Commercial Director

Matt Morley finished his schooling in Paris where he studied French language and philosophy at La Sorbonne. Back in the UK he graduated from University College,
London with a BA in European History and Italian.

As a student, Matt worked on numerous front of house restaurant teams before moving to Quintessentially where he became Business Development Manager
for France, Italy and Benelux and successfully pitched and negotiated contractual agreements with more than 100 top hotels, clubs, spas and designer boutiques.
While Matt was based in Milan learning Italian, he was accepted onto a Masters course in Communication, Marketing and Design at the European Design
Institute (IED) and his final project – a ‘Made In Italy’ design hotel – was awarded the class honours.

Matt also gained invaluable event management experience in Italy as special assistant to Matteo Cassano, a Milanese event organiser who counted the
Four Seasons Hotel, Roberto Cavalli and the Valentino family amongst his clients.

As a freelance assistant to Piers Schmidt from 2005-2006, Matt honed his research, analysis, writing and presentation skills on projects for the Dorchester Collection, Armani Hotels & Resorts and One&Only Resorts.

Matt spent 2007 as a Creative Strategist with Corporate Edge in London, a leading brand, innovation and design agency. There he spearheaded the creation
of a £150m UK-based budget hotel concept, the branding and identity of a US$1bn mixed-use development in Cape Verde (West Africa) and a strategic
portfolio review for a European spa brand.

Matt rejoined Piers at Luxury Branding in February 2008 and brings to the firm an informed, passionate, ‘insider’ perspective on an extensive range of topics within the luxury industry.

Matt is also a talented journalist and magazine editor who writes on travel, food and trends for GQ (SA), Business Day’s Wanted magazine (SA), the Mr&Mrs Smith
hotel guides, Sleeper the hotel design magazine and travelintelligence.com