Method, a design and innovation consultancy, is expanding its practices and has made several key executive team hires, including Paul Valerio, Marc Shillum, and Jason Meil.
The addition of this new talent further equips Method to solve the increasingly complex brand and business problems their customers are asking them to approach.
"It is very important that our clients understand who their customers are and what needs those customers have - this understanding creates a much stronger opportunity to lead customers at every touchpoint through a brand experience that is well considered, well crafted, well designed and that also creates brand affinity and revenue," said Kevin Farnham, Method CEO. "Our additional executive and leadership hires will help our clients gain the insights and deliver the customer experiences that will help their brands thrive."
Method's New Practice: Insights
This new senior leadership team represents a transition in Method's strengths and introduces a new depth to Method's core offering. Method is expanding their practice to include a new discipline, Insights, which adds a robust dimension to Method's heritage in research, strategy, and design planning. The team, lead by Paul Valerio, aims to guide the creative process for Method's clients through a combination of brand strategy, testing, and research.
Top left to right: Raphael Grignani, Director of User Experience, Jason Meil, Principal of Strategy
Bottom left to right: Marc Shillum, Principal, Paul Valerio, Principal of Insights
Paul Valerio
As Principal of the new vertical at Method, Paul is motivated to enhance the cross-section of research and creativity: "Kevin Farnham and the rest of the senior leadership understands that no one can foresee exactly where an opportunity will show up, so they seek people with a really eclectic approach to a client's business. Method has clearly been very smart about how they handle client assignments, but I hope to bring a combination of rigor and creativity to the process that will further position Method as a thought leader at a global level. I hope to help Method become a place that clients associate with moving their businesses forward, even if they're not sure what that means when they come to us."
The Insights team combines research and branding strategy disciplines to guide the creative process for Method's clients. Paul provides a unique hybrid approach to brand strategy and market research with his 20+ years of consulting experience for clients in many industries, including retail, manufacturing, technology, and pharmaceuticals.
Marc Shillum
Bringing an expertise in brand, Marc Shillum joins as Principal to work across disciplines, leading coherence and uniting behaviors, symbols, and signifiers into brands capable of existing in today's agile and iterative environment. Explains Shillum: "Brands have become increasingly agile, so defining them is less about absolutes and more about patterns, less about adherence to singular messages and more about the coherence of multiple messages. Identity becomes interface, and so iterative, and so brands become the constantly shifting relationship between customer and company. Companies servicing that relationship need to be at the intersection of brand, product, and user experience. Method is at that intersection. I'm very happy to be here."
Marc joins Method from R/GA, where he founded their Brand Development practice on his vision that brands and identity have become interfaces. Marc's deep understanding of how businesses can achieve brand success has been honed through his experience working internationally within brands, advertising agencies, newspapers, and design firms.
Jason Meil
Method has brought on Jason Meil as Principal of Strategy, leading design and technology teams to deliver innovative brand, product, and marketing strategies for clients across a breadth of industries. "Method has the smartest and most talented collection of people I have come across," says Meil. "These people are truly curious across disciplines, and bring unique insights to solving client problems. Leveraging my unique combination of experiences across creative, business, and marketing, I look forward to working with this world-class team to position our clients for success in a fast-changing world."
Jason is also a key executive leading Method's idea accelerator and product innovation design program, which launches this year in the UK. This forward-thinking program looks to a long-term vision that will yield tremendous results for both clients and Method. Previously the Executive Vice President of the Innovations team at Interpublic Group, Jason has extensive experience leading strategic and creative think tanks.
An Expanded Leadership Team
Also joining Method are several new Directors, whose diverse range of skills and experience will continue to inspire Method's teams and projects:
David Eveleigh-Evans joins Method as Creative Director from Moving Brands and Razorfish
Áthila Armstrong is Creative Director in London, coming from Publicis Modem London
Paul Miller joins as Creative Director in San Francisco, bringing over 15 years of agency experience
Alexander Grunsteidl is London's Director of User Experience from Apple Research Labs and IDEO
Catherine Nygaard joins as Director of User Experience in New York from R/GA
Raphael Grignani is Director of User Experience in San Francisco, coming from Nokia
Kaihaan Jamshidi is Director of Strategy in London, joining Method from WPP Group
Lucien Jones joins Method as Director of Technology from his own technology consultancy
Ben Fullerton is Director of User Experience in San Francisco, from live|work, Adaptive Path, and IDEO
Kevin Farnham believes this new team will continue to shape Method's value: "The kinds of people being pulled in and what they are going to do are adding depth to our offer, deepening the bench of strategy, insights, and brand."