Global creative consultancy Lippincott has hired Tom Ajello as senior partner and digital team leader, to be based in its New York office. In the position he will spearhead how the firm works with brands on digital transformation.
With a career spent founding and leading disruptive digital-first agencies, including Makeable and Poke, Lippincott has tasked Ajello with championing the idea that digital is a way of thinking, doing business and engaging in culture.
“When it comes to brand and innovation, we need to be fast culture experts. We need to be growth hackers. We can’t only be expressive with digital tools; we need to be students of the new model for building brands,” Ajello said in a statement.
Ajello said he was attracted to Lippincott because the company is going through a transformation, including its “Go-to Brands” model that is rooted in the next wave of how brands can grow and stay relevant. “After over 75 years, they understand the importance of uniting people, processes and products to help brands do just that,” he commented.
Ajello has over 20 years of experience at the intersection of brands and culture, with expertise across digital strategy, product design and creative concept development. Most recently, he was chief creative and digital officer at Vivaldi, which he joined after co-founding Makeable. Prior to that, he helped build Poke, which earned numerous Webby awards.
Past projects include the “I Went to MoMA and…” experience, AI mechanics for Viacom/Nickelodeon, the creation and launch of Bud Light Seltzer, as well as rebranding Current Bank.
Rick Wise, CEO of Lippincott, said in a statement: “Tom has spent most of his career at disruptive creative agencies blending the needs of strategy, digital and the customer in parallel. We’re thrilled he has joined Lippincott, not only to bring best-in-class digital thinking to our work, but to drive continuous innovation across the brand experiences we design for clients.”