Cheryl Cecchetto
Discovering events production via a theatre degree and a meeting with an Oscar-winning actress, Cecchetto’s background stood her in good stead for what was to come.
Dipesh Depala
According to Karla Otto, The Qode is “Dubai’s most important communications agency”. As its cofounder, Dipesh Depala discusses how the company he started accidentally has grown to straddle the globe, the mercurial nature of doing business in the Gulf, and why he misses “the days of magazines and models”.
Emma van Haandel
Van Haandel is the founder and managing director of EVH, Australia’s leading full-service luxury communications agency. Based in Sydney with a team of 20, she is the visionary force behind the business, guiding creativity, innovation and strategy, and a respected thought-leader in the fields of design, fashion, hospitality and retail.
Noona Smith-Petersen
Smith-Petersen started her working life by going straight in at the top with Giorgio Armani. Thirty-five years on from providing PR and communications to the godfather of Italian style, her “devotion to the world of luxury and fashion in everything I do” has resulted in a career trajectory that boasts a roll-call of fashion’s most famous names.
Karla Otto
There may be no greater singular force in fashion. A global influencer long before social media and its acolytes appropriated the term, Karla Otto virtually invented contemporary communications.
James LaForce
James LaForce learned from the best. After moving to New York from Wisconsin to study at Columbia (making Studio 54 and Mudd Club his second home in the process), LaForce started working with legendary PR maven, Eleanor Lambert. He never looked back, and now employs almost 100 staff at his eponymous communications agency.
Julian Vogel
From selling jeans in his father’s shops to founding communications behemoth ModusBPCM, Julian Vogel takes us on a whistle-stop tour of his career so far – and explains how Kate Moss, a pair of Birkenstocks and an iconic magazine cover created the moment that sparked his rise from local to global concern.
Kathleen Barnea Spink
Kathleen Barnea Spink currently serves as Executive Vice President and leads the Beauty & Wellness division of PURPLE, the global lifestyle agency that represents the world’s leading luxury brands and houses, alongside the new wave of cutting-edge talent and creative design.
Vanessa von Bismarck
From growing up in Germany and studying in London, Vanessa von Bismarck went to work at a sugar trading company as a commodity trader. After deciding to switch industries she found herself working in PR across the pond in New York.
Ali Taekman
The West Coast doyenne of creative communications agency BPCM, Taekman got her start in the New York fashion industry before the sunny skies and golden allure of California drew her back home. She explains how LA has transformed from a one-industry town into a magnet for artists of all persuasions.
Chloé Reuter
After moving to Hong Kong and falling in love with China as a teenager, the founding partner of Reuter Communications charts her path from TV journalism to luxury marketing and communications and reveals the personal beliefs behind her brand.
Jessica Fels
Jessica Fels has over 20 years of experience as an events and marketing professional spanning a number of industries including luxury and contemporary fashion, entertainment and publishing. She spoke with us about her creative style, sustainability and taking risks.
Silvia Negri Firman
There is one name that big fashion brands, world class mariners and spiritual leaders trust for their PR and communications. Silvia Negri Firman is something of a Milanese miracle worker and she welcomed us into her sun-filled office for a chat about the joys of work.