Matthew Clarke and Wendy Stonefield join Deloitte Digital from Amaze

Deloitte has appointed Matthew Clarke and Wendy Stonefield as Partner and Director in its creative digital consultancy, Deloitte Digital.

Both senior advisors join from Amaze, a London based digital marketing, technology and commerce consultancy, where they were both board level directors. Clarke was the agency’s Chief Technology Officer, and before that, Chief Operating Officer. Earlier in his career he worked for MCLDigital (a small management and technology consultancy that was sold to Hasgrove in 2009) and Bagshot based technology distributor Steljes. Stonefield was Chief Commercial Officer of Amaze, with nearly 20 years’ experience at the agency.

In their new role, Clarke and Stonefield will help grow the content and commerce team of Deloitte Digital – the digital and creative arm of Big Four giant Deloitte. They will be based in Deloitte Digital’s studio in Clerkenwell, London.

Deloitte Digital has over 500 people in the UK, and globally, the agency employs over 10,000 employees across the world, including offices in the US, the Netherlands, Australia, South Africa and Canada. The agency has seen strong growth in recent years, on the back of technology-led disruption hitting sectors and companies, as well as through inorganic growth, with the acquisitions of Market Gravity in the UK and Heat in the US the most notable deals.   

Together with rival PwC, Deloitte has been quick to move into the converging space between consulting firms and creative agencies, leaping ahead of EY and KPMG, and today Deloitte Digital is one of the largest and premier providers of creative digital offerings in the UK. The digital transformation consulting market – say one half of the digital-creative mix – is booming, according to recent data from one analyst firm it is worth $23 billion globally, and £2.26 billion in the UK, which is roughly one-fifth of UK’s £7.31 billion consulting market.

“The growth of digital technology continues to fundamentally transform the way we all live, work and operate, so there’s never been a more critical time for businesses to step up to the challenge”, said Clarke.

Sam Roddick, UK head of Deloitte Digital, added, “Now that digital commerce is an essential part of how any business engages with customers, we are seeing an increased demand for multidisciplinary skills to help deliver on our client’s ambitions.  As Deloitte continues to grow as a creative digital consultancy, Matthew and Wendy will be an important part of our plans going forward.” 

Commenting on her motivation to join Deloitte Digital, Wendy Stonefield commented, “Deloitte Digital has an unrivalled breadth and depth of experience, working alongside some of the world’s biggest brands.  Their ability to deliver large scale digital transformation and help clients right across the digital spectrum – whether that be in commerce, analytics, user-design or cyber security – is something both Matthew and I are excited to be a part of.”

For Amaze, which was purchased by St Ives in 2013 as part of the print giant’s own reorientation toward marketing services. Following a subsequent restructuring, the departure of Clarke and Stonefield comes as a triple whammy, accompanying the resignation of Chief Strategy Officer Rick Curtis, who also left the company to find new pastures.