September 03, 2019. Amidst another record year of growth, Work & Co is naming five new partners across its product, design, and brand disciplines.
The move comes as the company has scaled to 309 people across the U.S., Brazil, and Europe. Clients added to the roster in the past 12 months include IKEA, H&R Block, Bottega Veneta, and Brazilian media giant Globo.
Of the five new partners, four are internal promotions. The fifth is widely-respected designer and leader in emerging technology, Derek Fridman. He will join Work & Co in mid-September.
“Our structure is unique in the industry and designed to make sure we have enough leadership to be directly involved in every client project,” said Co-Founder and Design Partner Felipe Memoria. “A high ratio of partners — now 19 globally — helps with mentorship, enables us to remain hands-on partners to our clients, and to stay connected across teams. It’s the only way to guarantee quality as we expand the company.”
About the five appointments:
Dever Thomas, Associate Partner, Design
Dever has been a strategic and design leader at Work & Co since nearly the beginning. She’s been behind successful digital experiences for Apple, IKEA, Virgin America, Aesop, Céline, and others. The Apple work won a Grand Prix and a Titanium Lion at Cannes in 2018, and the Virgin America work earned a Grand Prix at the UX Awards. Prior to Work & Co, she was a designer at Method. She has a BFA in Graphic Design from Indiana University, was the recipient of numerous design scholarships and was named among “Eight Young Creatives to Watch” by HOW Magazine.
Steve Kuhn, Associate Partner, Product
Steve brings an incredible mix of credentials to the Product Management discipline. He’s a UX expert who taught at Carnegie Mellon, formerly led UI Design at EBay, is a seasoned product strategist, and a trusted counterpart to senior clients with experience being a client himself. (Prior to joining us in 2015 from Softcard, he was often described as “our favorite client ever.”) Over the past four years, Steve has run some of our largest, most successful engagements including Marriott and Mailchimp.
Rupal Parekh, Associate Partner, Brand
Rupal's background in content strategy and communications has been instrumental in cultivating Work & Co's unique position in the market, and also impacts several client projects. Across the company, Rupal strategizes rollout strategies and helps ensure success at launch. Client partners she collaborates with include Planned Parenthood, ALDO, Givewith, Gainbridge, Gatorade and Philz Coffee. She also supports Work & Co's entry into new markets and builds thought leadership across technology, product and design. Previously she was a strategic advisor to Valley startups, ad tech firms and agencies. Before that she was an editor at Advertising Age and a business journalist for a decade.
Daniele Codega, Associate Partner, Design
Daniele’s known for working with clients on the strategic and systematic design of large-scale digital products. At Work & Co he’s done it for Apple, Vimeo, and American Express, among others. Prior to Work & Co he was a Product Design Director at Elephant, leading design for various Apple projects. Before heading to the agency side he was the first-ever Creative Director for the Huffington Post, and the former head of UX Design at Reuters, where he worked on the news platform Reuters Next. That project was featured in the book “Designing News.”
Derek Fridman, Associate Partner, Design
Mostly recently Chief Design Officer at Huge, Derek Fridman oversees design and user experience teams, which specialize in rapid prototyping and design for retail environments, emerging platforms, and connected experiences. He brings more than two decades of experience, including roles at SapientNitro, Razorfish and his own design studio. In that time he’s applied his design expertise to Google, Warner Brothers, Under Armour, Disney, Adidas, Lucasfilm, AMC Theatres and the NBA. Born in Puerto Rico, he’s worked on both coasts and in Europe. He holds a degree in Visual Communications from the Art Institute of Atlanta.
Said Memoria: “To have one of these individuals would be a win for any company. To have them all is rare. It’s also a testament to Work & Co’s six straight years of growth in which we’ve built a non-hierarchical environment that lets multiple leaders take ownership of the work — and chart the future of the company.”