Piers Schmidt

Co-founder & Head of Brands

Piers Schmidt is one of the world’s most experienced developer of brands and elevated customer experiences for the luxury sector.

A graduate of Cambridge University where he read English, Piers began his career in public relations before joining Interbrand Newell and Sorrell where he became Head of Strategy, responsible for clients including Barclays Bank, British Airways, Austin Reed and Selfridges.

For British Airways, Piers developed the brand strategy for the airline that became known as ‘go’, the ‘oneworld’ name for the Group’s global alliance with American Airlines and the strategy behind the airline’s corporate rebranding of 1995.

In 2002, Piers founded Luxury Branding, an international luxury consulting firm while serving Kerzner International as Strategic Marketing Director for One&Only Resorts. Piers Schmidt was responsible for directing the $16m roll-out of this now globally garlanded luxury resort brand.

Since then, Piers has been responsible for shaping differentiated positioning and brand strategies for some of the hospitality industry’s leading independent hotel groups including Armani Hotels & Resorts, Belmond, Constance Hotels & Resorts, Dorchester Collection, Dream Hotel Group, LUX* Resorts & Hotels, Paramount Hotels & Resorts and Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces.

Piers has also advised numerous major developers on concept and project strategy including Lionstone Development (Miami), Mike Adenuga Group (Nigeria), 919 by E&B (Denmark) and has helped to define the development parameters for innovative resort projects in Ajman, the USA, Vietnam, Maldives, Seychelles, Lagos, Portugal and Italy.

Piers Schmidt is a respected writer and commentator on business and brand strategy and his opinions on the luxury market and hospitality are frequently reported by international media. He is also a regular speaker on global conference platforms and a frequent contributor to LuxurySociety and HotelsMag for whom he blogs on hotel branding.