Cheil names Leigh Dennis as Global VP & MD of Mind Design Lab

Cheil Worldwide Inc., a global marketing communications network, has appointed Leigh Dennis as Global VP Brand Experience & Managing Director of Mind Design Laboratory (MD Lab), the Munich-based design house, specializing in the creation of fully integrated brand experience solutions.

Leigh joins Cheil Worldwide from Callison LLC, an award winning international design agency specializing in Retail Experience Design & Delivery, where he was Managing Principal of London and New York offices. Following four successful years at global super brand, Starbucks Coffee Company, Leigh founded Ferris & Sloane Architects in 2002, an agency focused on supporting US retailers launch & growth in the EMEA region, which was acquired by Callison in 2007. Since acquisition, Callison London and New York has achieved significant growth in volatile trading conditions, establishing an enviable client base, profitable growth and a professional staff of 100+. 

Leigh will report to Michael Kim, global COO at Cheil Worldwide, who commented “Cheil Worldwide is continuing to sharpen its leadership with the appointment of Leigh, and we are very excited about his addition to our worldwide team. Having him onboard demonstrates our ongoing commitment to be a truly integrated agency, which encompasses not just traditional advertising but also brand experience and retail/shopper marketing creative and design. Leigh is a results-proven talent and excels in both creative and business, a rare trait in this area. I am confident that under his leadership, Cheil Worldwide will be able to provide even better creative services to existing clients as well as win new accounts.”

Leigh added, “I’m extremely excited to join Cheil Worldwide, at a time when convergence of technology, design and lifestyle is evolving daily, to connect with an increasingly sophisticated customer. In a world focused on ‘social/ local/ mobile’, the creation of consistent and relevant brand experiences that educate, delight and inspire, in all channels, on all platforms, is central to increasing ‘brand-width’ and ‘brand velocity’.

The aspiration for ‘seamless and endless’ sought by the most innovative and aspirational global brands demands a creative agency that can deliver the highest levels of real integration, and true collaboration, across the full spectrum of ‘smart creative’ services. Cheil Worldwide is such an agency at the head of this curve, super talented, super agile, super resourced, super diverse, delivering integrated solutions, with ideas that move. MD Lab is already pushing the boundaries of convergent ‘flat land’ and ‘space land’ experiences, and will continue to evolve rapidly as an international ‘micro-network’ of artists and artisans, independent yet integrated with Cheil Worldwide. This is the place to experience brand velocity!”

Leigh’s appointment follows the addition of Jordan Waid as executive creative director of MD Lab in February.