MARIE-CLAUDE SICARD is an Associate Professor at Paris IV-Sorbonne University, and Adjunct Associate Professor at Stern University, NYU, and EM-Lyon, Shanghai. Sicard is a well-known European expert on luxury and brands, and a consultant for French & international companies with her own consulting company MCPS Conseil, Brand Analysis and Strategy Consultancy. As a strategic marketing consultant, her clients have included L’Oreal, Lancôme, Ralph Lauren, Armani, Kellogg’s, Porsche, Jaguar, Renault, Dior, Louis Vuitton, tourism companies (Club Med ) and banks (such as BNP Paribas ). In addition to the permanent teaching positions she holds at the Sorbonne (Paris & Abu Dhabi), she lectures and consults around the world, most often in the USA & Asia ( China, Japan, India ), speaks at international seminars and conferences, and is often interviewed in the media for her outspoken views on branding and the luxury industry.