The Scoop with Jason Brown

Earlier this year, Jason Brown was named the first-ever global CEO of independent design firm Pearlfisher. He sits down with Transform to chat about his career, the move to Pearlfisher and the agency’s exciting long-term growth and evolution plan.

Transform: What was it about Pearlfisher that enticed you to make the switch? 

Jason: My affinity for the brand was already there, which speaks to the true character and quality of who Pearflisher is – responsible for producing industry-leading, value-creating work for more than three decades, but meeting founders Mike Branson and Jonno Ford and hearing directly from them what their vision was from the outset – along with that of late co-founder, Karen Welman – made for an incredible process. Their measure of transparency and trust about how they arrived at making a decision to bring on a first-ever global CEO, and their level of humility and humanity toward me personally throughout the entire process, were really attractive.

Through those conversations, we discovered what I would consider “untapped potential,” which convinced me just how real an opportunity we have when it comes to achieving our growth ambitions. All of that immediately translates into a sense of responsibility for me that goes far beyond the concept of ‘taking on a role.’

Transform: How would you say your career path made you right for Pearlfisher?

Jason: As much as I love being a designer, what's at the centre of my being is that I love making things.

When I moved from being a designer to a strategist, and then from a strategist to a consultant-type role, I had to have a better understanding of my clients’ businesses – especially if I was going to offer solutions to anything, let alone in an innovation space. That in turn necessitated that I increase my business acumen, which led to me starting my own business.

This role is a great fit because as a ‘practitioner-operator,’ I’m comfortable in every conversation about every part of our business. Whether it’s the delivery or the creation of our services, the way that we're organised or the expansion of our offerings, I've touched every part in my career.

Transform: Your appointment forms part of Pearlfisher’s long-term growth and evolution plan. What are your ambitions for where the agency could be in three years’ time?

Jason:  Growth requires that we do more than what we're currently doing, such that there's no ‘business as usual’ – but it's a marathon, not a sprint.

We start by doing more of what we do really well, claiming a larger piece of an existing pie. There's also an exercise in making the pie itself bigger, which means embracing a natural expansion of our product offerings through the lens of what will the market give us permission to deliver against in an authentic, differentiated way.

For instance, some may say we’re most known for our packaging design. But underlying that is brand identity, which can include a visual identity system and a verbal identity system. You can imagine even further beyond that, brand strategy and brand positioning work, all the way out to designing retail environments.

At our core, we're a multidisciplinary studio – design experts, strategists and analysts. We understand that the value of what we do involves creating value for our clients.

Transform: What do you anticipate will be your biggest challenges in this role?

Jason: The biggest challenges for us as an agency – and for so many right now – are the things that are outside of our control, the macro forces. Whether it's inflation impacting consumer purchasing power or the sociopolitical climate, all of that has a trickle-down effect which impacts our clients, and in turn, our agency. For us, it’s about ensuring our train is solidly on the tracks and that we know exactly where we’re going at the right clip. Together, as the New York and London studios, we're creating an offering that aligns directly with our clients’ needs and ambitions.

Transform: Who has been your biggest personal inspiration in your career journey?

Jason:  I've been lucky to have had a collection of people who showed up at the right moments in my life – the exact moments in my career development when I needed them most.

There’s Sabaa Quao, who ran his own design shop and gave me the courage to go after this field, head-on. There’s also the moment when I snagged my first real opportunity at Tudhope, a design firm, which was eventually bought by Interbrand. Chris Campbell, the creative director there, saw something in me that I would argue I didn't even see in myself.

And then at Interbrand, Cassidy Morgan, head of strategy, became the counterpart I hadn’t realised I’d been missing and took me under his wing.

Also, Todd Rovak, the CEO of Fahrenheit 212 where I was head of design and product, said, “I think you're a manager disguised as a designer,” and suddenly it was like, “yes, it’s time for me to embrace that” – another aptly-timed shot of confidence. 

And then there was Keith Yamashita, one of the founders of SYPartners, who introduced me to Godfrey Dadich Partners, where I became partner.

 

This article was taken from Transform magazine Q3, 2024. You can subscribe to the print edition here.