I read where people and culture are moving, and help leaders act on it.
Strategy and storytelling grounded in human, cultural and natural intelligence. Twenty years across startups, communities, cultural institutions and global brands.
Free. No preparation needed. · Therapist, healer or coach? See how I help practices
How I work
Three kinds of intelligence. One clear direction.
I help people and organisations recognise patterns, clarify their direction, and turn insight into strategy, communication and action.
Human intelligence
Behaviour, motivation, relationships, and how people actually decide.
Cultural intelligence
Trends, narratives, markets and institutions, and where they are heading.
Natural intelligence
Cycles, timing and living systems: the patterns underneath the rest.
What leaders get: direction when the next move is unclear, a grounded read in uncertain moments, and a story people can follow.
Where the work has landed
Four fields. One way of seeing.
Cultural intelligence and foresight
Reading culture for a 200-brand portfolio
- Led Bacardi's global Cocktail Trends Report: 20M+ reach and 80+ international placements. View report ↗
- Led sustainability insights for Bacardi's annual report; founding member of its Social Responsibility Committee.
- Brought certainty to senior leadership through the pandemic, keeping them abreast of shifting culture and consumer behaviour for a year.
- Built behavioural strategy for Microsoft, Nokia and Starbucks at Wunderman and Proximity.
Digital and community
Digital pioneer from the early days of social media
- Part of the Wunderman team behind Nokia's "Thanks, Apple", the most-retweeted brand tweet of its time.
- Grew digital communities for BMW and NIVEA from zero to 100,000+ members in six months.
- Helped Konscious Kuisine clear £30,000 at a major festival through new promotion and communication.
- Built the full digital ecosystem for 10 High Street Glastonbury: website, booking, payments, SEO. Visit site ↗
Climate and public engagement
Turning climate strategy into something people act on
- Communicated the New Forest National Park Authority's climate resilience strategy to the public through participatory experiences, delivering a 31% uplift in participants' feeling of connection to nature and a 16% rise in wanting to act for nature every day.
- Brought together the partners for a $4.5M mangrove restoration programme at Platform Earth, through to a signed memorandum of understanding.
- Delivered Carbon II, an exhibition with blue-chip artists at the Venice Art Biennale 2024. Wrote the winning Skywalk application for the Architecture Biennale 2025, to a tight official brief. View selection ↗
Founders, boards and futures
Advising those building what comes next
- Board member, Saviesa Global Think Tank: white paper on creativity in the age of AI, presented at the House of Lords. Read paper ↗
- Former board advisor to ZERO13, digital carbon markets. Mentor to tech founders at the EO Startup Incubator.
- External supervisor at the London Interdisciplinary School (2025), guiding a student project on AI in museums.
- Chaired and spoke on panels at COP27, London Tech Week and the British Parliament. Watch ↗
What leaders say
If you need someone to be the voice of the contemporary or future human in developing your thinking, your communications or your innovation strategy, I can think of no better partner.Ian Rollason, then Vice President, Grey Goose · Abu Dhabi, UAE
"One of the few people I have interacted with that really understand what it takes to drive innovation and creativity. She can make the connections on where trends are headed and how they could impact the business."Andy Del Rosal, Vice President, Product Innovation and Spirit Quality, Bacardi · Miami, USA
"A rare find. A true expert who applies genuine insight into human behaviour to everything she touches. You can trust Karina to deliver what is needed, when it is needed."Ursula Marrow, Vice President, Strategy, Razorfish · New York, USA
"A gifted storyteller with a firm grasp on the pulse of the future. She probes our teams beyond the obvious solutions and holds our brands and agencies accountable to the real needs of consumers."Layal Baaklini, AMEA Executive Marketing Leader · Dubai, UAE
"Really strong skills in storytelling and an eye for detail when it comes to spotting the next trends. Always inspiring the team with new ideas. Definitely a great leader."Sandrine Martin, Global Head of Social Intelligence, Moët Hennessy · Paris, France
"You have a good way of interrogating things, and the people skills to bring others with you. The tech is a medium; it's nothing without you and the process you've developed."Fiona Wynne, Grants Officer, New Forest National Park Authority · Hampshire, UK
"She'll sharpen your quality of thought through her refusal to settle for the obvious."Leonor Diaz Alcantara, former CEO, Montessori Group; Founder, Saviesa Think Tank · Zagreb, Croatia
For leaders and organisations
Advisory, strategy and storytelling for change.
For CEOs, founders and boards navigating a shift in their market, their story or their direction. Also open to senior strategy roles and consultancy engagements.
- Strategic advisory
- Foresight and insight
- Narrative and positioning
- Public engagement
- Strategy sprint 2–4 weeks
- A focused read of your market, culture and story, ending in a clear direction and plan.
- Advisory retainer Monthly
- A standing thinking partner for leadership through change.
- Keynote or chairing Events
- Talks, panels and workshops on culture, futures and leadership for a changing world.
For therapists, trainers, healers and coaches
Clarity, structure and systems for your practice.
I work end to end. First clarity: your offers, your business structure and how the pieces connect. Then the communication and the systems that run it: website, booking, marketing and AI tools that give you hours back. Choose advisory sessions or a done-for-you build.
- Offer clarity
- Business structure
- Ecosystem design
- Communication
- Efficiency and AI
- Clarity Session Advisory
- A focused session on your offers, direction and communication, ending in your next three steps.
- Practice Build 2–4 weeks
- Your website, booking, payments, email and AI assistant, built, tested and handed over.
- Support Blocks Monthly
- Steady help after launch: newsletters, campaigns, new offers and strategy check-ins.
Speaking
18+ talks, from COP27 to the British Parliament.
Keynotes, panels and moderation where culture, climate and technology meet. I chair rooms that bring technologists, artists, investors and policymakers into the same conversation, and I make complex ideas easy to act on.
Selected talks
- 2025Ancient Wisdom for Modern FoundersModerator · Spiritual Entrepreneur Summit, online
- 2022Creativity, Climate and Web3Panel chair · Digital Innovation Pavilion, COP27, CairoWatch ↗
- 2022The Metaverse and Creative NFTsPanellist · British Parliament, hosted by Martin Docherty-Hughes MP
- 2022Art x Tech x NaturePanel chair · Earth Day, Climate Emergency Network, Central Saint MartinsWatch ↗
- 2021Escape: The Drinks Trends of the YearPanellist · Tales of the Cocktail, online, moderated by Jacob BriarsWatch ↗
See all talks
- 2023From Crypto to Conservation: Web3's Quest for a Greener WorldModerator · Zebu Live, LondonWatch ↗
- 2023Day in the Life of an NFT ArtistPanellist · Web3 Week Kickoff Event, London
- 2022Year in Review and the Future of NFTs in 2023Panellist · LiveArt, London
- 2022The Role of the Creator EconomyPanellist · CryptoAM Summit and Awards by City AM, London
- 2022Climate Mitigation with Web3Panellist · CryptoAM Summit and Awards by City AM, London
- 2022Curating NFTs: Digital Art Exhibitions IRLPanellist · LiveArt, London
- 2022Web3 for Climate MitigationPanel chair · Zebu Live, London Web3 WeekWatch ↗
- 2022Green NFTs: Fact or Fiction?Panellist · ClimateTech Day, London Tech Week
- 2022NFTs for Ecological ConsciousnessSpeaker · IRL NFT, LondonWatch ↗
- 2021Enter the MetaversePanellist · Modern Affluence Summit, London
About
Karina Abramova
My work is reading where people and culture are moving, and helping leaders act on it before the shift is obvious to everyone else.
Digital is in my DNA. I started at VICE Media and Blast Radius while brands were still asking whether social media mattered, and I have been building audiences, communities and stories online ever since.
I spent the next decade inside the machine. At Wunderman and Proximity I built strategy for Microsoft, Nokia, Starbucks and NGOs. As Global Director of Cultural Insights and Trends at Bacardi, I read the culture for more than 200 brands and briefed senior leadership through change.
Then I turned the same skills to the planet. I led projects at Platform Earth, took climate programmes to the Venice Biennale, and helped the New Forest National Park Authority bring its climate resilience strategy to the people it serves. Today I advise founders, boards and organisations, from startups to multinationals.
- Education
- MA Applied Imagination, Central Saint Martins (Distinction) · Accelerated Leadership, University of Miami
- Languages
- English, Russian, Spanish
- Boards
- Saviesa Global Think Tank · ZERO13 (former)
- Art practice
- Exhibited at Davos, Basel and London · See the art ↗
- Lived and worked
- Russia, Czech Republic, Canada, UK, Mexico, Colombia
The book
From the boardroom to the forest, and back into the world.
I wrote a literary memoir about leaving the achievement-driven way of living, learning from the land, and returning with a different way of seeing. Half story, half teaching. Join the list for occasional letters from the journey, early news of online work, and the first chance to buy the book.
Contact
Facing a decision that matters?
Thirty minutes. We look at what is shifting and whether I can help. Free, and no preparation needed.
Book a 30-minute call →- hello@karinaabramova.com
- linkedin.com/in/thekarin
