Spark Grove expands Seattle office with new hires and promotions
Spark Grove has hired two consulting specialists and promoted two of its own to expand its presence within the Seattle, Washington, market. The new additions see Brian Clements and Jeff Roberts join as Director of Technology and Director of User Experience. The internal promotions include Katherine Strate, who becomes a Manager of Digital Strategy, and Mary Helman, who takes on the role of Senior Manager.
Sparks Grove is a division of consulting firm North Highland. The customer services and experience focused advisory agency was opened in 2006, and currently has five offices across the US. The focus of the division, improving the customers’ experience by “designing and building meaningful human experiences rooted in foresight and insight,” is part of the wider development of omnichannel services in line with digitalisation. As part of the expansion of its capacity, the firm has promoted two advisers and added two new consultants to its ranks.
Brian Clements joins Spark Grove as a Director of Technology in its Insights and Analytics practice. Based in Seattle, Clements will support large brands with services on the intersection of data visualisation and unstructured data analysis. He joined the firm from Blue Wave Computing, an IT and Services company, where he was a Lead Developer, previously he worked as a Managing Partner at River Blue Media.
Jeff Roberts joins the firm as Director of User Experience. He brings more than 17 years of experience to the role, most recently he worked at Greenjar.com as a Senior Consultant focused on Web Strategy & Usability / Conversion. Earlier in his career, Roberts worked for a range of media and internet platforms, including CNN and Ask.com.
Katherine Strate joined Spark Grove in 2013, and was promoted to the role of Manager last year. In her most recent promotion, she takes on the role of Manager of Digital Strategy. In the position, she will focus on supporting clients meet challenges in customer engagement, customer experience design and omni-channel transformation in B2B and consumer-facing industries. Strate previously held a number of public relations positions, and graduated from The University of Georgia with a Bachelor’s degree in Journalism and Public Relations.
Mary Helman joined the firm in 2011 as a Strategy Associate, and, in the intervening years, took on the roles of Senior Strategy Associate and Manager. In her new role, as Senior Manager, she will focus on leveraging her marketing strategy focus to improving customer experience and driving growth for clients, particularly for the Healthcare and Financial Services sectors.
The new additions provide the firm with expansion capacity within the developing market of user experience, propelled by the growth of omnichannel user channels throughout a range of businesses.
Commenting on the firm's expansion in the north of the US, Elizabeth Searcy, Global Head of Sparks Grove, says, “Seattle is a natural fit for Sparks Grove. Our team is passionate about bringing together business strategy, experience design and creative execution to help our clients grow, and deliver meaningful human experiences.”
North Highland Seattle’s market lead Julie Rey, adds, "Across the board, our clients are seeking new and innovative ways to create deep, insightful connections with customers. Sparks Grove is well positioned to help, entering the Seattle market with a compelling set of offerings, leading edge insights, a very impressive track record, and insanely talented people."