Dimitar has an MA in Business Administration and wrote his dissertation on brand positioning. He is now a PhD student at the New Bulgarian University (NBU) in Sofia, focusing on semiotic tools for research into markets, brands and cultural trend. After working in marketing with various companies Dimitar now teaches marketing and branding, working in the Socio-Semiotic Laboratory at NBU which studies brand awareness, positioning, commercial communication and local consumer behavior.
Sofia, Bulgaria
Arief is a budding cultural researcher and semiotician, with a BA (Hons) in International Media & Communications from the University of Nottingham, focusing on cultural studies. Aiming to grow as a communications analyst by applying cultural insights toward consumer engagement and brand development strategies, his Third Culture Kid upbringing has led to particular interest in the negotiation of transnational identities, intercultural relations, and the nuances of cultural meaning. He is also fascinated by popular culture phenomena and emergent cultures.
Bucharest, Romania
Habiba Allarakia has worked since the early 1990s in business and marketing research across diverse markets and categories, with 6 years in Western Europe, Central and Eastern Europe and the Middle East and over a decade in the Arabian Peninsula. Habiba was the first woman to work at Procter & Gamble Saudi Arabia, where she set up the now flourishing women’s office. Her key areas of expertise are strategy & initiative development, building brands & portfolios, consumer insight and market understanding. Habiba loves reading, the sea, travelling and discovery.
Jeddah, Saudi Arabia