Farrukh Alimdjanov
Industrial Development Officer, Business Environment, Cluster and Innovation
Division, Department of Trade, Investment and Innovation, UNIDO
“Branding has proven to be an attractive service portfolio for fast-paced industrial modernization of manufacturing enterprises to enable improved market access and enhanced competitiveness of enterprises in developing countries and economies in transition in local and external markets. This approach has generated success stories and demonstrated direct mid-term impact on the acceleration of industrial and socio-economic growth, jobs creation and poverty reduction”.
Edgar Baum
Founder & CEO, Avasta Incorporated
"Understanding brands and intangibles is no longer the domain of specialists who speak what may sound like a foreign language. As a result of the efforts of people across the world to build the fundamental measurement and reporting methodologies, organizations are now able to capture the full measurable financial value of their brands and valuable new assets that were previously impossible to ascertain. Exploring this new standard of measurement uncovers previously hidden sources of value, an invaluable competitive advantage for organizations who are primed to embrace this paradigm shift, while those who fail to adopt will inevitably be left behind."
Ernst-Peter Brezovszky
Head of UNESCO-Unit, Federal Ministry for Europe, Integration and Foreign Affairs
“Branding plays an ever bigger role also in Foreign Politics. The 21st-century-phenomenon of “over-newsed and under-informed” makes it quintessential for the players in International Relations to develop their own brands to be recognized, seen and heard. UNESCO is a very good example. Be it World Cultural Heritage, Intercultural Dialogue, Safety of Journalists, Artificial Intelligence, Man and Biosphere, and many other highly emotional issues, UNESCO has succeeded in putting its stamp on these topics. The UN-Organisation for Education, Science and Culture has created more than a few brands which shall contribute to a wider outreach for key-questions of our days. What can we learn from UNESCO’s successes, which are their (and our) challenges ahead?”
Bobby Calder
Kellstadt Professor of Marketing, Kellogg Graduate School of Management, Northwestern University, USA
"Managing and evaluating brand value has become more and more important. Brand value is critical for sound investment in the new intangible economy. It is also an important tool for sustainability."
Toni Cheng
General Manager Alibaba Cloud DACH & CEE Region
"Branding for Internet Company means Trust, means Capability of Innovation. Alibaba Cloud ET Brain, it is our brand of vertical solutions based on computing, big data and intelligent algorithm technologies. e.g. Our ET Industrial brain is helping companies establish a full lifecycle data algorithm platform to achieve transparent production processes and increase productivity"
Martin Essl
Head of Austria, Uber
"At Uber, we share the same vision as the cities where we operate. All of us want cleaner, less-congested cities where everyone can move freely. In partnership with cities and transit agencies, we want to help make public transit more accessible and easier to use while reducing private car ownership."
Manuela Eyvazo
Value Chain Development Consultant, Business Environment, Cluster and Innovation Division, Department of Trade, Investment and Innovation, UNIDO
“A brand is as good as its products or services. Even though branding alone can bring along short terms gains, real long term success can only be achieved if the quality and safety of products can be assured, and hence the trust in a brand and its representing agents increases. In UNIDO we therefore seek to embrace technical assistance activities that also focus on quality management and ultimately make producers understand the importance of their ability to comply with quality standards for successful market access.”
Weixi Gong
Chief Investment Promotion Division, Department of Trade, Investment and Innovation, UNIDO
“In order for SMEs and other stakeholders in developing countries to take advantage of investment opportunities, they must have the necessary capacity. UNIDO helps both public and private investors upscale their investments and thereby increase their impact. These activities have positioned UNIDO in the global value chain of development and contribute towards the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals.”
Franz Hammerschmid
Head of Market-Management and Corporate Communications ÖBB Infra AG
"The ÖBB are at the same time the largest mobility provider and Austria's largest climate protection company. We believe that modern mobility concepts without sustainable environmental compatibility have no future - and that the climate targets without rail can not be achieved either in Austria or elsewhere in Europe. Since last summer we operate exclusively with renewable energy. And thus the brand ÖBB is charged with 100 percent green traction current."
Robert Harutyunyan,
Chairman of the Development Association of light industry in Armenia
“Thanks to UNIDO technical assistance, Armenian garment and footwear manufacturing companies united under a joint brand “5900BC” produced new fashionable and innovative collections and succeeded to access new export markets. As a result, this lead to tripling sector’s exports and doubling employment at the pilot enterprises. With the acknowledgement of the vitality of the brand in terms of creating trust, inspiring employees and increasing revenue and market share, it provided the opportunity to execute collective branding that facilitated recognition by international buyers and partners”
Klaus Heidinger
Global Center of Competence Cities Head of City IT Solutions, Siemens
"Economic growth and be being commitment to sustainable targets is one of the biggest challenges for Businesses and Public Sector. Siemens is supporting Cities to achieve their environmental targets related to Climate Actions (Carbon and Air Emissions) by using state of the art technologies. As Industry player we are fully commitment to SDG targets which drives our entire value chain from production centres to services. Sustainable Growth will lead to competitive advantages and increases livability."
Wolfgang Hötschl
Former CEO Kelly GmbH & Advisory Board Member European Brand Institute
“A brand is a product or service with functional and emotional benefits that some customers value enough to buy”. The option how to develop or grow brands in the different parts of the world in different environments with customers all over the world is a fascination opportunity were this Brand Global Summit provides the perfect platform to bring people together working on value increase on a sustainable basis.
Gerhard Hrebicek
President European Brand Institute
"This year’s motto BRANDS CREATE PROSPERITY highlights the impact of brands today and even more in the future. Brands - if proactively managed and measured - create value for companies and associations, cities, regions and national economies. We will discuss how brands contribute to competitiveness and sustainable growth, achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals, show case studies and success stories of UNIDO projects, introduce alternative financing opportunities for brands to enable strategic transformation for sustainable development."
Waltraud Kaserer
Vice President Corporate Communication& Investor Relations, Lenzing AG
"As a leader in sustainability Lenzing is one of the most trusted ingredient brands in the textile and nonwovens businesses. To strengthen this position and make the brands more visible at consumer level the Lenzing Group rolled out the new branding strategy, brand story and brand visuals a year ago, moving from a BtoB business model to a BtoBtoC brand positioning."
Herbert Kovar
Partner Deloitte Tax, Managing Partner Tax & Legal
“Immaterial properties are the value drivers of 21st century`s economy. Business cases of globally successful companies are based on brands and patents. Still traditional financing and accounting rules do not take into account the specifics of immaterial properties. Therefore the aim is that financing and accounting recognizes IP in the future.”
Stefan Krenn
Secretary General, Novomatic AG
„For NOVOMATIC, the number one European gaming technology group and global player, a well thought out brand strategy is essential, because customers in more than 70 countries should associate our brand with the right attributes. Like our brand ambassador Niki Lauda who, as NOVOMATIC, stands for internationality, innovation and technology. We are happy to be a part of the iconvienna Brand Global Summit, where we can exchange views with experts from different industries on the important issues of image and brand building.“
Olga Memedovic
Deputy Director and Chief of Business Environment, Cluster and Innovation Division, UNIDO
“Branding can help to enhance competitiveness, and add value to the products, producer and customer. Successful brands embody great ideas, values, vision, and personality. Branding can also be a strategic tool for countries to develop their technological competencies, innovation capabilities, enhance competiveness and to create new jobs and markets. Successful countries draw on their comparative advantages to identify their image, key products, emphasize their capabilities and use appropriate policies to strengthen such attributes to attract people, key strategic partners and foreign direct investment”.
Alexandra Millonig
Senior Scientist Dynamic Transportation Systems, AIT
"Today, urban mobility is confronted with dramatic challenges such as climate change as well as potentially disruptive solutions based on digitalisation or automation. Thus, we find ourselves forced to rethink what mobility means to us and how we imagine the future of urban mobility: ‘more, faster and further’ or ‘less, nearer and fairer’.”
Klaus Müllner
Chief Investment Officer, SummerLight Capital Partners
"Brand Investments via Private Equity Funds create value for the companies, the investors and the Macro-economy and support some of the SDG goals. It supports the transition to a knowledge and digital economy and creates jobs and growth. Brands are also more resilient to crisis and promote innovation."
Fabio Russo
Senior Industrial Development Officer, Business Environment, Cluster and Innovation Division, Department of Trade, Investment and Innovation, UNIDO
“Branding plays an important role in UNIDO’s work – not only at the level of individual firms but also for entire clusters and regions. In that sense “place branding” has become an integral part of regional economic development initiatives. In developing a successful regional brand, people and communities have to cooperate and communicate the most promising culturally embedded values both internally and externally. The development of products and services rooted in territorial capital with the support of local organizations jointly working under a shared vision are key ingredients of a successful and sustainable branding process.”
Vesna Vlahovic-Dasic
Marketing Director, Coca-Cola Austria
"Coca-Cola is an icon – today we would like to present another icon: Our Römerquelle brand has always been at the forefront of green innovation and sustainability. Now we have achieved a milestone: We converted the entire Römerquelle portfolio to bottles made of 100% recycled PET bottles."