Prophet’s Commitment to Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
We’re working to diversify and educate our team, pledging $4 million to create a more just world.
We were overwhelmed, in the best way possible, with the discussions we had within Prophet to do more and better in the face of systemic racism, particularly as it impacts the Black community in the US. When it comes to making Prophet a diverse, equitable and inclusive workplace, the hard work – the intensive transformational work – lies ahead. Our first step is to make a set of specific and measurable commitments as a firm.
These are Prophet’s commitments to promote racial and social equity both within our firm and our broader communities.
1. Diversify Our Firm
Bring in Black team members across every level of the firm. From Board members to partners to consultants, with goals set starting in 2021.
2. Bring in External Expertise
Hire a DEI-specific recruiter in 2020 and a global head of DEI by 2021.
3. Focus on Education
Develop firmwide training programs focused on antiracism, micro-aggressions, inclusivity and bias. This includes a suite of ongoing training and learning opportunities to further understanding, education and dialogue on issues of diversity and belonging. These global initiatives will be designed to ensure the ability of our teams to launch and participate in self-identifying affinity groups.
4. Support Racial Justice Externally
Commit over $4 million of pro-bono hours over the next five years, to organizations committed to racial justice.
We are just as passionate about growing our people as we are about growing our clients’ businesses, and we’ve long been committed to welcoming the entire person to work every day. We know we need to do more encourage and amplify the voices of all employees. We continue to strive to be fearlessly human and unexpectedly irreverent, welcoming the entire person to the office every day.
Winner of our “Propheteer of the Year” award talks about openness, agility and empathy.
Dency quite literally stumbled upon Prophet. One day, when she was visiting Hong Kong University of Science and Technology’s MBA office, she spotted an ad for a part-time job analyzing Prophet’s signature global report, the Prophet Brand Relevance Index. She applied, and the rest is history. The following summer she interned at Prophet’s Hong Kong office, where she dove right into project experiences with the co-workers she now considers a second family.
An experienced problem-solver with a collaborative approach, Dency is a key player in our newest office in Singapore. As an Engagement Manager, Dency focuses on building meaningful relationships with her clients, helping them achieve success in their roles while bringing ideas to life through pilot test-and-learn and execution.
Dency’s impact at Prophet has not gone unnoticed. She was honored with the coveted “Propheteer of the Year” award at the annual Aaker Awards ceremony – our annual global employee recognition awards. Learn more about Dency…
How do you describe Prophet’s culture to your friends?
Prophet’s culture is very open, nimble and entrepreneurial. I’ve met so many people with unique backgrounds, talents and perspectives across Prophet. There’s great flexibility at work, with ample opportunities to travel. Speaking up is highly encouraged regardless of seniority and everyone is treated as a valuable member of the Prophet family.
What’s one piece of professional advice that has stuck with you most?
“Be the kind of person who can put yourself in someone else’s shoes and understand something not just from your own perspective but from theirs as well.”
“She was honored with the coveted “Propheteer of the Year” award at the annual Aaker Awards ceremony – our annual global employee recognition awards.”
What has been your biggest challenge since starting at Prophet? How did you get through it?
One of the biggest challenges I faced was being tasked with turning around a sizeable project that was not delivering to client’s expectations. It was truly a “sink or swim” situation. Within the first day, I had to quickly organize and prioritize key tasks, ask for additional resources and divide key deliverables into manageable pieces to be socialized with the client. Thankfully, the Prophet team was very supportive with an “all-hands-on-deck” approach. In true Prophet fashion, we did it, together, and the client was impressed with the work we were able to deliver within a short timeframe.
If you could call yourself five years ago, what would you say? What if you could call 10 years into the future?
If I could call myself five years ago, I would thank myself for following my heart and taking the leap of faith to leave my comfort zone. I had been working at the Monetary Authority of Singapore for the first five years of my career then. While I was satisfied in my job, I was eager to try something new though I wasn’t sure what I really wanted to do. So I went to business school where I discovered a world of opportunities and had the time to reflect on my purpose in life. I came across an opportunity to spend my summer interning at Prophet Hong Kong and the journey has since been exhilarating and rewarding.
If I could call 10 years into the future, I would congratulate myself for getting through the “toughest” decade of growth and remind myself to keep having a learning mindset while staying true to my purpose and values as I gain new experiences.
You’ve taken the time to meet the rockstars behind our work. Now, how can we help? Let’s chat.
We are just as passionate about growing our people as we are about growing our clients’ businesses. We encourage our employees to be fearlessly human and unexpectedly irreverent and motivate employees to think freely. From novice interns to seasoned executives, we all contribute to the transformative thinking that our clients crave.
Winner of our Aaker Award describes how Prophet is “just corporate enough.”
Jarrett, an Engagement Manager in our San Francisco office, has spent his career up and down the California coast. He grew up in Orange County and went to UC Berkeley where he studied political science as an undergrad. He was there for a while, working at a startup and digital political strategy firm before venturing down Highway 1, landing at UCLA where he earned his MBA. Following business school, Jarrett found his way back up to the Bay Area and Prophet – attracted by the firm’s diverse portfolio of clients with interesting business challenges.
Today, Jarrett is a pivotal member of our West Coast team, working as a hybrid strategist and verbal branding specialist with clients across many industries including B2B/B2C tech, media & entertainment, hospitality, travel, and many more. In the office, you can find him cracking jokes or leading his teams in spontaneous 1-minute plank exercises (famous in our SF office) to break up the workday.
At our “Aaker Awards” – Prophet’s annual employee awards ceremony – Jarrett was honored for his commitment to the Prophet value, “Fearlessly human.” Get to know Jarrett…
What kind of work do you love doing with your clients?
One of the advantages of working at Prophet is the diversity of work we do. It’s honestly hard to choose one type of work for this answer. I’m most stimulated when I’m working very closely and collaboratively with clients—it’s that feeling of true partnership that I love most. Cross-functional or global projects are interesting too since it affords us the opportunity to understand business or brand opportunities from a range of perspectives.
Walk me through an ideal day at Prophet. What does it look like?
My ideal day begins with some quiet thinking and working time at my desk, then hopefully continues with a mix of that quiet time and some level of interactivity (collaborative internal or client meetings). A day with exclusively one or the other is tough! Throw in some time to devote to an internal firm-building initiative too.
“Jarrett was honored for his commitment to the Prophet value, “Fearlessly human.””
How do you describe what you do to your relatives?
I say that we partner with companies to help them unlock growth—and that there is so much that can fall under that. It could mean renaming a brand, determining which new products or experiences to invest in, how to most effectively leverage data to attract customers—and so, so, so much more.
How do you describe Prophet’s culture to your friends?
I point to our corporate values and say they authentically represent what it’s like to work at Prophet. I think Prophet’s culture (and the people who make it real) is one of the best parts of the job.
Which one of Prophet’s values do you resonate most with and why?
I’d have to say Fearlessly Human. I think the fact that we’re “Just Corporate Enough” (another Prophet value) means that people feel comfortable bringing their whole, authentic selves to work—which makes people genuinely like coming in to work each day. It also makes for a place where we aren’t afraid to push each other to think differently, which not only makes for a great place to grow personally and professionally but better output for our clients.
We are just as passionate about growing our people as we are about growing our clients’ businesses. We encourage our employees to be fearlessly human and unexpectedly irreverent, and motivate employees to think freely. From novice interns to seasoned executives, we all contribute to the transformative thinking that our clients crave.
Celebrating the Work That Helped Us Rank as a Top Consulting Firm
A closer look at just four of our amazing clients helps explain why Prophet is so special.
Prophet was named on Forbes’ list of America’s Best Management Consulting Firms for 2020. We are honored to be recognized as a top consulting firm based on feedback from both industry peers and brand executives.
Our success has been, and will always be, a testament to our people-first culture and client relationships. We’ve helped some of the world’s largest companies develop strategies to drive growth – from brand to customer experience to employee engagement to digital product and service design. And we’ve had plenty of fun along the way. (“Enjoying the ride” is one of our company values…)
Let’s take a trip down memory lane to revisit some of our client projects:
MeUndies
One of the hottest D2C brands, MeUndies, partnered with Prophet to finesse its product, marketing and experience strategies to drive growth to the segments that mattered most. We expanded its customer base by tapping into consumer insights – leading to an acceleration of its customer acquisition by double digits year over year.
What was the most challenging part of the project? What about the most rewarding?
The most challenging, and most rewarding aspect of the project was the vertical leap in precision and maturity in how MeUndies understands its customers. As a young organization built on the vision of its founder, they had a passionate, but narrow definition of a single target customer. Our work brought a deeper, nuanced understanding of different customer segments and opportunities which they channeled into every piece of the business.
Our work brought a deeper, nuanced understanding of different customer segments and opportunities which they channeled into every piece of the business.
By the end of our project, we had also partnered with their teams in building this capability from the ground up. The results were far-reaching and hard won.
What is your favorite memory from working with MeUndies?
Inspired by a local art studio gallery walk, we incorporated augmented reality into our final presentation to bring our quantitative findings to life. We filmed our very own Propheteers attributed to their MeUndies “segment,” talking about their fashion and underwear habits (yep, we went there). We then used an iPad-based AR app to make the videos appear on screen whenever we pointed the camera at certain pieces of data on our segment boards. This was no small feat, and we had no idea how the client would react, but our favorite memory is the look of astonishment on their faces when holding an iPad up to one of our segment boards revealed a video of our coworker materializing to share her delight in the marvelous apparel of a local thrift shop (which was so on segment!). The moment was equal parts surprise on their end and welcomed relief on ours. It was definitely a risk well taken.
How would you describe the project experience in a hashtag?
#GOTEAM! (A rallying hashtag the team used frequently)
Prophet created the brand positioning and visual identity for Marriott’s signature Cantonese restaurant, Man Ho. After thorough research, Prophet developed an entirely new brand inspired by the idea of taking diners through a culinary adventure through time. The work was implemented across Mainland China and Hong Kong and received a bronze award at the Transform Awards Asia-Pacific 2019.
Isadora Jones, Engagement Manager
What was the most challenging part of the project? What about the most rewarding?
The most challenging part was coming up with something truly unique in a category with a lot of existing players. Hong Kong has many traditional Cantonese restaurants so we had to dig deep in the history of Man Ho and into the chef’s approach to find a unique angle on which to build the positioning. The iterative approach we took, coupled with our work with the team and the chef to uncover unique insights was a truly rewarding experience.
What is your favorite memory from working with Marriott?
Our favorite aspect of the work with Marriott was taking the work from strategic concept all the way to asset creation. A highlight of this project was supervising the photoshoot in the JW Marriott Guangzhou, where we got to collaborate with the clients, the chef and the photographer, learning how the food was made. We even got to try some!
How would you describe the project experience in a hashtag?
Prophet worked with Electrolux, the multinational home appliance manufacturer, to understand their target customer’s journey. Together, through a partnership with Innit, a San Francisco-based food startup, Prophet and Electrolux satisfied unmet needs to bring cooking experiences to life. The joint experience, Electrolux TasteOS, launched in early 2019.
Samantha Papadakis, Senior Engagement Manager, Digital
What was the most challenging part of the project? What about the most rewarding?
This was truly first-in-kind work for Electrolux, taking a more software and partnership-led approach to the future strategy around a broader Electrolux ecosystem for connected living. As they evolved on their journey – from a product engineering organization to an experience-led company – this was a critical step. Furthermore, it required bringing in new software-led partners to complement their hardware-led heritage & strengths. It was a great experience for the team to learn about the new areas required to deliver on a more software-led ecosystem strategy – from software to product management and beyond. The work itself – deciding on the value proposition Electrolux could deliver – was incredibly intellectually stimulating. Also, we had these amazing extra elements of finding new frontiers on ways of working, partnership models, skills, etc.
What is your favorite memory from working with Electrolux?
We visited the Innit studios in Silicon Valley, where we held a multi-day hackathon session to ideate on specific use cases. We were able to come together as one team – Electrolux product owners, technologists, the Innit partners, and Prophet – to create a joint vision and roadmap for how the TasteOS ecosystem could come to life. It was great to have the opportunity to visit and tour the Innit facilities, where we saw some revolutionary R&D in the connected kitchen space.
We were able to come together as one team – Electrolux product owners, technologists, the Innit partners, and Prophet – to create a joint vision and roadmap for how the TasteOS ecosystem could come to life. It was great to have the opportunity to visit and tour the Innit facilities, where we saw some revolutionary R&D in the connected kitchen space.
How would you describe the project experience in a hashtag?
Moneyfarm, one of Europe’s largest digital wealth management companies, teamed up with Allianz Global Investors to launch a new multi-asset product in Germany. Prophet helped develop a brand architecture that communicated the value of the product developed out of a collaboration between a fintech startup and a financial institution. Just one month after launch, Moneyfarm saw a significant jump in client activation and investments of over $1M.
Tosson El Noshokaty, Partner
What was the most challenging part of the project? What about the most rewarding?
Our project was about the market entry strategy for Germany, including creating a value proposition and brand strategy localization. The biggest challenge was to maneuver between the Moneyfarm Team (young, confident, savvy Italian entrepreneurs) and the more traditional corporate investor culture of Allianz. The biggest reward was that all of our recommendations were implemented, activated and they have even taken our brand narrative adaptions to their other countries.
What is your favorite memory from working with Moneyfarm?
The entire project was a ‘hell of a ride’ and quite fun. It was a typical start-up working under enormous time pressure.. We moved very quickly into an agile, SCRUM-based working structure and our clients helped us early to adapt to their approach. Our team enjoyed the collaborative approach, which pulled everyone in – even the most senior Allianz stakeholders.
How would you describe the project experience in a hashtag?
We are just as passionate about growing our people as we are about growing our clients’ businesses. We encourage our employees to be fearlessly human and unexpectedly irreverent, welcoming the entire person to the office every day. We motivate our employees to think freely, push ideas and imagine possibilities. And we have a lot of fun while we are at it.
Lindsey explains why she loves working with the financial-services team, and what sets Prophet apart from other consultants.
A born and bred New Yorker, Lindsey loves a good challenge. In fact, she prides herself on being able to take on complex problems and identify the right solutions. With an undergrad degree from Cornell and an MBA from Columbia and a consultant background prior to joining Prophet, she has sought to apply her knowledge to help deliver customer-focused growth strategies for her clients. All that said, it is working alongside teams of fun, smart, and determined Propheteers that she identified as a key to her success.
As a Senior Engagement Manager in our New York office, Lindsey focuses on helping financial services clients truly understand their customers and helps them align their products, services, and experiences easier to customer needs. Get to know Lindsey more…
Walk me through an ideal day at Prophet. What does it look like?
“My ideal day at Prophet starts with a great breakfast and would involve spending time with the team first thing, figuring out priorities for the day. Then, we’d spend a few hours doing some problem solving and thinking through what solutions might look like for a client problem. Then, I’d hop on the subway for a client meeting, wrap up the day with a regroup with the team to talk about next steps or potential business development opportunities, all before heading home to pick up my son.”
How do you describe Prophet’s culture to your friends?
“I always say that our culture is really focused on problem-solving as a team. Regardless of your level, the team will want you to have a point of view when it comes to solving our client’s toughest challenges. It’s also fun! We are all-in and focused, but we have a good time while doing the work and we really support one another, whether it be personally or professionally.”
Which one of Prophet’s values do you resonate most with and why?
“Fearlessly Human, Unexpectedly Irreverent. I love that I can bring my whole self to work and have my work taken seriously, without having to take myself too seriously.”
Do you have any mentors in your life? If yes, who?
“Yes, I have so many mentors at Prophet. People like my good friends, Davis Ward and Lily Peleg, and female leaders like, Marisa Mulvihill, Chiaki Nishino and Merritt Robinson. They help me balance what matters in my career with my matters to me as a person. They help me see the big picture, teach me new things every day, and are people I love being around.”
“As a Senior Engagement Manager in our New York office, Lindsey focuses on helping financial services clients truly understand their customers and helps them align their products, services, and experiences easier to customer needs.”
You’ve taken the time to meet the rockstars behind our work. Now, how can we help? Let’s chat.
We are just as passionate about growing our people as we are about growing our clients’ businesses. We encourage our employees to be fearlessly human and unexpectedly irreverent, welcoming the entire person to the office every day. We motivate our employees to think freely, push ideas and imagine possibilities. And we have a lot of fun while we are at it.
Watch as our employees pour their heart, soul and sweat into pro-bono efforts.
2 min
Summary
On Prophet for Nonprofit day, Propheteers put their regular work responsibilities on pause and shift their energies toward volunteering or helping local charities solve a brand, business or marketing challenge.
To date we’ve helped over 140 nonprofits around the globe grow better; as a result, the charities we serve are better equipped to deliver on their missions to make the world a safer, healthier and happier place. These are the highlights from our teams, who helped nonprofits “do good across the globe” on Prophet for Nonprofit Day 2019.
Supporting Progress On and Off the Field with the US Women’s National Team
This major branding effort for women’s soccer has been a labor of love, amplifying women’s voices everywhere.
Nearly four years ago the US Women’s National Team (USWNT) defeated Japan 5-2 to win their third World Cup in front of the largest TV audience (26 million) in U.S. soccer history. In 2015, some of America’s most famous footballers – including Alex Morgan, Abby Wambach and Carli Lloyd – were building on the success of 1999 World Cup champions like Mia Hamm, Julie Foudy and Brandi Chastain, while making a case for equal pay with their US Men’s National Team counterparts.
Since then, our champions have been leading the charge for equality, both on and off the field, by elevating the level of the women’s game and fighting for causes like gender equality, parity to the US men’s team in terms of pay, coaching and medical treatment, frequency of games, quality of fields and even how they train and how they travel to matches.
Prophet is proud to support the USWNT players as they look to repeat as World Cup Champions and more importantly, make advances in their fight for progress.
As part of our Prophet Impact (formerly Prophet for Nonprofit) initiative, a team of strategists, designers, copywriters and developers volunteered to create a new brand and digital experience to capture the essence of the players—both as world-class athletes and as passionate activists. All the spirit, hard work and positive energy has been channeled into a new brand: OOSA.
Introducing OOSA
The name OOSA is a nod to the team’s 20-year-long tradition of players chanting “OOSA, OOSA, OOSA-AHHHH,” as a rallying cry before they take the pitch. And now, OOSA is a brand, that capitalizes on the collective value of the players, while providing an avenue for supporters to get involved in their efforts to push for meaningful progress. The brand provides something tangible to rally behind while helping to defray the cost each player incurs to lead the cause for change.
Prophet is thrilled to share the new OOSA website and brand video, just in time for the 2019 Women’s World Cup.
Chant with Us
We are proud of the yearlong effort of many Propheteers to help build a brand that supports a cause that aligns so closely with our values as a firm. Our partnership with OOSA is just one element of our dedicated effort to elevate women and strengthen their voices, and we look forward to continuing our partnership with such an inspiring and passionate group of powerful women. In the meantime, we wish the team the best of luck throughout the World Cup. And while we’re a global team, don’t be surprised if you hear chants of “OOSA, OOSA, OOSA-AHHHH,” vibrating from Prophet offices across the US.
“The name OOSA is a nod to the team’s 20-year-long tradition of players chanting “OOSA, OOSA, OOSA-AHHHH,” as a rallying cry before they take the pitch.”
To learn more about the USWNT Players Association initiative and OOSA brand visit their website. You can also learn more about Prophet Impact and the Women in Leadership initiative by exploring our website.
Celebrating a great year with happy numbers–new hires, new transfers, new babies.
2 min
Summary
For the last decade, the powers of technology and a hard-working task force have enabled Propheteers from around the globe to come together and join in celebration of the year’s many accomplishments and to spread a little holiday cheer. It’s late in the evening (and fun-filled!) for our Asian colleagues, and very (very!) early for our friends on the West coast of the US (where Santa-themed pajamas have become the norm for attire). No matter the time zone, we’re all there because it’s our annual Prophet Year in Review. The celebration has become an occasion to catch up, toast our colleagues across the globe and celebrate all that makes us uniquely Prophet.
We Had a Wonderful 2018 at Prophet
The Year in Review is a celebration of culture and personality, client successes and personal milestones. From the amount of tea drunk by designers in London, to the total hours spent building PowerPoint decks by our strategists in Asia, to the number of different segments named by our data scientists in Chicago, we celebrate. From big marketing wins (hello Brand Relevance Index®), to the number of airline miles traveled, to the number of new Propheteers that joined the firm, all major milestones get a nod. And it has been quite a remarkable year.
We invite you to peek into what we think makes our firm so special and see some of what we celebrated together. 2018 was amazing. Here’s to a happy, successful and safe 2019!
Happy New Year indeed: We crunch the numbers of promotions, publications and a new office–Hello, Shanghai!
2 min
Summary
Prophet continuously grows bigger and better year after year as we serve the world’s most recognizable brands. In 2017, we celebrated big things – from promotions to bouncing babies to trips around the world – with our dedicated team of Propheteers. Check out our journey through 2017 in this annual year in review video.
