About Our Founder
Elizabeth
Linder
Throughout her entire career to date, Elizabeth has never held a job with an existing job description. Originator of the Chief Diplomatic Officer role, Elizabeth's career in international diplomacy at the corporate, philanthropic, and policy levels spans more than sixty countries and six continents. She specializes in creating, building, and sustaining global alliances, meaningful partnerships, and stakeholder relationships to support missions that are creative and bold.
Elizabeth founded Brooch Associates six years ago. Headquartered in London with offices at the iconic Biltmore Hotel in Coral Gables, Florida and the Napa Valley, California, Brooch's client portfolio ranges from family offices and philanthropic organizations to high-growth tech companies and national governments. Brooch specializes in the facilitation of board meetings, executive retreats, and leadership seminars as well as coaches individuals and organizations seeking a thought partner for setting strategy, widening networks, and creating memorable experiences to further their missions. Elizabeth is a regular keynote speaker, commentator, and moderator on the global stage.
Her background in corporate diplomacy and international alliance-building began at the dawn of the social media revolution during her tenure at Google, YouTube, and Facebook. At Facebook, she served as the company's first “Secretary of State,” having founded and built the Politics & Government division for the Europe, Middle East & Africa region. Later, as Executive Director at Beautiful Destinations, Elizabeth built the company's nation branding division, where she worked with the Ministers of Tourism in countries ranging from Panama, Egypt, and Morocco, as well as with Al Ula, BrandUSA, Puerto Rico, and the European Union.
A Princeton graduate, she started her career at Google/YouTube, splitting her time between Google's Mountain View campus and the newly-acquired YouTube HQ in San Bruno, where she worked with the company's co-founders and growing bench of executives on its communications strategy to keep pace with YouTube's “coming of age” moment in 2007/08.
Elizabeth personally hosts and choreographs offsites and retreats at the historic Kinross House Estate in Scotland, seat of the discreet Kinross House Meetings for allied security, which she chairs and directs. She serves as Senior Advisor to the Albright Stonebridge Group in Washington, DC and as co-Chair of the St. James's Roundtable at Chatham House in London. A California native, she holds a Distinction in the Wine & Spirits Education Trust Exam Levels II and III and has led wine education seminars at Berry Brothers & Rudd, London's oldest wine merchant.
Established in 2020, Brooch was founded by Elizabeth Linder alongside cherished mentors, advisors, and friends who share a penchant for intellectual firepower, imaginative diplomacy, considered wisdom, and grace: Dr. Stefanie Babst, Ambassador Patricia Haslach, and Jolana Vainio.
With global headquarters in London as well as offices at the iconic Biltmore Hotel in Coral Gables, Florida and the Napa Valley, California, Brooch's client portfolio ranges from family offices and philanthropic organizations to high-growth tech companies and national governments. Brooch specializes in serving as diplomatic partners and trusted executive advisors to our clients seeking to set their strategies for growth, widen networks of stakeholders, and amplify their impact.
In 2026, Brooch announced “Experiences by Brooch,” bringing Brooch’s signature touch to the facilitation of board meetings, executive retreats, and leadership seminars around the world.
Ambassador Haslach specializes in global trade, international development, and conflict stabilization across geostrategically complex regions. A career U.S. diplomat, she served as Ambassador to Ethiopia and Laos, Acting Assistant Secretary for Economic and Business Affairs, and coordinated the U.S. transition from military to civilian operations in Iraq. She works with Brooch clients to construct and solidify national reputation-building across political, governmental, and third-sector circles.
Dr. Babst specializes in anticipatory policymaking — bringing together the art of strategic foresight with the practice of public diplomacy. The first highest-ranking German woman in NATO's International Secretariat, she spent 22 years advising the Secretary General on strategic unknowns and global trends across NATO Summits and international crises. She is a Board Member of the German Council on Foreign Relations and the Danish Center for War Studies.
Jolana Vainio specializes in discerning communications, agile leadership, and decisive consensus-building across internationally complex networks. Co-Founder and Co-Chair of the St. James's Roundtable at Chatham House, she is instrumental in defining Brooch's strategic development and looks after the firm's global network of advisors and client portfolio. Her background spans Silicon Valley public relations, five languages, and civic engagement from San Francisco to Berlin.
Direct enquiries welcomed for advisory engagements, speaking bookings, and media appearances.
Elizabeth Linder is the originator of the Chief Diplomatic Officer role and the founder of Brooch Associates. She built and led Facebook's Politics and Government division for Europe, the Middle East, and Africa across 59 countries, representing American brands at the head-of-state and ministerial level. She coined the Chief Diplomatic Officer concept in a 2020 essay for the Trilogue Salzburg and co-chairs the St. James's Roundtable at Chatham House in London.
Brooch Associates is the firm Elizabeth Linder founded in 2020 to deliver the diplomatic layer for organizations expanding internationally, building large-scale initiatives, or seeking to widen their networks of stakeholders and alliances. Brooch works on bespoke retainer, deploying as an embedded office of diplomatic partnership for clients across family offices, high-growth technology companies, national governments, and philanthropic organizations. The firm operates from London as its global headquarters, with offices at the Biltmore Hotel in Coral Gables and in the Napa Valley.
Brooch's global headquarters is in London. The firm also operates from the iconic Biltmore Hotel in Coral Gables, Florida (USA headquarters) and from the Napa Valley in California. Clients are served internationally across all three offices.