Otley Joins Prophet as Senior Partner, Supporting European Expansion

SAN FRANCISCO and LONDON, February 14, 2011 /PRNewswire/ --

As part of strategic brand and marketing consultancy Prophet's ongoing European expansion, it announced today that Philip Otley has joined the firm as senior partner.

Otley, who will be based in Prophet's London office, is a marketing strategist with deep experience in maximizing the impact of marketing within a company as well as in the marketplace. Most recently the founder of Profit Insight Partners, he previously led the European pricing and profit optimization strategy practice of Accenture.

"Philip's appointment supports the continued widening of our global footprint and our commitment to meld the science and art of brand and marketing," said Rune Gustafson, who recently joined Prophet as president of its EMEA operations in Berlin, Hamburg, London, Madrid, and Zurich. "Along with the recent acquisition of German Consultancy Noshokaty, Doring & Thun, Philip's commercial and marketing strategy leadership complements our brand, design and innovation strengths within Europe."

"He will be instrumental in helping us deliver on our commitment to better serve current European clients, and build important new client relationships," Gustafson added. Prophet works with blue chip European clients such as Allianz, Deutsche Telekom, DKSH, Postbank, and, Zurich Financial, among others.

Otley, who started his career in sales and marketing with IBM, also worked client-side for Australian telecommunications leader Telstra Corp. His client engagements have taken him across a variety of businesses in Europe, Asia, the Americas, and Oceania. While his main sector focus has been media, high tech, and telecommunications, Otley also has considerable experience with financial services, consumer goods, and natural resources companies.

"I'm excited to join the Prophet team at an important point in the firm's development in Europe and globally. I'm attracted to Prophet not just for what they do for clients, but also for how they go about working with leaders to transform their businesses using brand as a guiding light," said Otley. "It's a refreshing way to address challenging and important issues."

Prophet (www.prophet.com), headquartered in San Francisco, is a strategic brand and marketing consultancy that helps its clients win by delivering inspired and actionable ideas. Its vice chairman is noted author and branding expert David Aaker; visit his blog: http://www.davidaaker.com. For additional information, please contact shodge@hodgemediastrategies.com (U.S. inquiries), sjeanmougin@prophet.com (E.U. inquiries), or visit http://www.prophet.com.