Architecture + Information (A+I) Bolsters C-Suite and Agency with Three Key Appointments
A+I Promotes Sommer Schauer to Chief Design Officer & Peter Knutson to Chief Strategy Officer; Natasha Markley-Moss Appointed to Executive Director of Marketing & Partnerships
Architecture + Information (A+I), the leading strategy-driven integrated architecture and design agency, has bolstered its C-suite with the promotion of Sommer Schauer to Chief Design Officer and Peter Knutson to Chief Strategy Officer. Schauer and Knutson will join the agency’s executive team with Chief Executive Officer Kate Thatcher and Co-Founders Brad Zizmor and Dag Folger.
Additionally, A+I has strengthened its marketing function with the hiring of creative agency veteran, Natasha Markley-Moss, who will serve as Executive Director of Marketing & Partnerships and focus on deepening the agency’s understanding of clients’ needs to aid the business growth and fostering the development of the A+I brand.
Among the first actions of Thatcher since her recent promotion to CEO, the appointments and new hire reflect A+I’s continued evolution to meet the changing needs of the world’s most innovative organizations, brands and developers, through a strategy-driven approach to architecture and design.
“Elevating Sommer and Peter to these executive roles and appointing Natasha emphasizes the evolution of our business and underpins the interconnectivity of strategy and design within everything we do at every level of the agency” said Thatcher. “Our integrated approach and our investigative lens allow us to solve increasingly complex problems and build more meaningful, complete and integrated design solutions for our clients.”
The integration of design and strategy to the executive team mirrors A+I’s client approach, advancing a client-centric leadership structure unique to the design industry. Seminal A+I projects spearheaded by Schauer and Knutson include the selection, build out, and expansion of Horizon Media’s multifloored downtown Manhattan headquarters, the renovation and repositioning of Vornado Realty Trust’s iconic, 4 million-square-foot Merchandise Mart in Chicago, and the design and construction of Peloton’s new corporate headquarters in New York and flagship studios in both New York and London.
As Chief Design Officer leading a team of more than 50 creative professionals, Schauer will oversee the production and continued growth of A+I’s services, including brand, experience, interior and graphic design. Schauer’s team will build on her more than 20 years of experience at A+I, continuing to demonstrate that strategy-driven architecture and design can, through space, offer companies and organizations solutions that drive culture and articulate the mission of a business.
“I’m excited to build on my 23 years’ experience at A+I as the agency’s first Chief Design Officer and advance our design competencies to meet the changing needs of the clients we serve,” said Schauer.
Bringing inter-disciplinary thought leadership to the role of Chief Strategy Officer, Knutson will guide clients through deep explorations of program and employee needs. Through these processes, Knutson’s team identifies approaches to address communication, management, outreach, desire and image through client-centered strategies that employ narrative to unify architecture, organization, brand and experience design.
“A+I was one of the first architecture and design agencies to develop a fully integrated platform with strategy services in-house, which I am proud to lead in the role of Chief Strategy Officer,” Knutson added. “We lead with a devotion to achieve a deeper understanding of client challenges through a rich exploration of information. In my new role, I am excited to redouble A+I’s unparalleled investigative approach.”
Markley comes to A+I with 15 years of leadership experience at some of the world’s most creative companies such as Ogilvy Advertising, W+K, New York Times, having led award-winning campaigns for brands like Nokia, NBC Sports and Blink Fitness. In her role as Executive Director of Marketing and Partnerships, Markley will help further define and build A+I’s brand to drive business growth, identifying purpose-driven partners and creating new models for engagement that will help the agency further cement its position as a leader in the integrated design and architecture industry. She will also help evolve the agency’s offering to best meet clients changing needs.
“A+I is pushing this industry forward in progressive ways, partnering with organizations and businesses to reimagine the future of the workplace and cities,” Markley reflected. “This moment in history has exposed how critical the physical spaces we occupy are and I am thrilled to join A+I at this transformative time for both the agency and the innovative clients that we serve.”
“We want our work to have a positive impact on the world, reverberating beyond conversations just within architecture, design and closely linked-industries,” said Thatcher. “Natasha’s unique experience throughout her career and approach to this role will ensure A+I’s offering to clients is influenced by ongoing conversations with a growing number of forward-thinking organizations and companies across industries. This will ensure the continued evolution of our strategy-driven approach to design and architecture.”