Simon Anholt

Simon Anholt is acknowledged as the world’s leading authority on national image. He coined the term “nation brand” in 1998, a topic on which he has advised over 60 countries, often at the level of Head of State / Head of Government. He publishes the Anholt Nation Brands Index and City Brands Index, two image surveys which have accumulated over 1bn datapoints since 2005. In 2014, Anholt launched the Good Country Index (GCI), an annual ranking that analyses how much each country on earth contributes to humanity and the planet.

He has published six books on place image and ethical geopolitics and is Founding Editor Emeritus of the journal Place Branding and Public Diplomacy. His latest book, The Good Country Equation, was described by the UN’s High Commissioner for Human Rights as “a masterpiece”. His books, academic papers and many hundreds of articles have been cited 19,000 times according to Google Scholar, making him by far the most cited scholar in the fields of place image, soft power and public diplomacy.

Anholt gave the all-time most viewed TED talk in the ‘Government’ category with over 13 million views. He is Executive Chairman of the consulting firm Anholt & Co.