The NETWORK Discusses Personal Branding, Announces New Board

On Wednesday 19 March 2025, the Luxembourg-based international professional women's association, The NETWORK, held an event titled "Personal Branding - Celebrating Women's Confidence" at Clearstream Banking SA in Luxembourg-Kirchberg.

The sold-out event, attended by approximately 70 people, marked International Women's Day (8 March) for the association. The speakers were: Giulia Iannucci, founder and CEO of KnowThyBrand; Laurence Claude, executive image consultant and founder of Wonder Executive Image; Maria Lucia Romero, co-founder of the Brilliantly Branded podcast. Evguenia Jeitz, Product Manager and Vice President at Clearstream, moderated the discussion.

Mariana Florea welcomed those present to what was her last event as President of The NETWORK. She thanked all 2024-2025 board members and introduced the members for the upcoming year, elected following the association’s AGM earlier that evening.

The NETWORK board members for 2025-2026 are:

- Monika Ruseva, President;
- Patricia Martin, Vice President;
- Laura Alicia Mendez, General Secretary;
- Victoria Atkinson, Partnership Director;
- Anne Claire Delval, Events Director;
- Lina Kavoliune, Treasurer;
- Yulia Kulakova, Membership Director;
- Natalia Marcu, IT Director;
- Monica Ortega, Communications Director.

The announcement was followed by two pitches and an invitation for jobseekers and people who are hiring (or whose companies are hiring) to connect with each other.

Evguenia Jeitz introduced the guest speakers to the audience and asked them to share their thoughts and understanding of “personal branding”. Giulia Iannucci spoke of the importance of unpeeling and finding the superpower that lies within which makes each person unique. Laurence Claude spoke of combining one’s identity and image to allow oneself to be perceived as one wants. Maria Lucia Romero reiterated that personal branding is all about perception.

The speakers then discussed the topic in more depth. Giulia Iannucci advised those present to “find your superpower”, understand the audience, i.e. the people with whom one is associating, and to communicate one’s own personal brand. She stressed that personal branding was not about creating a fictional character. She spoke of defining one’s brand at work. This can be achieved by asking who one is in the context of work, why one does what one does, what one wants to achieve career wise and how one can achieve that vision. She added that one’s values should align with those of the workplace. She stressed the importance, not only of listing achievements, but also of acknowledging them to enable self-belief and confidence.

Laurence Claude began her presentation by telling the audience that appearance is a very important component of personal branding. Appearance speaks before any words are spoken. People will decide who a person is within seven seconds of meeting them for the first time. Grooming, posture and body language are vital components of the perception or personal brand one wants to portray. She went on to describe how the colours worn also influences this perception and illustrated this with examples from colour wheels.

Maria Lucia Romero stressed the importance of being aware of how one is perceived in order to be recognised for who one is. One needs to be clear and intentional to prevent others from defining who one is. “Your brand is yours. Stop letting others design it”. She added that it was essential to build trust in oneself to show oneself to others, stating: “Don’t catch butterflies. Build the garden and they will arrive”. She spoke of how the fear of other people’s opinions affects so many and prevents them from fully engaging. She concluded by saying that everybody has a brand, they just must learn how to communicate it.

Audience members were then invited to do some “homework”. Giulia Iannucci proposed a “brand moodboard”, which involves collecting magazine images that reflect who one is, visualising success and what one wants to achieve and taking time for oneself. Laurence Claude advised becoming more dynamic with clothes, changing the colours one wears and reflecting on how colours impact image and mood. She added that very often the perception people have of us is not, in fact, the one we think they have. Maria Lucia Romero suggested remembering the acronym “SLAY”: everyone has a STORY or experience, there are LESSONS to be learnt from experiences, actionable ADVICE suggests people generate emotional connections in life including at work and YOU start conversations with those around you and be engaged with others. In this way, people create the narrative they want others to see.

A Q&A session followed, before Evguenia Jeitz asked the speakers for one inspirational quote each. Giulia Iannucci reiterated that “everybody has a superpower – do not be afraid to find it and use it to create opportunities”. Laurence Claude advised “be confident in yourself”, and Maria Lucia Romero recommended not being “afraid to share, no matter how little. Our little story could be empowering for those around us”.

The event concluded with a presentation of a bouquet of flowers to The NETWORK's outgoing President, Mariana Florea, followed by a networking session over finger food and drinks.

HOM