Simon Veaney is director of social media communications at American Express, managing their social footprint across Europe. In his 8 years at Amex he has launched social presences in markets as diverse as China, Russia, Belgium and Azerbaijan, and after two years working on social strategy at Amex HQ in New York, he now runs Amex UK channels including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Linked In. Previous to Amex Simon worked in publishing for two years for Elsevier in Sydney. Recent career highlights have included running a live Twitter Q&A with a philosopher (getting the meaning of life into 140 characters), almost falling off the roof of Somerset House to get a decent Facebook photo, and interviewing Natalie Portman at Cannes Film Festival.