From the music industry to personal branding

Before founding BrandedU, Nancy spent more than 20 years working in the music industry, including senior marketing roles at BMG and Warner Music. There, she worked with international artists including Britney Spears, Alicia Keys, Pink and Justin Timberlake.

The music industry taught her something that would later become central to her work at BrandedU: talent alone does not determine who gets noticed. You can be exceptionally good at what you do, but people still need to understand who you are, what you stand for and what makes you valuable.

Nancy saw the same challenge among professional women. Many had the expertise, ambition and leadership potential to move forward, but struggled to make their value visible without feeling like they were bragging, playing a role or becoming someone they were not. That insight eventually led to BrandedU.

Founder of BrandedU

Nancy founded BrandedU in 2014 with a clear mission: to get more women into leadership positions. What started with personal branding has developed into a broader approach to female leadership, visibility and influence. Through BrandedU’s programmes, events and partnerships, Nancy and her team have worked with women from organisations including ABN AMRO, ING, KPMG, PwC, EY, Accenture and Heineken.

At the heart of that work is a simple belief: Women shouldn’t have to become someone else to become more visible. They should become better at showing the value of who they already are.

Rock & Roll Branding

Nancy developed her approach to personal branding from the lessons she learned during her years in the music industry. She calls it Rock & Roll Branding.

The idea is not to turn people into polished corporate brands. It is about helping them understand what makes them distinctive, what they want to be known for and how to communicate that with confidence and consistency. Because the strongest personal brands aren’t manufactured. They are recognisable.

Rock & Roll Branding brings together personal branding, authentic leadership and visibility to help women build a reputation that reflects who they are and the value they bring.

Personal branding as a leadership skill

To Nancy, personal branding isn’t about self-promotion. It is a leadership skill.

Being good at your job does not automatically mean that the right people know what you are capable of. Opportunities are influenced by reputation, visibility, relationships and whether other people understand the value you bring. This becomes particularly important for women, who still face structural barriers on their way to senior and leadership positions.

Nancy’s work therefore goes beyond teaching women how to become more visible. She also works with organisations on the environment around them: leadership, sponsorship, networks and the systems that determine who gets seen, heard and promoted. The goal isn’t visibility for visibility’s sake. It is turning expertise and ambition into influence.

An advocate for female leadership

Nancy is a prominent voice on personal branding, women’s visibility and female leadership in the Netherlands. Her expertise and mission have been featured in media including Het Financieele Dagblad, MT/Sprout, AD, Het Parool, Harper’s Bazaar, LINDA., Intermediair, MarketingTribune, Adformatie and Frankwatching.

She is regularly invited to speak about topics including personal branding, visibility, authentic leadership, career development and the advancement of women in organisations. Across all of those topics, her message remains consistent: organisations cannot simply wait for talented women to become more visible. Creating more female leaders requires both women and organisations to take action.

Nancy Poleon at a glance

Expertise: Personal branding, female leadership, visibility, authentic leadership, career development and women’s advancement in the workplace

Founder: BrandedU

Creator of: Rock & Roll Branding

Background: More than 20 years in the international music industry, including senior marketing roles at BMG and Warner Music

Speaker on: Personal branding, female leadership, visibility, influence and authentic leadership

Mission: To get more women into leadership positions by helping women become more visible and influential, while helping organisations create the conditions in which female talent can advance.

Work with Nancy Poleon

Nancy works with organisations that want to accelerate female leadership and create lasting change in how women are seen, supported and promoted. Through BrandedU, she delivers leadership programmes, workshops, keynotes and other initiatives designed to increase the visibility, influence and impact of women at work.

Want to bring Nancy’s expertise to your organisation?