Visiting Lecturer
Feb 2023 | Feb 2024
I was invited to be a guest speaker on the BA (Hons) Fashion Branding with Communication course (for all levels) at Leeds Art University. I presented What is a Brand Extension? followed by a Q&A, crit session and feedback for first year (Level 4) students as they initiated a brief to create their own Roald Dahl Brand Extension concept with a Fashion Brand of their choice.
This year, I have returned to set a live brief for the students, which they will pitch back to me in late Spring.
Brand Designs Panelist
October 2022
I was invited to be a panelist at the Brand Licensing Europe conference in London's ExCel centre, to mark the launch of the inaugural Brands Untapped 100. Brands Untapped’s Billy Langsworthy chaired the session with myself and two creative leaders from the licensing industry, exploring the creative strategies and design thinking that goes into crafting authentic, successful brand extensions.
Testimonials
Natalie - Director of Product and Partnerships
Steph has a unique set of skills which blends creativity, strategic thinking and leadership skills. Steph's leadership style is inclusive and empowering, motivating their team members to excel and inspiring them to think outside the box.
Steph's exceptional communication skills and ability to articulate ideas makes Steph an invaluable member of any team whilst navigating through wider business goals.
Steph has an innate talent for understanding consumer behaviour and translating it into compelling brand experiences that drive engagement whilst keeping the core IP values, adapting style guides and design principles as consumer trends evolve with new formats required for our characters. I've had the pleasure of working with Steph across immersive restaurant experiences, FMCG new product development, digital campaigns and have watched from afar Steph's fantastic strategic creativity developing a full brand universe for the breadth of Roald Dahl's worlds at a Global level with film studios, Netflix content, publishing and licensing.
I was gutted when Steph decided to move on from Roald Dahl, as she was an exceptional talent who I thoroughly loved working with and who was a true forward thinker. I can't wait to see what she achieves next, and I'd recommend her to anyone!
Emma, Independent Strategy Consultant
Steph is an amazingly collaborative and empathetic Creative Director. Comprehensive but crystal clear briefing, deep knowledge and love for her product and always open to new perspectives and way of thinking. We worked on a beauty of a project together, made all the more perfect with Steph's direction.
Bob, COO and Co-Founder of US Licensing Agency, Brand Activation Consulting (BAC)
When Stephanie took over licensing at Roald Dahl, it would have been easy to settle for the status quo. As a long time licensed brand in the UK, Dahl had a long history of success in using a traditional licensing model and like many well established brands, change is difficult.
Yet, the status quo was not growing the business. In just three years, Steph has completely changed the way that Dahl licensing is done.A rare breed in licensing, Steph’s answer is rarely “no”, rather “why?” and “how?” She is an innovator, equally skilled in both creative and business and truly one of the most influential leaders that I’ve worked with in my 20+ years in licensing.