Susan Mathen
Partner & Strategy Director
With over 17 years experience in brand strategy, consumer insights, trends, and design thinking, Susan is a brand strategist who firmly believes in the importance of understanding ‘the why’ behind every brand decision.
An alumnus of Shri Ram College of Commerce, New Delhi and Mudra Institute of Communications, Ahmedabad, Susan has worked in some of the leading global agencies - Ogilvy, JWT, Leo Burnett, Grey and more - across India & Singapore. Previously, she was the Regional Strategy Director for Pantene/P&G for ASEAN (India, Indonesia, Thailand, Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia and Singapore). She has also been strategy consultant for agencies like Wieden + Kennedy (on Visa, Bumble), Toaster (on Google, YouTube), Space Doctors (on Coty) and VCCP London (on Oppo). She is a multiple winner of effectiveness awards like the Effies, Warc Asian Strategy Awards and more.
During her sabbatical from the corporate world, she spent a year in a heritage museum learning Art History, Indian Iconography and Symbolism. Cultural Studies, Psychology, Design Semiotics and Consumer Behaviour are her interest areas. She has a Design Thinking Certification from IDEO U, and is a certified Colour Consultant too.
Susan’s website: susanmathen.com
George Abraham
Partner & Creative Director
George is a strong believer in the power of bringing together the rational and the emotional in the process of creating brand worlds. He believes that strong brands are about moving people and evoking desired emotions, than merely convincing them to buy. His strong sense of art and design has led him to explore various fields ranging from branding to photography to painting to motor cycle designing.
He has a UX Design certification from General Assembly, Singapore and is an alumnus of the Fine Arts College, Kerala. He is a creative professional with over 18 years of creative direction, art direction and digital design experience across top advertising agencies like Wieden+Kennedy, R/GA, Ogilvy, JWT, Contract, Bates and more, in India and Singapore. He has led creatives on brands like Nike, Airbnb, Budweiser, Indigo Airlines, YouTube, BBC, Crocs, Lux, Siemens, Van Heusen and more.
He was featured in the list of 'The Hottest Creatives' by Brand Equity, Economic Times. He has been a recipient of the prestigious One Show Design Pencil and has also won at the Cannes, SpikesAsia and more.
George’s website: georgeabrahamc.com
Collaborators
Jossy Raphael
Creative Director - Writer
Jossy Raphael has been a copywriter from around the time a giant asteroid the size of Mount Everest smashed into Earth and killed all the dinosaurs. He has been a Creative Director at Wieden + Kennedy and a Group Creative Director at Ogilvy (where he spent ten years). He has experience across a range of brands that include Incredible India, BMW, MINI, Taj Hotels, Chivas Regal, Philips, Old Spice, Oppo, WWF, Citibank and IndiGo. Jossy has also worked on many design and identity projects, written a coffee table book about tiger conservation, experimented with AI software, made card games for children, and once, rather foolishly, attempted to cycle from Manali to Leh on his yellow bicycle.
Neha Malik
Multidisciplinary Designer
Neha Malik is a Multidisciplinary Designer from Uttarakhand, based in Germany at present. With over 8 years of experience, she is a designer who likes to dabble in multiple design disciplines, such as UX, UI, and graphics. Outside of work, she enjoys spending time with her cats and hiking/trekking in nature. During treks, she's gained a lot of perspective by occasionally not living in the city and seeing how rural living works without technology and how interesting analog systems make lives better (using smart DIY innovations).
Vipin Das
Illustrator & Designer
Vipin Das is an illustrator and designer from Kerala. He is a BFA graduate from the College of Fine Arts, Trivandrum, who believes in drawing inspiration from the world around him – humans, nature - and then creating his own version of the world that blends imagination with reality through illustration, art and design. He loves to explore the creative possibilities with some good old traditional tools.
Swati Baweja
Columnist & Cultural Researcher
Swati is a culturally curious strategist, inspired by the 'why' of human behavior and driven by a keen interest in driving business growth through the lens of a brand. In her 8+ years of corporate experience working on brand strategy, integrated communication, design, and shopper strategy, she has worked with companies like DDB, Dentsu, Geometry Global across multiple consumer categories, scale and brands. She is an MBA from MICA and is trained in social innovation and design thinking from the University of Pennsylvania. Apart from working on brands, she translates her passion for crafting human stories through street photography and writing poetry in blank verses.
Thomas Fenn
Advisor, F&B Collaborations
Thomas is a restaurateur and design enthusiast based in Delhi. He is the co-founder of Mahabelly - specialty restaurant serving Kerala cuisine in Delhi, Gurgaon and Sonepat. An economics graduate from St. Stephen's College, Thomas is also the Joint Secretary, NRAI (National Restaurant Association of India) overseeing their interests in E-Commerce Policy, Online Ordering & Logistics. He has a robust understanding of the F&B space through his first hand experience in setting up Mahabelly, a popular restaurant that has consistently been featured as one of the best South Indian restaurants in Delhi. His professional experience spans various expertise roles in Research, Operations, Marketing and Business Development across his stints in F&B, infrastructure consulting and even a children's museum.
Sarika Suresh
Researcher & Insights Miner
Happy & Endlessly Curious! Sarika is a Research & Insights professional with about a decade's experience in handling research/knowledge projects for one of the world’s largest media/content organizations. This includes both primary and secondary research; analyzing data and building compelling narratives, assessing consumer behaviour & motivation, as well as unlocking unique insights that influence brand strategy & brand content.
Sarika is an avid reader and traveller. She enjoys traveling across the country and abroad exploring new and offbeat places—often doing so through active means such as trekking. Recently, she’s taken up practicing yoga and ayurveda - which gives her the opportunity to stay limber during all those long flights!