Interbrand recruits Butterfield as strategy chief

Interbrand has appointed Leslie Butterfield as group chief strategy officer, a new position that will see him work on an international Interbrand ‘academy’.

The appointment is part of a wider strategic drive, according to Interbrand group chief executive Jez Frampton, who says, ‘We’re steering the group and looking across the business.’

Starting on 2 November, Butterfield joins from branding consultancy Butterfield Partners, which he founded. Butterfield’s role will involve a period of client-facing work, but will mostly be focused on the growth and development of Interbrand’s offer.

Butterfield, who was awarded a CBE for services to industry last year, will be ‘intimately involved’ in the academy, set to open in 2009, according to Frampton.

It will be based in Europe and North America, and is being set up as a permanent training facility for staff.

Frampton says that there is a ‘desperate need’ for the academy to be taken to Asia, where the consultancy is faced with ‘a small pool of skills and not many business schools’.

In a separate development, Matthias Mencke, former design director at Interbrand New York, has taken a position as creative director at strategic branding consultancy Siegel & Gale’s Los Angeles office.