Guillem Graell
Discover how Guillem Graell transforms brands into communities that drive loyalty, growth and long-term business value.
Why you should book Guillem Graell for your next event
- Learn how to build brands that create lasting emotional connections and turn audiences into loyal communities with measurable business impact.
- Gain practical insights into digital transformation, content strategy and new revenue models from one of football's most influential brand leaders.
- Discover the Direct-to-Fan approach that helps brands strengthen customer relationships, increase engagement and unlock sustainable growth.
Non-binding request for Guillem Graell
Brand strategist, former FC Barcelona CMO and Direct-to-Fan expert.
Guillem Graell is an entrepreneur, brand strategist and one of the world's most accomplished marketing leaders, recognised for transforming global brands into thriving business ecosystems. Best known as Chief Marketing Officer of FC Barcelona, he led one of the most ambitious brand and digital transformations in world sport, helping position the club as one of the world's most valuable football brands while redefining how organisations connect directly with their audiences.
With more than 18 years of international experience across sports, entertainment and consumer goods, Guillem combines strategic thinking with hands-on business leadership. His keynote presentations reveal how brands can create stronger emotional connections, develop sustainable digital revenue streams and build communities that fuel long-term growth. Through practical examples and inspiring case studies, he shows why the future belongs to brands that own relationships instead of simply renting attention.
Book Guillem Graell for your event
Guillem Graell is an entrepreneur, keynote speaker and internationally recognised brand leader with more than 18 years of experience building brands and businesses across sports, entertainment and consumer goods. Throughout his career, he has combined commercial strategy, innovation and digital transformation to help organisations create stronger customer relationships while unlocking new business opportunities.
His experience spans global corporations, high-profile consumer brands and one of the world's most recognised sports organisations, giving him a unique perspective on how businesses can create long-term value in an increasingly digital world.
As a speaker, Guillem brings strategic insights together with practical examples, showing audiences how emotional branding, digital products and direct customer relationships can become powerful drivers of business growth.
Guillem Graell and the transformation of FC Barcelona
Between 2017 and 2021, Guillem served as Chief Marketing Officer of FC Barcelona during one of the club's most transformative periods. He led an ambitious brand and digital strategy that strengthened Barça's position as a global LoveBrand and helped establish it as the world's most valuable football brand according to Forbes.
Under his leadership, the club tripled its digital revenues while expanding its leadership in digital content and fan engagement. He founded Barça Licensing and Merchandising (BLM), the club's merchandising and retail spin-off, which later generated revenues of €300 million during the 2025/26 season. He also created Barça Studios, an innovative content business valued at more than €250 million.
His work also transformed FC Barcelona's digital presence. Guillem led the social media strategy that grew the club's audience to more than 400 million followers worldwide and made Barça the first sports club to surpass 10 million YouTube subscribers.
Beyond traditional marketing, he drove several pioneering initiatives, including:
- Crypto and NFT initiatives
- eSports development
- Barça TV+
- Culers Membership
- Digital subscription products
- New content and fan engagement platforms
These initiatives demonstrated how sports organisations can evolve into modern digital entertainment businesses while strengthening their relationship with supporters around the world.
Direct-to-Fan: Building belonging instead of buying attention
Today, Guillem is Co-Founder and Managing Partner of D2F Partners, a sports and entertainment advisory firm helping brands build stronger and more profitable relationships with their audiences through the Direct-to-Fan (D2F) model.
His philosophy is simple yet powerful:
"Reach is rented. Belonging is owned."
This principle forms the foundation of his thinking around modern branding. Rather than relying exclusively on paid media or third-party platforms, Guillem encourages organisations to develop direct relationships with customers, fans and communities that generate long-term loyalty and recurring value.
He has developed the Direct-to-Fan concept into a strategic business framework applicable across sports, entertainment and traditional consumer brands. His work demonstrates how organisations can move beyond transactions and build communities that actively contribute to growth, advocacy and sustainable revenue.
From global corporations to entrepreneurship
Before joining FC Barcelona, Guillem built an international career across several leading multinational companies, including P&G, Reckitt Benckiser, Chupa Chups, Grupo Codorníu and Accenture.
An industrial engineer from the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, he also completed the General Management Program (PDG) at IESE Business School. Living and working across several European cities has given him a broad international outlook and extensive experience working with different markets, cultures and industries.
Today, alongside D2F Partners, he is Managing Partner of Everesting, the global endurance challenge platform, where he continues developing innovative business models that connect brands and communities through shared experiences.
He also teaches at ESADE and UPF Barcelona, sharing his expertise with future business leaders while continuing to shape conversations around branding, innovation and digital transformation.
In addition, Guillem is currently writing his first book, The Belonging Brands, bringing together the ideas, experiences and strategic frameworks that have defined his career.
Keynotes that inspire leaders to rethink brand growth
Guillem Graell's keynote presentations go far beyond traditional marketing. He combines business strategy, leadership, innovation, digital transformation and customer engagement into highly relevant sessions designed for executives, marketers, entrepreneurs and organisations navigating change.
Audiences leave with practical frameworks and strategic inspiration for building stronger brands in a world where attention is increasingly fragmented and customer expectations continue to evolve.
Whether speaking to global corporations, leadership teams or industry conferences, Guillem explains how emotional value, compelling content and direct customer relationships can be transformed into measurable commercial success.
His sessions are particularly valuable for organisations seeking to:
- Build stronger customer loyalty
- Create meaningful digital transformation
- Develop new revenue streams
- Strengthen brand positioning
- Increase audience engagement
- Turn communities into long-term business assets
By combining experience from multinational corporations, entrepreneurship and one of the world's most recognised sports brands, Guillem Graell delivers keynote presentations that inspire audiences to rethink how modern brands are built. His insights help organisations move beyond visibility and focus on creating genuine belonging, stronger relationships and sustainable business growth in a rapidly changing digital landscape.
Keynotes
Keynote by Guillem Graell:
How to Turn Your Company into a LoveBrand
The world's most successful brands are not just bought — they are loved.
Drawing on his experience transforming FC Barcelona into the world's most valuable football brand, Guillem breaks down the strategies needed to turn any company into a LoveBrand: creating emotionally resonant content, building a strong digital ecosystem, and converting emotional connection into loyalty and revenue.
Ideal for organisations that want to take customer engagement and retention to the next level.
Keynote by Guillem Graell:
Brand Leadership & Digital Strategy
What separates the world's most influential brands from the rest?
In this keynote, Guillem explores the keys behind their success and shows how emotional value can be converted into a profitable digital business model through effective content and channel management.
From growing FC Barcelona to 400+ million followers to building subscription products and new digital revenue streams, he shares a practical playbook for leading a brand in the digital era.
Keynote by Guillem Graell:
Digital Strategy & Business Transformation
Digital transformation is not a technology project — it is a business strategy.
Guillem offers a disruptive view of how to integrate an efficient digital strategy into overall business management, providing innovative tools to maximize impact in a constantly evolving digital environment.
Drawing on his journey from consumer goods multinationals to the boardroom of one of the world's biggest sports institutions, he shows leaders how to rethink their business models, organization and teams for the digital age.
Keynote by Guillem Graell:
Direct-to-Fan: Owning the Relationship with Your Audience
"Reach is rented, belonging is owned." In an era of algorithm dependence and rising media costs, the brands that win are those that build direct, owned relationships with their audiences.
Guillem presents the Direct-to-Fan (D2F) model he has pioneered — from Barça Studios and Barça TV+ to his current work advising global sports and entertainment organizations — and explains how any brand can turn fans, customers and communities into a sustainable engine of growth.
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Watch Guillem Graell in action
