Maria Gergova Bengtsson is Founder and CEO of United Partners, one of Central and Eastern Europe’s leading strategic communications consultancies. For nearly 30 years, she has advised global and regional organisations on brand and corporate communications, brand and corporate reputation, executive positioning and stakeholder engagement.

She is also the founder of UPN – United Partners Network, an international network of more than 75 independent communications agencies across six continents, enabling clients to build consistent reputation and influence across markets.

Maria serves as President of the International Public Relations Association (IPRA) and is a recognised international voice on the future of strategic communications. Her current focus is helping organisations build visibility, credibility and trust in an AI-driven world, where
brands increasingly need to communicate not only with people, but also with intelligent systems.

She believes that in the AI era, reputation is one of the most valuable business assets a brand and company can build.