Membership Secretary

Although officially a UK citizen, Gemma Burdett enjoyed a quintessentially expatriate upbringing that took her to numerous Middle East cities including
Bahrain and Jedda during her childhood, an experience that was to fuel her current interest in culture and languages.

After spending a gap year in Geneva, Switzerland working as an au pair and perfecting her French, Gemma finally returned to England, aged 18, to study
Business and French at Bournemouth University on the South coast of England.

Gemma’s first step into the corporate world was as a graduate recruiter for the investment banking team at UBS London. After a year though, she returned to her
studies at London’s KLC School of Design in Chelsea, before accepting a position at Woodstock Design, also in Chelsea, as an interior designer on a number of
high-end residential projects.

In a final iteration of the careful path she has trodden between the seemingly polar worlds of banking and interior design, Gemma was once again enticed back into the corporate arena via a position as PA to the Head of Investment Banking and Coverage EMEA at HSBC London, where, after one year, she was promoted to
Business Manager for the team.

Gemma has now settled in South Africa and works alongside Piers, Silvana and Matt at Luxury Branding where her roles include managing all things
administrative and assisting the team with research and new business initiatives.