Step Change appoints Robert Steers as new head of digital
Step Change has appointed Robert Steers head of digital and CRM.
The announcement:
Deloitte’s Digital Top Gun Gets Poached by Tenacious Sydney Consultancy
The cookie-cutter days of strategic mediocrity are over. They’re not wrong, but they certainly don’t have the differentiating power to enable organisations to stand out anymore.
Companies aren’t after 300-page digests for why they are where they are, as strategists have been traditionally known to deliver; they want real strategic choices instead, delivered with true spark and creativity.
So, is the answer ‘strategy out’ or ‘creativity in’?
It seems like the battle lines have been drawn. How do organisations bridge the divide?
Recently, the acquisition of niche expertise has been one major strategy driving many traditional Professional Services firms.In 2015, Deloitte demonstrated this by joining forces with Mash Up to rejuvenate their brand and spatial design capabilities. And in August this year, they acquired The Explainers in a bold attempt to reframe their communications capability.
Now, while Deloitte was polishing their shields and planning another strategic move, a smaller, feistier company has crept onto the battlefield and poached one of their own.
That company’s name is Step Change. A growing strategic marketing consultancy, they’ve acquired digital expert Robert Steers as their new Head of Digital.
Deloitte is sure to be feeling the sting; Steers was integral in growing Deloitte’s digital maturity, and played a major role in their global digital transformation. He has previously led his own agency in Sydney, and is excited to move away from the traditional to play a role in building the digital capabilities of a fast-growing, innovative business.
“Digital should be where strategy and creativity meet,” Steers explains. “Digital is not optional. It’s a core, strategic function that’s just as important as finance or human capital.
“Clients want coordination and agility. We want to give them access to capabilities and advice in a way that isn’t constrained by old-fashioned thinking or traditional methods.”
This strategic move adds a seriously competitive edge to Step Change, who appear to be a step ahead (excuse the pun), having already combined strategy with creativity in their core framework.
“It’s this unique intersection between the two that sits at our heart,” explains Ashton Bishop, Step Change’s CEO.
“As forces of disruption mount, we’ve been focused on integration. The final capability for us was digital. But not just any digital; we needed someone who could collide creative and strategy in a way that would offer real value and insight.”
With three powerful weapons now under their belt — creative, strategy and digital — only time will tell how Step Change (and other similar ‘Davids’) will continue to confront the Goliaths of the business world on the strategy-creative battlefield.
Perhaps the leaders better watch their backs.
Congratulations Rob! Looking forward to working with you in the near future.
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Congrats Steppers!! Fabulous news for us as beneficiaries of your unique and now strengthend model. Robert, we look forward to learning from you.
Pete
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Powerful work Rob! Congratulations
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Thanks Kathy! Very excited to work with you too.
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Great news – look forward to seeing you in a couple of weeks and benefitting from your expertise!
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All the best Robert you’re going to have some challenging fun with these guys.
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