To strengthen local development and maximise the potential for group creative excellence across each of its four studios in London, New York, San Francisco and Copenhagen.

Founding Partners, Mike Branson and Jonathan Ford, will lead the growth of Pearlfisher as an independent brand design agency, building on a long established reputation with leading global clients such as Heineken, Pernod Ricard, Bang & Olufsen, Seedlip and Wagamama.  

Jonathan and Mike will both move on from their respective CEO roles in London and the US to focus on the development of the overall Pearlfisher business, brand and group. Mike assumes the new role of Pearlfisher Group Chairman & Founding Partner, focusing on the stewardship of the global Pearlfisher business and long-term performance, with Jonathan as Group Creative Director & Founding Partner, responsible for the vision and the creative leadership of the Pearlfisher Group.

As Mike explained, “2019 was a year of progress for us, despite the sudden loss of our co-founding partner, Karen Welman. This restructure is the culmination of long-term planning for the next phase of Pearlfisher’s growth, with our own roles evolving to meet the changing needs of the business and focus on the direction of the overall Pearlfisher Group.

It is a measure of our culture and the calibre of our people that we are in a position to take these next steps and grow our new Leadership Teams from within. We are excited about how the new teams build on our current momentum to maximize the potential and growth at each of our Studios so that Pearlfisher re-energises its position as a leading independent player within the industry.”

Jonathan added, “The new roles and structures are already being implemented across the business, as we continue to push ourselves to develop our creative and business offer both locally and internationally. We are looking forward to 2020 – and the next decade – as a time of positive and progressive change as we move into the next exciting stage of our journey, which we hope will shape a new future for Pearlfisher, for design and for our clients. It has always been my vision to design an agency of the future and therefore we are actively harnessing change, to refresh, renew, and become exactly that.”

Pearlfisher will shortly announce the internal promotions and leadership structures for each Studio.