David Leis

"The opportunity that resides at intersection of strategy and design is fascinating and full of unrealized potential. Over my career I’ve been drawn in both directions and found myself on the search for ways to bring them together. Early on in corporate strategy, I gravitated towards a specialty in “business design,” a concept that applies design thinking to business strategy. Looking to put that thinking into more tangible application, I moved into the venture capital arena, where I had the opportunity to help build businesses from the ground up based on strategic design. However, something was still lacking – the ability to blend and taking advantage of the power of creativity. I began actively exploring areas such as urban design, product design, photography and painting. That’s when I hit upon the field of branding, which brought it all together. Working at a place where strategists think like designers and designers think like strategists is like being in a candy shop. It’s what makes Lippincott such a great place."

Three interesting people I’ve had the chance to work with on projects? "The leader of Iraq, the vice president of the United States and the president’s chief economic advisor."

Most unusual place for a formal client presentation? "The family room at the home of a CEO of a Fortune 10 company."

Before joining Lippincott, David was a principal in the communications, information and entertainment group of Oliver Wyman (formerly Mercer Management Consulting), where he advised clients on such topics as strategic reinvention, customer alignment and positioning.

Earlier, he was an associate at Stone Point Capital, a $3 billion private equity group, where he invested in venture stage companies in the media and technology sectors. During that time, he assessed the business prospects of hundreds of emerging companies and advised the fund’s portfolio investments on numerous strategic and operational issues.