Emma Cantwell
Brand & Communications Advisor
Emma Cantwell builds the stories of institutions. For two decades, she has led marketing and communications across culture, tourism, academia and technology in Australia, Ireland and the UAE. Today she is an Advisor at the Abu Dhabi Executive Office (ADEO), working where brand strategy, narrative and communications meet.
She led the marketing and communications team that launched Louvre Abu Dhabi in 2017. The museum welcomed more than one million visitors annually during her tenure, with her campaigns earning awards including Cannes Lions.
She then led marketing, communications and events at Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence, the world’s first AI graduate research university, and was seconded to ADNOC’s Executive Office to advise on communications.
Her advisory work spans the Saadiyat Cultural District, Zayed National Museum, Guggenheim Abu Dhabi, Manarat Al Saadiyat and Abu Dhabi Art (now Frieze Abu Dhabi). She has worked with COP28, musée du Louvre, The Met, The British Museum and New York University.
She chairs a mental health coalition of industry bodies, including The Marketing Society, MEPRA and PRCA MENA, driving awareness and support across the UAE’s marketing and communications industry. She also sits on the Board of The Marketing Society and is visiting faculty at Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi.
Emma lives in Abu Dhabi with her husband and three boys, and can usually be found chasing them on a bike, on foot or in the pool
