Verve announces senior Advisory Board in preparation for international growth
London, 21st May 2009, Verve, the specialists in customer advisory panels and online brand communities, today announces Professor Patrick Barwise, Gareth Firth and David Packford as founder members of the Verve Advisory Board. The purpose of the Advisory Board is to allow the business to tap into the skills of a talented pool of individuals to assist Verve build both thought and service leadership in preparation for international expansion. Each member will have specific areas of focus to help the business develop. Patrick (Paddy) Barwise is Emeritus Professor of Management and Marketing at London Business School. He has published on a wide range of topics including audience and consumer behaviour, new media, advertising and branding. His last book, “Simply Better”, won the American Marketing Association’s 2005 prize for the best recent book in marketing. He is a Fellow of the Marketing Society, a frequent conference speaker, a consultant, and an experienced expert witness. He was also a founding investor in, and advisor to, the online fieldwork company Research Now, co‐founded by Andrew Cooper, Partner and CEO of Verve. Paddy will contribute to the Verve model of “How Online Brand Communities Work” which is being developed by Mike Hall, the founder of Hall & Partners and author of their model of how advertising works. Mike is a co‐founder and partner at Verve. Gareth Firth was a senior partner at PA Consulting Group – the global Management and Technology Consultancy comprising some 3,000 staff. During his time with PA’s Business Transformation Group, he led many major assignments, focusing on helping high skill professional organisations improve their effectiveness. Two of his assignments received awards from The Management Consultancies Association. Prior to joining PA, Gareth spent 12 years as a Civil Engineer and he is a graduate of the University of Cambridge. Verve Partners Limited Linton House |164‐180 Union Street | London | SE1 0LH | Tel: +44 (0)20 7928 4314