From TEDx to Boardrooms: How Claudia Barberis Is Redefining Luxury Communication for Modern Leaders

Barberis describes luxury communication as a discipline that aligns presence, message, and market context so authority is recognized before a leader speaks. The approach blends elements of branding, psychology, sociology, and marketing to help professionals reposition for boardroom and investor settings, premium client segments, and international stages. It is designed for leaders who have outgrown mass-market tactics and require refined signals of credibility, restraint, and consistency across their public interactions.

“Being the best is a waste if no one sees it,” Barberis said in an interview. In high-value markets, she noted that status is granted when perception finally aligns with performance. Luxury communication ensures that alignment. She added that the work is not about louder messaging but about disciplined cues that make a leader’s value legible to decision-makers who prioritize trust, time, and clarity.

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Barberis’ system, developed over more than 15 years and informed by work with over 1,000 clients, focuses on closing what she calls the “misalignment gap,” where the quality of a leader’s work exceeds how that work is interpreted by the market. Clients have reported stepping onto global stages, gaining sustained media visibility, achieving 25% to 30% higher conversion rates, and surpassing seven figures in revenue after reframing their public presence and communication strategies. The reported gains, Barberis noted, stem from clearer positioning, more selective outreach, and communication that reduces negotiation while accelerating trust.

The expansion targets senior entrepreneurs, executives, and consultants seeking to secure larger mandates, shorten sales cycles, and strengthen pricing power without overexposure. 

Barberis said the methodology is particularly relevant in fields where discretion, craftsmanship, and reliability matter more than scale, which include industries such as finance, legal and professional services, real estate, health and aesthetics, and design. “Iconic people build iconic businesses,” she said. When the individual’s reputation is coherent and precise, Barberis said the organization’s reputation compounds.

At the center of her offering is The Icon Protocol, a five-week consulting program that codifies Barberis’ framework into a staged process: assess the leader’s current perception, define the authority narrative, refine communication across key channels and interactions, and install practices that preserve consistency under pressure. The process balances audience analysis with executive presence, seeking alignment between what a leader says and what stakeholders perceive. The goal, Barberis said, is staying power—authority that endures beyond a campaign, keynote, or fiscal quarter.

laudia Barberis holds a business degree from one of Italy’s top universities and has taught university courses on perception, communication, and brand strategy. Her work draws from European luxury standards such as clarity, restraint, and quality of execution, which are translated for competitive North American markets. She is often referred to by clients as an “Icon Maker,” a term she accepts only if it underscores substance over image. “Staying power comes from depth and internal and external alignment,” Barberis said. “A strong presence is not manufactured; it is clarified.”

The U.S. expansion also includes select corporate training and keynote events that help organizations develop leaders as visible ambassadors of company philosophy and performance standards. The curriculum covers how executives communicate in investor meetings, high-stakes negotiations, media interviews, and internal town halls. Barberis said the central idea is coherence: words, posture, and decisions must align to reinforce the brand’s promise at the highest level.

The program’s structure is exacting and time-bound. Barberis limits private client intakes each month to maintain focus and protect outcomes. The process begins with a detailed audit of the signals already in circulation, such as briefings, decks, bios, social posts, and stage clips, and discards anything that conflicts with the leader’s actual level of operation. Messaging is reauthored to provide context, raise the caliber of conversation, and attract the right mandates. Delivery is coached so authority registers on first contact and strengthens with repetition.

The evolution from personal branding to luxury communication reflects a broader shift in executive development. In a landscape where attention is fleeting but memory endures, Barberis argues that leaders gain a strategic edge when their communication creates recognition, not just reach. The objective, she said, is to become the inevitable choice within a defined category—known, trusted, and sought after for the right reasons.

About Claudia Barberis

Claudia Barberis is a personal branding and communication strategist specializing in luxury communication for leaders across Europe and the Americas. A TEDx speaker and university lecturer, she advises entrepreneurs, executives, and consultants on aligning perception with performance to improve conversion quality, pricing power, and opportunity flow. Known as an “Icon Maker,” she is the founder of CB Consulting and the creator of The Icon Protocol, a five-week advisory program designed to build enduring executive authority.

About CB Consulting

CB Consulting is a Milan-based advisory firm focused on leadership positioning and executive communication in prestige markets. The firm partners with private clients and corporations to develop authority narratives, refine market signals, and establish durable communication practices that support long-term reputation and growth.

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Business: Claudia Barberis

Contact Name: Claudia Barberis