Stéphan Willemse

Stéphan Willemse Email and Phone Number

Head of Digital Experience @ Merkle Aotearoa
Wellington, NZ
Stéphan Willemse's Location
Wellington, Wellington, New Zealand, New Zealand
About Stéphan Willemse

I use creativity, design and strategy to help organisations innovate towards inclusive, progressive futures. The interesting stuff always seems to happen on the borders, in perspective overlaps and creative frictions.I grew up in the jungle in Malawi. My dad built the school with mud bricks and my mom, a paediatrician, was my teacher. I've been on the move since then - Africa, Asia, Europe and now the Pacific. I've been really lucky to work in creative, operations, strategic and design teams. My clients have been skateboarders and firefighters, bankers and public servants. I've also been fortunate to learn from great people in startups, digital agencies, tech firms and design labs.Someone once said: 'nothing is as powerful as an idea whose time has come'. At the moment, I'm really into the ideas of complex systems, innovation methodologies, post-growth development, ethical AI, rewilding and futures design.I find my quiet space by making music, climbing snowy mountains or looking for surf in remote places.

Stéphan Willemse's Current Company Details
Merkle Aotearoa

Merkle Aotearoa

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Head of Digital Experience
Wellington, NZ
Website:
davanti.co.nz
Employees:
103
Stéphan Willemse Work Experience Details
  • Merkle Aotearoa
    Head Of Digital Experience
    Merkle Aotearoa
    Wellington, Nz
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  • Digital Arts Network \ New Zealand
    Strategy Director \ Head Of Strategy
    Digital Arts Network \ New Zealand May 2019 - Present
    Wellington & Wairarapa, New Zealand
    Digital Arts Network NZ is the Experience Design Centre of Excellence for TBWA's 200+ offices. We use a design mindset to accelerate innovation for progressive brands in Aotearoa and globally. This includes product design, research, service design, digital making, futures design and innovation projects.Clients: The Fono Pasifika Health, Southern Cross Health, Southern Cross Pet Insurance, Arts Council of NZ Toi Aotearoa, AWS, Starbucks Asia Sustainability, Geoscape Australia, WWF, Te Manatū Whakahiato Ora Ministry of Social Development, ANZ and Tourism NZ.My role is to serve on the leadership team, help evolve our strategic offering, drive new business and support the global TBWA NEXT Collective to shape the future of brand experience.
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  • Tbwa\Worldwide
    Next Innovation & Futures Specialist
    Tbwa\Worldwide Jul 2021 - Present
    Wellington, Wellington Region, New Zealand
    NEXT is the global innovation practice of TBWA\Worldwide, designed to disrupt the future of brand experiences. Through NEXT we create the conditions for innovation to thrive so that we can imagine better experiences for customers that delivers impact for brands.
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  • Echos Desirable Futures Lab
    Futures Literacy \ Regional Lead Apac & Americas
    Echos Desirable Futures Lab Jun 2021 - Jun 2024
    Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
    Design, facilitation and education for progressive futures, using a Futures Design and Strategic Foresight approach. This ran as part of the ECHOS Design Leadership programme, created to fast track emerging design leaders into positions of impact.
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  • Capgemini
    Lead Strategist, Digital And Experience Design
    Capgemini Oct 2017 - Mar 2019
    Wellington & Wairarapa, New Zealand
    I worked with an interdisciplinary team of solution architects, data scienctists, experience designers, engineers and digital thinkers & builders.My role was to grow and manage an experience design team and integrate design more broadly into how we work as a technology services vendor.Clients: Waka Kotahi New Zealand Transport Association, Fire & Emergency New Zealand, Te Tari Taiwhenua Department of Internal Affairs, Te Puni Kōkiri Ministry of Māori Development, Toyota NZ, First Gas, etc.
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  • Mirum Agency
    Senior Strategist
    Mirum Agency May 2015 - Jul 2017
    Cape Town Area, South Africa
    I started off in a more traditional brand & strategic planning approach, then bridged into the 'make what's next' vision of Mirum to evolve our experience design & strategy services.Clients: Capitec Bank (6.2 million customers, $7.17 billion market cap, voted Best Bank in the World in global Lafferty Bank Quality Ratings), Unilever, Lobster Ink, the Start Network global NGO, the Distell Group and VANS.
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  • Den
    Founder
    Den Jan 2016 - Jun 2017
    Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa
    When I moved to the Kalahari desert, I started a remote digital strategy consultancy: brand, creative, data, content and web design. Clients include Capitec Bank, Primi Piatti, Distell Group, the DAL Group, L'Afrique Verte Eco Estate and Burn Stewart Distillers.
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  • Quirk
    Senior Creative Strategist
    Quirk Oct 2013 - May 2015
    Cape Town Area, South Africa
    Brand, campaign, social media, content strategy and strategic communications, including data & measurement.Clients: a range of brands under Distell Global ($1.01 billion revenue), Unilever, Capitec Bank and VANS.
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  • Quirk
    Agile Project Manager
    Quirk Apr 2013 - Oct 2013
    Cape Town Area, South Africa
    I joined Quirk, later to become Mirum, in April 2013 as an Agile PM working on the Capitec Bank and Pam Golding Properties corporate website builds. Founded by Rob Stokes and Craig Raw, Quirk was an upstart, progressive digital agency ahead of its time. We had a culture of 'Brave, Curious Minds' and bunch of creative and digital awards to our name.We got stuck into Agile methodology, and I somehow convinced the team to lock themselves in an oversized cupboard in a neighbouring advertising school in the middle of winter. We then cranked out a financial services website, which went on to win some major awards in 2014, including Loeries, Assegaais, Bookmarks and a Webby.
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  • Escriba
    Founder
    Escriba Jan 2012 - Jan 2015
    Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa
    A side gig for things that interested me: copywriting, books and design tools.
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  • Shapeshift
    Copywriter, Account Manager & Project Manager
    Shapeshift Oct 2010 - Mar 2013
    Durbanville, Cape Town
    Shapeshift is a digital agency situated close to Cape Town. As well as big custom website builds for financial services such as Old Mutual ($69.3 billion in assets), we created a user friendly website builder for small businesses named Webshift.I joined as a copywriter but took on other roles, during which we moved to a farm outside Cape Town and proceeded to become entirely self-sufficient in preparation for the inevitable techno-primitivist future.My main jobs included chief vegetable gardener, adventure racer and paintball sniper. There may also have been some account and project management, SEO, brand & content strategy and social media.
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  • Cámara De Comercio De Bilbao
    English Language Teacher
    Cámara De Comercio De Bilbao Jun 2008 - Jun 2009
    Bilbao, Basque Country, Spain
    I taught English as a foreign language to Spanish and Basque business professionals at the Chamber of Commerce in Bilbao, preparing my students for the Cambridge Intermediate and Advanced level exams. The Basque Country's pintxos and cañas are still the best foods in the world.
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  • Alice Lin School Of English
    English Language Teacher
    Alice Lin School Of English Mar 2006 - Feb 2007
    Luodong Township, Taiwan, Taiwan
    I taught kindergarten, high school and university students while living on the eastern coast of Taiwan. I moved there after reading an article in a surfing magazine about warm water and typhoon swell. It was a blast.
  • The Troubadour
    Chef
    The Troubadour Mar 1999 - Nov 2000
    265 Old Brompton Road, Earls Court, London
    The Troubadour is an iconic coffee house in Earl's Court that was a favourite of the young Bob Dylan, hosted Led Zeppelin after parties and had Charlie Watts as the house drummer before he joined the Rolling Stones. I washed dishes while learning to cook, surrounded by Bohemian characters, jazz, poetry, folk tunes and rock bands. The kitchen is still one of my happy places.

Stéphan Willemse Education Details

Frequently Asked Questions about Stéphan Willemse

What company does Stéphan Willemse work for?

Stéphan Willemse works for Merkle Aotearoa

What is Stéphan Willemse's role at the current company?

Stéphan Willemse's current role is Head of Digital Experience.

What schools did Stéphan Willemse attend?

Stéphan Willemse attended Victoria University Of Wellington, Stellenbosch University, University Of South Africa/universiteit Van Suid-Afrika, University Of Cape Town.

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