Wieden + Kennedy execs depart to form digital creative agency of their own
A pair of Wieden + Kennedy executives, each with five years’ experience of running its design and engineering group The Lodge, have jumped ship in order to start afresh at the helm of their own digital creative agency.
Paulo Ribeiro and Nilesh Ashra
Portland-based Paulo Ribeiro and Nilesh Ashra are the founding partners of Two Things, which aims to channel the pairs extensive experience in emerging technologies such as AI and robotics within a far more modest operation, giving them the ability to outflank larger businesses in the burgeoning field.
As managing director and director of creative technology respectively at The Lodge Ribeiro and Ashra helped devise custom products, games and VR experiences for brands such as KFC, Nike and Samsung working in-house with each brand.
For their latest venture, which as yet has but a handful of part-time employees, the pair will return to a more traditional approach as an external digital creative shop.
Ribeiro remarked: “There were a ton of benefits to being a part of a great company like Wieden. We’re super thankful for our time there, but doing this now independently, you just get a chance to do work that wasn’t possible before.”
Ashra added: “Over the last 15 years, each of us in different ways has been pursuing the same thing And that’s how is emerging technology going to impact the way a brand grows and meets its customers? We just got to the point where we thought we could make a bigger impact by breaking out on our own.”
The Lodge is best known for its innovative custom sneaker experience for Nike, which enabled customers to design their own shoes in under 90 minutes as well as a real-life escape room experience for Reddit.
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