Lippincott Announces Leadership Transition
Ken Roberts to Become Chairman Emeritus; Senior Partner Rick Wise Named CEO
New York, November 11, 2008
After 40 years of leadership in the brand strategy and design industry, including 15 years at the helm of Lippincott, Ken Roberts (63) has announced that he will become chairman emeritus at the beginning of 2009. The announcement comes at a time of growth and success for the firm, which celebrates its 65th anniversary this year and boasts award-winning work for Delta Air Lines, Infiniti, McDonald’s, Samsung, Sprint, Vale and Walmart.
Under Roberts’ stewardship, the firm’s sales have grown more than twelvefold and its reach has extended across North America, Europe, Asia and the Middle East. Replacing Roberts on January 1, 2009 will be Rick Wise (44), a 20-year brand-consulting veteran who has served for several years as a senior partner and head of Lippincott’s brand strategy practice. Roberts and Wise will work together over the coming months to provide an effective transition.
“I wish Ken the best and I am grateful for the opportunity to build on his legacy, by continuing to expand the range of branding services we provide and the geographic scope of our business,” said Wise. “I am excited to take the company forward as a trusted partner of the world’s leading brands.”
Roberts retires with over four decades of experience as a corporate identity consultant and specialist in integrated communications and brand architecture systems. He has pioneered approaches that leverage visual identity and experiential branding systems to achieve business objectives and demonstrate measurable return on marketing investments. Most importantly, he has built a unique culture at Lippincott—one that has successfully and profitably combined a diverse range of capabilities, individual skills, backgrounds and cultures for the benefit of its clients. He attended the University of Virginia and the Wharton Graduate Division of the University of Pennsylvania.
Wise has extensive experience in brand strategy development, brand portfolio management, customer experience design and retail strategy innovation. He will divide his time between the firm’s New York headquarters and other offices as needed. Prior to joining Lippincott, Wise was managing director and head of the North American strategy practice for Oliver Wyman (formerly Mercer Management Consulting), where his work focused on the revenue and profit impact of developing and implementing new business strategies. Wise speaks frequently on the topics of brands and customer-centered marketing strategy and has written for publications including the Harvard Business Review, The Wall Street Journal, The Financial Times and MIT Sloan Management Review. He is the co-author of How to Grow When Markets Don’t [Warner Business Books]. He holds a B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania and an M.B.A. from the Wharton Graduate Division of the University of Pennsylvania.
John Drzik, president of Oliver Wyman Group, of which Lippincott is part, remarked, “Rick has proven to be a capable and charismatic leader, and has demonstrated a significant ability to elicit the most creative and effective solutions for the most difficult brand challenges. He represents Lippincott’s ability to leverage both its award-winning design capabilities and rigorous brand strategy techniques in ways that deliver measurable results for its clients in any economic environment.”
Lippincott provides planning, design and implementation services in a number of branding disciplines, including brand strategy, brand creation, brand environments and brand management.
ABOUT LIPPINCOTT
Lippincott is a leading brand strategy and design consultancy. The firm was founded in 1943 as Lippincott & Margulies and pioneered the discipline of corporate identity. Lippincott operates globally from its offices in the United States, Europe, Asia and the Middle East. Recent clients include American Express, Citigroup, Delta Air Lines, ExxonMobil, IBM, Mashreq, McDonald’s, Nissan, Samsung, Sprint, Vale and Walmart. For more information, visit www.lippincott.com.
Contact:
Kathleen Hatfield, Lippincott,
212-521-0052, kathleen.hatfield@lippincott.com