Rita Clifton

Rita Clifton CBE is a renowned brand strategy expert who has worked with top companies across various industries. Her clients have included BMW, Rothschild, and PwC. She is the author of the best-selling book "The Future of Brands" (Palgrave Macmillan 1999) and has also written two editions of "Brands & Branding" (Economist Books). Rita served as the London Chief Executive and Chairman at Interbrand, the leading brand consultancy, from 1997 to 2012. Prior to that, she was Vice Chairman and Strategic Director at Saatchi & Saatchi. Currently, she holds several chairing and non-executive directorships. Rita has been a member of the Advisory Board at the Judge Business School at Cambridge University and was appointed Visiting Professor at Henley Management College in 2006. In 2009, she became the President of the Market Research Society and is a Fellow of the Marketing Society and the Royal Society of Arts.

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Rita Clifton CBE has been called ‘Brand guru’ by the Financial Times and ‘The doyenne of branding’ by Campaign magazine. The Daily Telegraph described her as ‘The brand leading the brands’. She is a speaker, writer and portfolio non-executive director.

Rita graduated from Cambridge University and started her career in advertising, where she became Vice Chairman and strategy director at Saatchi & Saatchi in its most successful period. She then joined Interbrand, the leading global brand consultancy, as London CEO and then became Chairman for a ten-year term. She now has a portfolio of chairing and non-executive director roles, including ASOS, Ascential plc and Nationwide. Past board roles have included Dixons Retail plc, Bupa, Emap and Populus, the opinion pollster and research company. In 2013, she co-founded and is Chair at BrandCap, the brand consultancy for the boardroom, which now has offices in London, New York and Hong Kong.

Rita speaks around the world on all aspects of brands, branding and business leadership. She is also a regular columnist and commentator on the range of TV, radio and social channels and was a judge and mentor on CNBC’s award-winning business series ‘Pop Up Start Up’. Her writing has included the best-selling book ‘The Future of Brands’, and two editions of The Economist book ‘Brands & Branding’.

Pro bono board roles have included WWF (Worldwide Fund for Nature), the Henley Festival and the UK Government’s Sustainable Development Commission. In the 2014 New Year’s Honours List, Rita was awarded a CBE for services to the creative industrie