Steeped in theory,
bloodied by practice.

Building a 21st century brand requires diversity of disciplines and perspectives. We’ve assembled a team of the world’s best thinkers and doers who have built some of the world’s best brands from the inside and out.

NEIL BARRIE

GLOBAL CEO & CO-FOUNDER

Industry thought leader with papers and pieces published in Fast Company, Guardian and Forbes.

Led brand strategy development for the likes of Airbnb, Netflix, Pinterest, Disney, Depop and N26.

(Ad)venturing background at Zag, the ventures arm of BBH partnering with finance, media and entertainment disruptors.

Commercially Creative: during both his years as CSO of Chiat Day LA the agency achieved the joint highest global Effie ranking, sits on the IPA’s Executive Leadership Group and mentor at Techstars Berlin.

Failed Rock Star: graced the stages of London, Paris and Leicester.

JONATHAN MILDENHALL

Executive Chair & Co-Founder

Independent Board Director (GoFundMe, Peloton, AboveBoard) Investor and Strategic Advisor.

Former CMO at Airbnb and Global VP at The Coca-Cola Company.

Prior to emigrating to the US in 2006, Jonathan spent 15 years working for some of London’s most creatively recognized advertising agencies.

A self-proclaimed ‘Brand and Culture Geek’ who loves nothing more than finding the significant cultural white space for brands and businesses to own and in so doing helping founders and CEOs earn a disproportionate share of category success.

Jonathan lives in Los Angeles with his husband Mirco and their two twin-like children Dominica and Oliver.

COLIN CHOW

Global Managing Partner

Born in Montreal, raised in LA, forged in NY, tempered in SF.

Has led strategy for global icons like Airbnb, Disney, HBO, Nike and Walmart, as well as the next generation of ambitious brands like Everlane, Headspace and Instacart.

Love for the intersection of strategy and creativity inspired a career that spans management consultancy at McKinsey to CEO at Redscout.

Holds degrees from Yale in Art History and Law, which are useful only when arguing the true meaning of beauty. Loves to snowboard, swim, and extol the virtues of early 90’s hip-hop to his kids.

SARA TATE

Transformation Practice, Partner

Award-winning strategist, business leader, author and accredited executive coach.

Worked in and led creative agencies including BBH, Mother and TBWA making globally famous advertising for Coca-Cola, British Airways and adidas. As CEO of TBWA London won a Cannes Grand Prix in 2021.

Interest in how people deal with change and transformation led her to co-author The Rebuilders: Going From Setback to Comeback in Business and Beyond.

Vocal advocate for gender equality in business, featured in the Timewise Power List, voted Best Leader in Marketing by Women in Marketing Awards and won Campaign’s Female Frontier Award.

Avid bookworm.

SIMON PHIPPS

CFO

Has set up businesses from the ground up in three continents.

Worked at IDEO for a decade, running finance & operations globally for the final five of that. Over 20 years experience in operating creative organizations.

Has a degree in philosophy, and can be very argumentative as a result.

Spent way too much time in unsuccessful UK indie bands in his early twenties.

Originally from Bedford, England, now lives in Marin county, California, trying to keep up with his three amazing daughters.

JENNIFER KIM

Executive Strategy Director, Partner

Ad agency veteran who has spent her career hunting for that perfect balance of creatively inspiring and logically sound.

Honored to have led brand strategy for clients like Google, Slack, Airbnb, HP, BMW, Walmart, Columbia Sportswear, Blue Shield, John Frieda and The Washington Post.

East Coast transplant who now lives in San Francisco and has begrudgingly accepted that her children get cold below 60 degrees. Enjoys music, cooking and flying around town on her family e-bike.

DAN HAUCK

Executive Strategy Director, Partner

Experienced and award-winning strategic leader, as both agency CSO and start-up CMO, across multiple categories and geographies.

Cut his teeth in advertising, ran the strategy function for BBH London – working on iconic brands such as Axe / Lynx, Audi and British Airways.

Took this strategic grounding into the world of start-ups, co-founding brand agency Redscout, focused on European tech brands like Spotify, Allbirds and Hello Fresh.

Put the above into practice as founding CMO of electric vehicle unicorn Arrival, valued at IPO at $10b, before joining 21CB.

Addicted to running, cooking and meditating, but never at the same time.

STEPH NICOLAIDES

European Managing Director, Partner

Red Bull alumni and advertising background.

Partnered with some of Europe’s most exciting tech founders including Depop, VanMoof, Flo Health, Bumble & reBuy.

Marketing Academy Scholar. Named in Campaign’s Female Frontier Awards 2021.

Her Greek roots means she’s an expert host. Loves getting lost in art galleries. Sangyé Yoga School is her sanctuary.

MELISSA MCNUTT

Head of Global Marketing and Growth

Award-winning marketing leader with a passion for scaling brands rooted in culture. Making her mark in consumer marketing, she pioneered Samsung’s North American experiential marketing team and served as Vice President of Brand Experience and Influencer Relations for Magic Leap. In recent years, she’s served as a fractional CMO to high-growth startups and a strategic advisor to C-suite executives across multiple industries. Melissa prides herself on being a problem solver, strategic partner, and trusted resource her clients can rely on to help them realize their vision.

Texan-turned-Californian who radiates a passion for hip hop, interior design, and beach days with her husband, two kids and Frenchie, Chuck Norris (a local celebrity).

ANKA BEDINEISHVILI

Strategy Director, Associate Partner

Georgian-born US/Russian/Swiss/British-bred strategist.

Led brand strategy development Flo Health, and Zalando at 21CB and the likes of Waze and Calvin Klein previously, as well as product innovation strategy for clients such as Google ATAP, GM, Kin Cryptocurrency, and Viacom.

Loves defending the value of outsiders in strategy and beyond.

Launched her own ceramics brand to raise over $10K for end of life care.

Has trekked almost half of the world’s major mountain ranges from the Andes to the Rockies, to the Himalayas, summiting a few peaks along the way.

SARA LEZAMA

Strategy Director, Associate Partner

Graduate of VCU Brandcenter. Agency work includes Coca-Cola and Airbnb before shifting client-side to Lyft. Led Integrated Marketing at Old Navy launching their brand values platform, Imagine Mission.

Spent several years as a television reporter and local talk show host in the US Virgin Islands before working as a government liaison to the press.

When not building the world’s most ambitious brands, you can find her on the dance floor. “I believe dancing is as inherent to humans as laughter. All you need is a willingness to let it out.”

ASHLEY CLAIREHALL

STRATEGY DIRECTOR

British-American all rounder; who loves a blend of strategy, commerce and creative.

Fortunate enough to have partnered with the likes of Peloton, Depop, Apple, Uber, and Farfetch on strategy development.

Honed her brand, business and marketing skills at leading creative agencies, after starting out in heavyweight management consultancy, specialising in strategy and operations, across all industries.

Happiest on or near water, trades antiques, and training to become an interior designer.

ARIF HAQ

DIRECTOR OF BRAND LEARNING

Featured in Fast Company and books including James Hurman’s ‘The Case for Creativity’.

Spent an incredible decade in the brand management team at PepsiCo. Subsequently has specialised in facilitation and creative capability building.

Started out as an account executive at KLP Euro RSCG. Founding Head of Creative Capabilities at Contagious, Partner at Freud Communications. Tutor in Creativity at D&AD.

Loves Borscht Belt Jewish comedy. One day wants to strip and rebuild an internal combustion engine.

FAUZIA MUSA

EDITOR AT LARGE

Born in Mumbai, raised between London and the Bay Area.

Used to be a journalist, then found the wonderful world of design and brand.

Led design teams at IDEO, was a product planner at Media Arts Lab (Apple), built and led Google Cloud’s creative and brand team.

At 21CB, works with global brands – including LinkedIn and Flo Health – to be more inclusive, as well as amazing strategic brand projects with the likes of Peloton.

Just finished a creative writing program at the Faber Academy in London and wrapping up draft two of a novel.

NICOS DERMINTZOGLOU

Senior Brand Strategist

Strategic Swiss army knife with a proper Mediterranean temperament, holding an MA in Design Strategy and an MSc in Design Engineering.

Has worked across a variety of industries and clients including Tesco, PepsiCo, Barclays, Deutsche Bank, Sky, UEFA, Brentford FC.

Passionate about shaping purposeful paths forward in both brand and communications, with stints at Saffron, Venturethree, Onwards, Radley Yeldar and EveryFriday.

Equipped with unwavering sea legs, lived for six years on a Greek island and aspires to open his own taverna one day.

AUDREY DAHMEN

SENIOR STRATEGIST

Probably the only proper (trilingual) Belgian you’ll ever meet.

At 21CB to transform society/the world one rebuy, VanMoof and Zalando at a time.

Hybrid brand/digital strategist who disrupted brands like McDonald’s, KBC, Stella Artois and Apple during her time at TBWA, as well as embedding them in modern culture as a trend spotter for TBWA\Backslash. Guest Lecturer at IHECS for Cultural & Creative Curiosity.

Convinced that there’s an app, tool or book for each of your struggles (from productivity hacks to moon cycles).

JULIA MORRIS

SENIOR STRATEGIST

Raised in the New Hampshire wilderness.

Spent four years learning the ropes of marketing at powerhouse companies like NBCUniversal and Estée Lauder, while studying strategy and management at Parsons School of Design.

Relocated to Scotland for a Master’s and some fresh air, where she became fascinated by behavioral economics and conscious capitalism. After a brief stint in London, she’s now a relapsed New Englander, based in Boston.

Homebody, foodie, and DIY enthusiast – the combination of which led her to attempt a garden that unintentionally became a shrine to different varieties of kale.

MAX NOVOA

SENIOR STRATEGIST

Born and raised in Santiago, Chile and educated in the US. Attended the University of San Diego before moving to New York City to start his career as a brand strategist.

Spent the first few years in advertising but then realized he wanted to have a bigger impact by helping clients solve deeper business problems. As a brand consultant he became most interested in helping brands define and live their purpose and has partnered with companies such as Amazon, LinkedIn, Rockstar Games and Under Armour.

Likes to spend his summers mountain biking and his winters snowboarding.

VICKY SHI

SENIOR STRATEGIST

An optimist with an excitement for tackling purpose-driven challenges. Started her career in New York at Lippincott, where she learned the ropes of brand and innovation, leaving to backpack Southeast Asia, Australia and New Zealand (has both tattoos and scars to show for it). Became a freelancer and shaped strategy at seven consultancies for clients such as Airbnb and eBay. On the side, she started an agency with two friends to advise minority and female founders (one client can now be found on the shelves of Urban Outfitters). Moved to the UK in 2021 and recently graduated from her MBA at Oxford.

Non-work passions include: learning to travel more responsibly (completed a fellowship on sustainable tourism), creative writing (has taken 30 weeks of writing courses), and dancing (co-captained her MBA dance team to win gold).

NANCY NHAT VU

Strategist

Started in advertising at The&Partnership, working on Argos, RNIB and Wella before joining 21CB to build purposeful brands including VanMoof, Zalando, Flo Health and Allrise.

Hai Phong-born, East London-bred and Cambridge-trained anthropologist with an obsession for the cultural zeitgeist. Passionate about building community and compassionate systems for a world that puts people and planet first.

A true Zillenial that has unironically owned an MP3 player and now starts a lot of her texts with “not me…”

NADINE STARES

OPERATIONS LEAD

Design History curator who shifted focus to work with brands seeking to effect change to the challenges of our world today.

10 years at IDEO, building and supporting design management systems internally and then client side in our Organisational Transformation work, motivated by a passion for creating the conditions in which fast paced teams can thrive.

Plagued by a restless curiosity that conflates downtime with hare-brained adventures like driving my partner and new baby to the Arctic Circle (and the edge of our sanity). Committed to learning the art of ‘being’.

ARLEEN CANTOR

FINANCE OPERATIONS LEAD

Bay Area native, no stranger to Karl the Fog. Dog carer, who no longer has a furry friend of her own. Loves to be surrounded by plants. Foodie at heart, enjoys trying new restaurants and loves to entertain by cooking for family and friends and pretending to be a mixologist.

Entered college majoring in Civil Engineering but finished with a degree in Accounting. Brief stint in hospitality as a finance coordinator, enjoyed traveling to different cities and staying in luxurious hotels. Entered the world of advertising via RAPP and most recently McCann, working with clients such as XBOX, Mastercard, LinkedIn and Workday.

MIKE REID

DESIGN DIRECTOR

20 years experience designing and creating integrated branding and digital comms at top agencies and start-ups. Extensive knowledge of branding from seed round to IPO.

Has worked with pioneering start-ups, global and online brands including Skype, Orange, eBay, JustGiving, Better Gyms, Funding Circle and onefinestay.

Started at legendary digital agency Deepend, then moved to Interbrand and the disruptive integrated agency Albion.

Recent work includes branding for home fitness app Eastnine, part of Facebook’s LDN_LAB accelerator programme.

A slightly OCD design geek who loves running, collecting vinyl, and the Bauhaus.

DANI GALASSO

SENIOR PROGRAM MANAGER

A logical and creative thinker who loves collaborating with smart, passionate teams.

Holds degrees in Music and Linguistics from UC Davis, and a Music Industry Certificate from DVC.

Has been working within marketing operations at start-ups and branding consultancies for over a decade. Loves a variety of industries and clients.

Singer-songwriter and die-hard music-lover, finds happiness creating and listening to music, attending live shows, and blasting tunes in her car.

JORGE PERAZA-VASQUEZ

SENIOR MANAGER, BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT & PROGRAM MANAGEMENT

Went viral on TikTok for showing off his favorite mouthwash, and now everyone on this page thinks he’s famous.

Has had the pleasure of managing projects for clients including instacart, LinkedIn, Weee!, Surf Air Mobility, Goodwater Capital.

Passionate about mentoring students from his community who share similar backgrounds.

Deeply involved in his church community and every Sunday can be found leading worship.

Likes to say he spends his downtime at the beach or park, painting with his wife while enjoying some charcuterie, but in reality he’s most-likely binge-watching Netflix.

JEZ AKALI

PROGRAM MANAGER

Holds an MA in Social and Cultural Theory. Has managed multi-faceted global clients, projects, and initiatives for different marketing agencies in agile environments.

Started at Dentsu in a client leadership team, progressed into project management and moved to Accenture Song, where he worked with Jaguar Land Rover globally.

London raised, West-Midlands based (since 13), with a passion for sport and project management.

CAMILA DI CIVITA

EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT & PROGRAM MANAGER

Worked in Public Relations and Communications for more than six years supporting clients, teams and senior executives. Most recently at a not-for-profit membership organisation of investors taking action on climate change. Previous clients include Amazon, HSBC, DP World, Epson, DocuSign and IBM.

Holds a Public Relations degree from the University of Greenwich and had a brief stint in music publicity working with journalists, bands and festivals – arguably the most valuable lesson in how to massage egos!

Born in Brazil to a half-Italian / half-Portuguese family, has now lived in London for almost half of her life. A music fan who loves yoga and healthy living, science, sustainability and the planet.

MARY MCKINLEY

EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT

Learned to build in WordPress during the pandemic and started her own business offering web design and executive assistance. Built the nonprofit organization Greenwood Lake Theater from the ground up.

Spent the last decade working in the corporate sector in Manhattan as an Executive Assistant at hedge funds, tech companies, and in commercial real estate. Made it out alive!

Grew up in Virginia, now living in the Hudson Valley. Has a Master’s in Music from Radford Univeristy. Fur mom to Cleo and Caesar.