• Dr Paul Walker, Chief Executive Officer of GFMS, is participating in Global Luxury Forum as a speaker at the “Russia –the motherland of precious metals and gems” session. GFMS is a leading independent precious metals consultancy specializing in a gold, silver, platinum and palladium market research. In his speech Mr. Walker will cover such questions as investment demand for precious metals, demand fluctuation according to the market stability, precious metals as today’s most reliable securities, the correlation between stagnating economical growth and precious metal prices. One of the main matters to be discussed is the growing popularity and demand for Palladium in comparison with gold and platinum, which was widely used in timepiece and jewelry industries in the past.
• David Henderson-Stewart, CEO, Luxadvor will join GLF. Luxadvor, an emerging luxury group, with Russian financial backing, that acquires little known but truly luxury companies for its growing portfolio currently owns  Linley/UK, Hediard/FR, Poljot/RU, and others. With plans to build Luxadvor into a global luxury player, the company is also active in the property market and seeks to resurrect the watch industry in Russia, which whilst strong during the Soviet period threatens to become extinct if know-how is not passed on from older generations to a new line of craftsman. Will the new luxury watch be Russian not Swiss?
• The GLF is delighted at the interested of Carrera y Carrera to join the event in Moscow. Nathalie Guedj, CEO of Carrera y Carrera since July 2006, is an experienced figure in the jewellery world. Former President and CEO of Van Cleef & Arpels, Inc. in the United States, Ms. Guedj joined the Richemont Group in 1988 and has served as vice president of sales at Cartier Belgium and vice president of marketing at Cartier USA.
• World Fashion Channel to support GLF. Launched in June 2005 in Europe on the Hotbird platform and mid-July in Asia on Asia’s best satellite, AsiaSat 3S, World Fashion Channel is one of the largest TV channels about fashion, broadcasting 24 hours a day all over the world with a potential audience of 1.5 billion viewers. It features the most recent shows from famous designers, the latest collections, the latest fashion news and backstage stories, photo session reports, and professional opinions on the modern world of fashion. It also includes music videos, trendy events, retro fashion returns and creatively edited fashion shows.
• Zenith recognizes the power of new markets. Thierry Nataf, CEO & President of Zenith watches expresses interest to participate in the GLF. Few watch companies can deny the allure of the Russian and Chinese markets when it comes to high end watch sales and companies are expanding their product line to be sure that they do not miss out on this illusive but rewarding extremely HNW.
• Carol Brodie to speak at GLF. Carol will need little introduction to the established luxury world. Brand architect; marketing, business and communications strategist; luxury spokeswoman; television personality; image consultant; and media executive, Carol has vast experience in making luxury work. Ex Robb Report and the personality who put Harry Winston on the map in terms of brand celebrity endorsement and red carpet recognition. Prior to this Ms. Brodie spent four years at J. Walter Thompson, where she managed the Diamond Information Center on behalf of De Beers Consolidated Mines. Not just limited to diamonds, Ms. Brodie has helped build luxury and beauty brands such as Clairol, Revlon Professional Products, Henry Dunay Designs and Gucci Timepieces.
• Fashion TV signs as Media Partner . Fashion TV (FTV) is the only 24 hour, 7 days a week fashion, beauty and style TV station worldwide that provides glamorous entertainment with an emphasis on the latest trends. Since its inception in 1997, FTV has been run as an independent entity, establishing a reputation as the TV authority for fashion, lifestyle and trends. It is one of the 4 most distributed channels worldwide. (top 3 outside of the USA) and aims to inform, innovate and entertain.
• Roland Heiler joins the Design and Innovation session.. Roland Heiler has been Managing Director of Porsche Design Studio since 1984. Previous to that he held design positions at Porsche. In 1997, he moved to Audi AG as its head of exterior, but returned to Porsche in 2000, where he became the head designer in the Porsche styling studio, California. The company offers development and design services under a unique signature. These include classic gentlemen's accessories such as watches, eyewear, writing instruments, leather goods, golf clubs and smokers' accessories as well as industrial orders. The portfolio will be extended to include electronic products, sports equipment and a fashion and fragrance line.
• The GLF is delighted to finally announce their cooperation with one of the world’s largest producers of precious metals – Norilsk Nickel. Not only the world's leading producer of nickel and palladium, the company is also one of the largest global producers of platinum and copper and other by-products. Eventica is particularly pleased with this cooperation, as it will by-design usher in a new era in Russia’s approach to branding. Not only involved in prospecting, exploration, extraction, refining and the metallurgical processing of minerals, and in the production, marketing and sale of base and precious metals, Norilsk Nickel will now form an International Association to promote the use of Palladium on the global luxury market, paying initially greatest attention to that of jewellery and watches. Given its rarity, Palladium is ideal for luxury usage and certainly the last appropriate metal to explore its significant highest end potential. Eventica will help Palladium in this journey, creating unique events around the world of which the GLF is the first.
• Harper’s Bazaar, one of Russia’s leading high end consumer magazines has again put its name behind the GLF. Having been an integral part of the events last year, Eventica is delighted to welcome back this prestigious and informed publication as Media Partner.
• Concetta Lanciaux, Strategy Luxury Goods Advisor (previously advisor to the LVMH Chairman & CEO Bernard Arnault and Group Executive Vice President of Synergies and Group Delegate for LVMH Italy) has provisionally agreed to share with the GLF her impressions of how other cultures are affecting the global luxury marketplace. Concetta’s credentials speak for themselves, having joined Bernard Arnault in 1985 and played an active role in the development of LVMH, as well as being a font of knowledge of the luxury arena.
• Stephen Webster, international jeweler of renown, will lend his design exclusivity, sharp wit and abundant luxury knowledge in the session: Penetrating New Markets. An old friend of the GLF, Stephen is a shining example of the power, not only of an exclusive brand, but also of ambition and personality to make his brainchild succeed. Having begun his career in 1977, Stephen’s “Ultra-luxurious, incredibly creative and exceptionally stylish” product (as coined by the judges of the U.K. Jewellery Brand of the Year Award, won by Stephen this year) has enabled the brand to be retailed in numerous outlets, concessions and own stores around the world. These are not only to be found in established European and US luxury cities, but also in 6 Russian cities – some where few luxury brands would dare to tread; in Japan, Korea, Kazakhstan, Canada and Australia. Stephen has also received awards from the American Gem Trade Association Spectrum Awards, De Beers Diamonds Today, the Tahitian Pearl Trophy, and other leading jewelry organizations. His clientele includes such stars as Elton John, Jennifer Lopez and Madonna.
• Luxe TV – the first international network, fully produced in high definition and broadcast in High and Standard definition, exclusively dedicated to the Luxury world has expressed the desire to partner the GLF and become co-organiser of the Global Luxury Awards.
• GLF teams up with Bulgaria and the Organizers of the Lux-Only conference in Sophia Creative Solutions Ltd. Not only will our new strategic partner market the GLF in this new-to-luxury market amongst their vast net-work of luxury professionals, but they will also guide our understanding of these new potential consumers in the person of Anelia BAKLOVA, Editor in chief of PREMIUM Lifestyle magazine.
• PREMIUM Lifestyle is a bimonthly bilingual magazine with an established connection between the luxury producers and luxury consumers, setting and addressing the latest trends and temptations in this segment in Bulgaria. In existence since late 2004 the magazine balances professional journalism with the advertising and PR of luxury goods. It is received by a selected audience of 8000 exceptional affluent recipients both Bulgarians and foreigners. 
• TIME Magazine partners GLF. TIME is the original and world's largest weekly newsmagazine, with a domestic audience of more than 20 million and a global audience of more than 27 million. Through trustworthy reporting, authoritative news analysis, and best-in-class photojournalism, TIMEand TIME.com set the news agenda by answering questions instead of just asking them. TIME also publishes Style & Design, as part of its luxury portfolio.
• Rogier van der Heide, Director and Global Leader of ARUP, Amsterdam agrees to lend his expertise to the Luxury and Design panel. To the world of innovation, neither ARUP nor Rogier will need introduction.
• Jorge Rivero, Market Intelligence Director of Grupo Editorial Expansión (A Time Inc. Company), a publishing company based in Mexico, will add his knowledge to the first session. With titles specialized in selective high-end audiences and an advertiser’s portfolio consisting largely of luxury brands, Grupo Editorial Expansión commissioned  in-depth research into Mexico´s luxury market in order to strengthen their relationship with their  luxury advertisers and consumers. With ipsos-bimsa as research partner, they developed first a qualitative, and then a quantitative study which focused on 4 key areas: Understanding the Mexican luxury buyers mindset; What are the key purchase drivers; Brand awareness and preferences; Purchase habits. The study was conducted for 7 luxury categories (auto, fashion, jewelry, watches, travel, perfume & skin care and wine & liquor).
  Jorge will also refer to the future potential of Mexico’s own luxury industry.

• Jonathan Siboni, Director & Co-Founder, of DEAL (Developing Euro-Asian Links) with his in-depth understanding of the Asian market, its people and culture will share with us his fascinating insight into the parallels that can be drawn in these markets from 20 years ago to the current situation. He hopes to bring with him these markets’ key players to draw a better picture of the high end to come and the experiences of Japanese brands experiences of the Western market.
• Dennis Beloff, Chief Executive Officer of Machiavelli Luxury Boutiques & Online luxury mall www.Boutique.ru will share his experience of bringing luxury, particularly high fashion, to the outer reaches of the Russian Federation in the session Penetrating the new markets.
• Tim Gadoffre, Chairman, Marival & Company will put together the heritage panel. No luxury brand will survive in a vacuum and Tim will help us appreciate just how relevant background is, however recent the history it has.
• Marco Bevolo, Design Director at Philips Design and an Author currently working on a Wharton School Publishing collective book see www.futurehighend.com & www.futurehighend-theblog.blogspot.com will moderate the Luxury and Design session. Who better than to help us navigate the maze of the innovation that must happen to keep the industry a step ahead of the game.
• Uche Okonkwo , Executive Director, Luxe Corp and Author Luxury Fashion Branding, agrees to speak on and moderate the sessionThe Golden Rules of Launching and Growing a New Luxury Brand in the 21st Century .  Uche has a great deal of experience in this field and also on the subject of e-commerce and branding – a subject on which she is now writing her second book.
• GLF teams up with Moscow’s Millionaire Fair.
  In order to bring the GLF 2007 alive and give it a literal taste of luxury in a building whose primary usage was not - Old Billingsgate Market - the organisers worked closely with representatives of the luxury industry in order to create a Luxury Gallery, showcasing not only items of significant financial value, but also the fruit of imagination.  This formed a sensual and indulgent net-working space. Whilst the GLF 2008 team plan to repeat this on an albeit smaller scale at the Ritz Carlton,  Moscow on 8th October 2008, we recommend that all luxury watches attend one of the world’s biggest exhibitions of goods and services of the class luxe Millionaire Fair that will takes place at Crocus Expo from 27 – 30th November.

• GLF chooses Ritz Carlton as venue Few venues in Moscow can reach the standards set by this new Moscow Hotel. Centrally located and built on the site of the old but iconic Intourist hotel, nothing shows more vividly Moscow’s luxury resurgence.

• Discussions begin with the Global Luxury Forum Organising Committee and its industry advisors.
  Click here.
• The Global Luxury Forum is asked to produce a programme on Russian luxury for the Luxury Channel to air on CNBC During the cold last weeks of November, in which the Eventica team were in Moscow to produce and PR the International Herald Tribune’s Supreme Luxury , Lieran Stubbings, Director of the Global Luxury Forum and her Moscow Eventica colleague, Nadya Makoeva, put together an exhilarating rollercoaster of Moscow’s finest luxury experience for the Luxury Channel’s The New Moscow. From top restaurant and club indulgence to gaining entry into the homes of some of Russia’s most influential businessmen to talk through with them their exquisite collections of art, sculpture, and antique artefacts, the GLF took the Luxury Channel on a behind the scenes look at Russia’s luxury predisposition. Filming also included interviews with many of those who make the industry tick in this land of heritage opulence and on location shoots of a number of unique fashion shows showcasing the imaginative potential of Swarovski Crystals and real Fur. They also visited the Russian Polo Club and Viktor Huaco, with whom Eventica organises their bi-annual polo cup to talk about Russia’s return to the sport of the kings. This film aired on CNBC on 20th February 2008.

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