Allyson Stewart-Allen

Allyson Stewart-Allen is a renowned international marketing consultant and best-selling author who has advised over 200 businesses in 26 countries, including Burberry, HSBC, Lufthansa and Shell, through her consultancy International Marketing Partners. A Californian based in Europe for over 30 years, she authored both editions of Working with Americans, the first business manual exclusively about US business culture, and serves as a Board member of the Chartered Institute of Marketing.

Growing a brand across international borders demands more than marketing expertise. It requires deep cultural intelligence, strategic insight, and the ability to navigate complex stakeholder relationships on both sides of the Atlantic. Allyson Stewart-Allen is an international marketing consultant, best-selling author, and non-executive director who specialises in helping global businesses achieve profitable expansion through brand internationalisation and leadership development. A Californian based in Europe for over 30 years, she brings a rare combination of lived cross-cultural experience and strategic rigour to organisations seeking to bridge the gap between ambition and execution in unfamiliar markets.

Allyson founded International Marketing Partners, through which she has advised more than 200 businesses across 26 countries, including Aegis, BAE Systems, Burberry, Cadbury, Coach, HSBC, Lufthansa, NBC Universal, SAB Miller, and Shell. Her proprietary BrandTravel™ methodology equips companies and their leaders to span international and functional boundaries effectively, delivering tangible benefits including improved localisation, enhanced corporate diplomacy, and stronger internal and external stakeholder relationships. She holds an MBA from Claremont Graduate School, where she studied under Dr Peter Drucker, and a BSc in International Business from the University of Southern California. Fluent in French and German, Allyson applies both linguistic skill and cultural fluency to her consulting practice. She is the author of both editions of the best-selling book Working with Americans, published by Routledge in its second edition in November 2019, which remains the definitive business manual on US business culture. She serves as a Board member of the Chartered Institute of Marketing and was awarded the EFMD Excellence in Practice Award in 2009 for her work as Programme Director at London Business School. She is also an Associate Fellow at Said Business School, Oxford University, and has delivered award-winning corporate education programmes for Fortune 500 companies and leading business schools, including HEC Paris and Duke Corporate Education.

Allyson's work translates directly into measurable audience value. Through keynote presentations at international conferences, including her upcoming appearance at the World Retail Congress 2026 in Berlin, she helps leaders understand not only what to do differently but how to implement change within their own organisations. Her insights have been featured across global media, including a four-year tenure on Sky News as The Muse of Marketing, five seasons as an expert on BBC's The Apprentice, and regular contributions to CNN, The Financial Times, Bloomberg, The Wall Street Journal, and Fortune. She also serves as a judge for prestigious awards, including The Stevies® International Business Awards, the National Business Awards, and the UK Women in Marketing Awards, and acts as a Mentor for the Mayor of London's International Business Programme. Audiences leave her sessions with practical frameworks for improving cross-cultural negotiation, refining value propositions, and building the internal capabilities required to succeed in global markets.