About us

Nancy Poleon – Founder

Nancy Poleon (1973) started her career working as a marketing and branding professional in 1997. Until 2011 she worked for various music and film  companies where she was responsible for the launch of new entertainment products and experiences and for guiding the careers of a diverse group of music artists.

In 2011 she founded Branded Personalities, a creative branding company, and this was followed by BrandedU in 2014, a female leadership institute with a focus on visibility to accelerate the careers of women in business.

BrandedU’s mission is to get more women to the top of the business world and keep them there. They do this by making role-models visible, helping women connect with their peers and getting them to make themselves and their talents more visible. It’s all about getting gender equality in the workplace. The BrandedU Visibility roadmap consist of a mentorship program, a sponsorship program, a personal branding e-course and events like AmplifyHER, a conference for 500 women (and men) dedicated to amplifying the voices of female role models in Business. BrandedU has also released 3 whitepapers in cooperation with Great Place to Work to create awareness around the challenges women are still facing in the workplace.

In January 2022 BrandedU launched the My Name is Peter campaign together with WomenInc and The Family to raise awareness on the fact that there are still more CEO’s named Peter than female CEO’s in The Netherlands. In April 2022 MT/Sprout magazine named her one of the 30 most inclusive leaders of the business world in The Netherlands.

BrandedU’s latest gender equality campaign is called Mavericks. And for this Nancy wrote her first article in Financieel Dagblad (Dutch Financial Times) about the need for more male advocates to get gender equality in the workplace. This because when women alone push for gender equality, progress stalls at 30%. But when men join in the (dog)fight, progress soars to 96%*. So, to make meaningful change, BrandedU is looking for Mavericks (male advocates for gender equality) who go to work for women to make work better for everyone.

Her first book title “How to Break the Rules”, and co-written with Ingrid van der Chijs, will be released in March 2024. A devoted and passionate public speaker, she has been increasingly invited as the go to expert when it comes to personal branding and female leadership by media outlets such as Jinek, Het Parool, FD, BNR Radio, Marketing Tribune, Communicatie Online, Adformatie and Frankwatching.