European heads Ramshaw and Mamier leave Elmwood

Elmwood chairman Jonathan Sands described their departures, which are not linked, as ‘sadly coincidental’. He says both decisions had come on the back of a management restructure and a number of redundancies at the consultancy. Sands says, ‘When you’re at the top table, you’re party to discussions and what is going on, and it’s very unsettling when you have to change and cut costs.’

Sands and London managing director Elliot Wilson will take on Mamier’s core European clients, while Ramshaw’s responsibilities will be split across Elmwood’s Leeds office.

Mamier and Ramshaw – who is also president of the Design Business Association – are both leaving by the end of the year. It is not known what plans they have for their next moves, although Ramshaw says he is speaking to a number of businesses on both consultancy and client side.

Sands says, ‘With Nicolas, we are losing a great European ambassador, and we will have to replace that. With Nick, we are losing the person in the leadership team who could always be relied upon to voice his point of view.’

Elmwood – which has offices in Edinburgh, Leeds, London, Melbourne and New York, and is establishing an office in Chicago – underwent a global restructure earlier this year. This saw Mamier promoted from London managing director to European vice-president, and Ramshaw, who is also managing director of the Leeds office, take on the role of head of European operations.

Last month, the consultancy took on Eliot Schreiber, formerly of Chicago-based consultancy Brand Image, as global president. Schreiber will be based in the US, and will handle consultancy acquisitions and office openings there and in Asia.

The consultancy also says it is hoping to evolve its business model around clients, rather than offices, as part of the ‘one Elmwood’ initiative. It is also looking to broaden its offer, which includes branding, packaging and digital, to other disciplines such as retail.

A YEAR IN ELMWOOD’S EVOLUTION
May – management restructure sees Nick Ramshaw take on the role of head of European operations and Nicolas Mamier appointed European vice-president
October – Eliot Schreiber appointed global president to oversee international expansion
November – announcement that Ramshaw and Mamier leave consultancy, with their responsibilities split among senior staff