Rita Clifton
High-profile business leader and acclaimed brand and marketing guru. Keynote speaker & chair, author and expert adviser
Rita Clifton CBE has been described by the FT as ‘brand guru’, as the ‘doyenne of branding’ by Campaign magazine and as ‘the brand leading the brands’ by the Daily Telegraph. Combined with her experience of being a CEO, Chair, board director and successful entrepreneur, Rita is able to inspire organisations of all kinds to find new ways to succeed in an uncertain world.
Full Profile
About Rita Clifton
Whether you want to engage CEOs and boards, raise the performance of all levels of employees or help entrepreneurs create long-term value, Rita is the perfect speaker for your event. She is able to speak on all aspects of modern business leadership, value creation, corporate and personal branding and digital/AI disruption. Other topics close to her heart cover diversity in the boardroom as well as sustainability. She gives honest, stimulating and very practical advice and will leave audiences with a clear sense of opportunities and actions.
Key points
- “The Doyenne of branding” (Campaign Magazine), “The Queen of branding” (Marketing Week), “Brand Guru” (Financial Times)
- Awarded CBE in the New Year’s Honours list in 2014 for services to creative industries
- Former CEO & Chairman of Interbrand
- Former Vice Chairman & Strategy Director at Saatchi & Saatchi
- Successful Board Chair and non-executive director, business leader and entrepreneur
- Best-selling and award-winning writer
- Long-standing environmental and sustainability champion
- Visiting Fellow at Oxford University (Said Business School)
Biography in More Detail
Rita started her career in advertising and quickly progressed to become Vice Chairman and Strategy Director at Saatchi & Saatchi during its most successful period. She then moved into brand strategy when she became London CEO, then Chairman, of leading global brand consultancy Interbrand, and led a highly diverse and talented team. She has advised numerous leading businesses around the world, as well as start-ups and growth stage businesses of all shapes and sizes. In 2013, she co-founded and chaired the business and brand consultancy BrandCap, which now has offices in London, New York and Hong Kong and which she successfully sold on to the Populus Group.
She is a regular commentator across all Media, including BBC, Sky and social channels, as well as a columnist for national newspapers and trade magazines. She was a mentor and judge on the CNBC award-winning business series ‘Pop Up Start Up’, in association with Alibaba.
She is a Board Chair and non-executive director of a number of businesses including the John Lewis Partnership, one of Europe’s largest employee-owned businesses, and the leading healthcare organisation Simplyhealth. Previous non-executive board roles have included the global fashion business ASOS, the Nationwide Building Society and Ascential plc (owner of Cannes Lions, WGSN and Flywheel), as well as the boards of global healthcare company Bupa, the media company Emap plc and technology retailer Dixons Retail plc. Her non-profit board experience includes WWF (Worldwide Fund for Nature) and as a member of the UK Government’s Sustainable Development Commission. She is currently Chair of the international sustainability non-profit Forum for the Future and a Trustee at Green Alliance, which brings business, academia, NGOs and governments together to solve pressing environmental issues. She is a Visiting Fellow at the Said Business School at Oxford University, specialising in corporate reputation.
Rita is also the author of best-selling books including ‘The Future of Brands’ and two editions of The Economist ‘Brands and Branding’. Her latest book ‘Love Your Imposter’ is a leadership book like no other, which captures her uniquely honest perspectives on what it takes to build your personal brand and become a business leader in the world today. It has been recognised as one of the ‘Distinguished Favorites’ by the Independent Press Awards and shortlisted for the Business Book Awards.
Speaker Style
Rita is honest, fresh and funny as well as being an acknowledged business and brand leader. She tells it like it is. Her authoritative yet witty delivery results in a warm and emotional connection with her audience meaning that no matter the size of the audience, they all feel like they’ve had a one-to-one. She can speak to CEOs and board audiences from major multinationals through to entrepreneurs, young executives and grass root employees. She always tailors her content to suit the crowd. She also creates fresh content for every platform and always ensures that delegates leave having learned something new.
Sector Specialisation:
All sectors and stages of business, from start-ups to global corporations. Both B2C and B2B.
Recent Speaker Creds Include:
- EY High-Performing Women’s Network
- Experian Global Conference
- RSM Global Leadership Conference (Toronto)
- Retail Week ‘Be Inspired’ Conference
- United Way Conference (Florida)
- Brand Boot Camp (Manila)
- Google Agency Conference
- Guardian ‘Disrupters’ Small Business Network Conference
- EU Brands Conference (Brussels)
- British Brands Group Annual Lecture
- Marketing Society Annual Conference
- Gamechangers Summit (Istanbul)
- Wella Professionals Conference
- UKTI Conferences
- Franchise India Conference (Delhi)
- FUTR DX (global)