

Group CEO
Echo Research

An Expert Witness in Reputation and cited as 'among the 100 most influential people in PR’, Sandra is Group CEO of Echo Research which provides brand and reputation research for clients globally and Director of Reputation Dividend, valuing reputation for listed companies.  Sandra is an Independent Non Executive on the Governance & Sustainability Board of Geneva-based Richemont SA.

From an early career at PA Management Consultants, Sandra set up the first international franchise for media analysis in 1989 before launching Echo.  

Ambassador to the International Integrated Reporting Council <IR>, Sandra is a Chartered Manager and Companion of the Chartered Institute of Management, member of the McKinsey Women as Leaders’ Forum and Visiting Professor on Reputation at NYU.  Founder of the International Association of Measurement & Evaluation Companies (amec) and Fellow of the CIPR, Sandra judges the CIPR and Management Consultancy Awards.  Former Trustee and Board Member of the Arthur Page Society and the Institute of Public Relations, Sandra and is recipient of the Page Distinguished Service Award for 2018 and amec’s Don Bartholomew Award in 2020 for her contribution to reputation management and measurement internationally.

Hilton Hotels (former), FedEx (former)

Bill is an accomplished executive and thought leader in global reputation and brand management, culture, and investor relations. He served as Sr. Vice President for FedEx Corp for 16 years, as Executive Vice President for Hilton Corp., and Vice President for Bechtel Corp. in EMEA. He also has broad government affairs experience having worked for Occidental Petroleum and the U.S. Secretary of Commerce’s Office in the Reagan Administration. 

In recent years Bill has launched several start-up ventures while also doing C-suite consulting for numerous Fortune 500 companies. He currently serves as a Sr. Strategic Advisor to Prophet – a leading marketing consultancy firm focused on transformational growth strategies. In this capacity, Bill takes great pride in helping companies maximize the value of their intangible assets – brand, culture, and reputation.

He is a former Chairman of the Arthur W. Page Society and serves on the board of directors of Prontoblock Corp., the Larry King Cardiac Foundation, Arthur W. Page Center, and We Are Family Foundation.

Founder & Managing Director
Deverill Executive Search

Employment History:

1992 - 1993 Royal Military Academy Sandhurst 

1993 - 2000 Serving Army Office. Serving in U.K., Europe and US. Role includes Media Relations and Campaigning. 

Last role. Officer Commanding Queens Own Yeomanry. York, UK

2000 - 2003 VMA Group. Consultant. Corporate Affairs, Financial Communications and Investor Relations. 

2003 - 2008 Benchmark. Director. Executive search across Europe in Corporate Affairs and Investor Relations 

2008 - Present.  Deverill. Founder and Managing Director. Executive Search and Performance Management Consultancy focused on Corporate Affairs and Investor Relations

Executive Vice President for Communications, Branding & Marketing, and member of the Board of Management
Wärtsilä Corporation

Atte Palomäki is Executive Vice President for Communications, Branding & Marketing, and member of the Board of Management at Wärtsilä Corporation - a technology company serving the marine and energy markets globally, with an aim to decarbonize these industries. He will leave this position in August 2023 to pursue new ambitions. 
Since 2008 Palomäki has led the communications and branding function strategically and hands-on, given counsel to four CEOs and the executive management team on mergers & acquisitions, brand positioning, restructuring, business transformation, reputational challenges and other issues facing the corporation; always focusing on enabling management to drive successful long-term business.

Under his leadership, Wärtsilä has overhauled its communications and marketing by taking a stern multi-channel storytelling approach with a focus on a robust digital presence, thus aiming at a tangible impact on sales and brand value. As corporate responsibility and sustainable business are embedded in Wärtsilä’s operations, Palomäki drove the launch of a distinct and clear brand purpose to provide direction to Wärtsilä and its positioning to all stakeholders.

During 2007-2015 Palomäki served as a non-executive board member for the media company Talentum plc. During this time Talentum updated its strategy towards professional media services and made important acquisitions and divestments to execute this strategy, until the successful merger with Alma Media.

Over the years Palomäki has worked actively for developing corporate communications, branding and marketing as a strategic business enabler through public speeches, mentoring and pro bono work. He was a board member of the European Association of Communications between 2010-2018, and Vice Chairman of the Marketing Executives Group in Finland 2019-2021. Currently, he brings Nordic perspective to the European Excellence Awards as a the only Finnish member of the international Jury.

Prior to entering corporate communications and marketing, Atte Palomäki had a career spanning more than 15 years in news and business journalism. Working e.g. for the Finnish News agency, MTV3 news and the business daily Kauppalehti he gained vast experience in both print and broadcast media. He is a graduate of Political Sciences from Helsinki University.

Executive Vice President, Head of Communications, Sustainability & Brand
Deutsche Post DHL Group

Monika Schaller was appointed as Executive Vice President Corporate Communications, Sustainability & Brand at DAX 30-listed Deutsche Post DHL Group in July 2019. She previously held the position of Deputy Global Head of Communications and Corporate Social Responsibility at Deutsche Bank. In this role she was responsible for advising the Management Board on all strategic communication issues.

Prior to joining Deutsche Bank in 2016, Monika Schaller managed Corporate Communications for Goldman Sachs in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Central & Eastern Europe and Russia for nine years. In this role, she was in charge of the development, implementation and execution of Goldman Sachs’ strategic communication at the time of the global financial crisis in 2008.

She has extensive global experience having worked for Citigroup Corporate Communications in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and the Nordic countries. Monika Schaller started her career working for Bloomberg, reporting from various international locations including New York, Tokyo and London after transitioning from her role as a Sales Trader at CA Investment Bank in Vienna.

Monika earned her Business Administration degree from the University of Vienna, Austria.

Vice President, Communications & Public Affairs Europe, Middle East and Africa
The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company

Troy Scully is Goodyear’s Vice President of Communications and Public Affairs for the company’s Europe, Middle East and Africa business.

Based in Brussels, he leads a multinational team of communications experts dedicated to promoting the 125-year-old tire company’s brand, enhancing its reputation, and fostering an inspiring culture among its 20,000 employees across the EMEA region in an ever-changing business landscape.

Troy also leads a dedicated public affairs team in charge of guiding the company’s public policy priorities and actively engaging with European Union institutions and Member States’ governments to ensure Goodyear’s voice is heard and its interests are represented.

Troy has more than 20 years’ experience across all facets of corporate affairs, with extensive involvement in external and internal communications, government and regulatory affairs, investor relations, and sustainability/corporate responsibility.

Prior to joining Goodyear in 2016, he worked in the aerospace and defense sector for Lockheed Martin, most recently as a corporate communications director and spokesperson.

Troy studied public relations and marketing at Syracuse University’s Newhouse School of Public Communications and completed executive studies in corporate affairs at Oxford University’s Saïd Business School. He is happily married and the proud father of two children.

Founder and CEO
BusinessFourZero

With a background in commercial innovation roles at Unilever, Diageo, Private Equity and formerly European CEO at iconic innovation consultancy ?What If!, Atif founded businessfourzero out of a zeal for seeing human and commercial potential unleashed - in the pursuit of actually doing business better.

He has brought his expertise in purpose, leadership, innovation and strategy to bear on the turnaround and purpose-driven transformation of businesses from Tesco to Aviva to TSB to Reckitt.

Regarded as one of the most impactful purpose thinkers in the industry, Atif has a passion for creating purpose- driven businesses - where growth and positive societal impact become synonymous and where every team is on that mission.

Leader, Communications & Corporate Responsibility
LIXIL

John Short leads Communications at LIXIL, a role he has been in since October 2019, with responsibility for the company’s communications function and impact strategy globally. 

John is a global public affairs professional with over twenty years of experience in strategic in-house and agency roles. In his role at LIXIL, he oversees corporate communications, culture and engagement communications, regional communications teams with responsibility for product brands, and LIXIL’s impact strategy, as well as previously also leading the company's culture promotion work in Japan including INAX Museums. 

He has been instrumental in establishing LIXIL’s innovative purpose agenda, including the ambitious shared value partnership with UNICEF to help tackle the global sanitation crisis. He is also responsible for overseeing the company’s internal and external communications strategy, to enhance LIXIL’s overall presence and reputation in Japan and globally. 

Prior to his current position at LIXIL, John was Head of Communications at Hitachi Automotive Systems, and earlier a Partner at KREAB. At KREAB (previously Gavin Anderson), he provided strategic communications and media relations counsel to clients including the Japanese Prime Minister’s Office and Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Hilton Worldwide, the World Bank, Dropbox and IATA.

Global Strategic Innovation
Microsoft

Dirk Songür is a technologist with a strong technical, people and business background. He helps companies explore potential futures, understand impacts, identify desirable outcomes, and to create teams and business programs to steer towards them. Currently Dirk works for Microsoft on the strategic development and acceleration of the Internet of Things and Mixed Reality, enabling the ecosystem to create and sell large scale digital + physical, intelligent metaverse solutions in a valuable, ethical, sustainable, and secure way. Previously he worked on innovative brand experiences on the web and the physical world, including online platforms & communities, digital retail as well as theme parks, hotels, casinos and city-scale digital infrastructures. Customers included Nintendo, Audi, City of Dubai, DHL, Toyota, and CHANEL.

Chief Executive Officer
APCO Worldwide

Brad Staples, chief executive officer, is charged with expanding APCO's business interests in new geographies and driving the full range of company services across all markets. In this role, he coordinates the work of APCO's global client managers and develops best practices that ensure the firm's high standards of client service are consistent across all operations.

Throughout his career at APCO, Mr. Staples has devised and conducted reputation and public affairs programs for multinational companies and interest groups across a broad range of industries and policy areas. He has developed public affairs campaigns and led investment promotion, information and reputation assignments for government leaders and heads of state.

Mr. Staples also leads APCO's antitrust and competition practice. Working in close collaboration with leading law firms and investment banks, he has managed global client M&A and antitrust communication campaigns and has assisted multinational companies from many industry and service sectors in achieving their competition communication objectives.

Mr. Staples joined APCO Worldwide in 1996 to co-manage the company's then-new Brussels office. He went on to become CEO for APCO's Europe region and subsequently for EMEA operations, where he led APCO's expansion throughout EMEA and helped develop client service teams across these geographies.

Prior to joining APCO, Mr. Staples worked at a European affairs consultancy in London and in Brussels. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in politics and government and studied at the University Stendhal in Grenoble, France. He speaks French and Italian.

Partner
FGS Global

As a Partner in the Tech & Transformation Team of FGS Global in Berlin, Christopher Storck deals with the transformation of companies and the new demands this presents to their communication functions. His consulting activities focus on the formulation and dissemination of strategies, the establishment and protection of economically relevant reputations as well as the reorganization and further development of communication departments across disciplines and organizational borders.

For more than two decades at FGS Global, Christopher has helped international organizations develop their communication functions to best support the implementation of corporate strategy. This always involves making the most efficient use of available resources to achieve maximum impact.

Christopher has been combining practice and science throughout his career. After teaching master classes at the University of Münster he was appointed Professor of Strategy and Communication Management at Quadriga University Berlin. Since 2013 he is serving on the scientific advisory board of the German Association of Communicators (BdKom). From 2007 to 2020 he also held a leading position in the Communication Controlling Section of the International Controller Association. 

Prior to joining FGS Global in 2000, Christopher was an assistant professor at the University of Cologne and headed the editorial team of a scientific magazine for international and ethnic conflict management. He studied Eastern European History, Philosophy and Slavic Studies at the Universities of Cologne and Prague, holds degrees as a Master of Arts and a Doctor of Philosophy, and is a certified business coach of the EBS University for Economics and Law in Wiesbaden. Christopher is a captain in the reserve of the German Armed Forces.

Executive Editor
Fortune

Peter Vanham is executive editor of Fortune, where he leads the publication’s coverage on sustainability, impact and ESG. He is the author of several books including “Stakeholder Capitalism” (with Klaus Schwab, 2021) and “Before I Was CEO” (2016). Previously, he was head of the International Media Council and head of chairman’s communications at the World Economic Forum, where he wrote about globalization, technology, and business leadership. He has been a regular contributor to Financial Times, writing on emerging markets, and published articles in Harvard Business Review, Insider, Quartz and Foreign Policy. He holds master’s degrees in management research (ESCP, 2023), global leadership (WEF, 2018), business journalism (Columbia, 2012) and commercial engineering (KU Leuven, 2008). He lives with his wife and two daughters in Geneva, Switzerland.  

SVP of Global Integrated Communications & Events
Royal Philips

Ed Walsh joined Royal Philips, a global leader in health technology, as SVP of global integrated communications in 2014, a newly created position spanning crisis and financial communications, media relations, industry analyst relations, employee and executive communications. He has since taken on Global events and public affairs.

From 2010 to 2014, Ed was managing director Europe at APCO Worldwide, a leading independent communications consultancy, where he ran the P&L and led some of its largest multi-office client accounts. He joined as managing director of the London office in 2007. Prior to this, Ed spent 10 years in various senior corporate communications positions at IBM Europe Middle East Africa.  He started as a speechwriter for the EMEA general manager, going on to become head of internal & executive communications, director of communications for Business Consulting Services, IBM’s management consulting arm born out of the acquisition of PriceWaterhouse Coopers Consulting and director of communications for France North Africa, during a major reorganization and restructuring. Ed took an 18-month sabbatical from IBM to lead communications and marketing at a French Linux software dotcom where he managed the communications for its successful IPO on the Paris Euronext secondary market. He began his career at the House of Commons in London and as a Public Affairs consultant in Brussels.

Ed holds dual British and French nationalities and graduated with honors in Politics & Government and International Relations from the University of Kent at Canterbury and the Institut d’Etudes Politiques, Paris. He is a member of the Arthur Page Society. He and his wife Stefania have two children.

CEO
Diversey Global

Mr. Wieland became CEO of Diversey in January of 2020 having previously served as the CFO. He had earlier worked for Bain Capital Private Equity, and before that was the Group Chief Financial Officer and UK Chief Executive Officer of Brakes Group. He also spent five years as Group Chief Financial Officer of General Healthcare Group. Prior to this, Mr. Wieland spent eight years at BSkyB. He started his career and qualified as a chartered accountant at PricewaterhouseCoopers.
Education

Mr. Wieland received a First Class degree in Mathematics from the University of Leeds.