Michael D’Esopo
- Senior Partner, Strategy
- Boston
Expertise
- Customer-driven strategy
- Brand positioning development
- Brand architecture and portfolio management
- Strategic brand measurement
- Customer experience strategy and design
Connect
Work
Michael’s projects are characterized by a strong customer-driven assessment of opportunities and threats, and experience with a wide range of segmentation and marketing research techniques.
His clients have included AIG, American Express, Ameriprise, AMN Healthcare, CA Technologies, Citibank, Financial Engines, Hewlett-Packard, Honeywell, Hyatt Hotels, HyundaiCard, Intel, Intuit, Iron Mountain, Kofax, Lincoln Financial, Novell, Nuveen Investments, Pizza Hut, Samsung, Sprint, Sun Life Financial, TransCanada, US Steel and Visa.
Musings
"I have always been fascinated by understanding the drivers of consumer behavior, and branding is one of those areas where the intersection of art and science creates some challenging business problems. I love the fact that at Lippincott we constantly bring together strategy and design in our work, and do so in a very tangible way with a strong emphasis on business impact. And I’m excited by the opportunities we see in the marketplace to build strong brands in new ways–it provides a fast-paced learning environment to help our clients."
What's on your playlist? "My playlist for creative thinking includes Elvis Costello, Sex Pistols and Blur."
Most unusual presentation experience? "The funniest thing that has ever happened to me in a presentation is that the client 'accidentally' kicked the cord for the projector out of the wall right as I was about to present the unpopular recommendations!"
"A product can be quickly outdated; a successful brand is timeless."—Ray Johnson
Background
Before joining Lippincott, Michael was a principal in Oliver Wyman’s (formerly Mercer Management Consulting) Strategic Capabilities Group, where he directed corporate and marketing strategy engagements for clients in the technology and financial business sectors. Earlier, Michael was an analyst at National Economic Research Associates, an economic consulting firm, where he directed financial and economic analyses related to regulatory issues in the energy industry.
Etcetera
Michael has spoken frequently for the ANA and the Conference Board and is often quoted on the topic of brands in the business press.
He is a former trustee of the Marketing Science Institute.
Michael holds a B.S. in economics from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and an M.B.A. from the M.I.T. Sloan School of Management.