About this Event
Part 1 Finance The Invisible Architecture
Revenue is vanity. Profit is sanity. Cash flow is reality. This session pulls back the curtain on the financial mechanics most creative leaders were never taught pricing psychology, margin health, forecasting, and why some of the most celebrated studios still run out of money. A candid conversation with people who've seen the numbers behind the work.
Join Kafele Boothe, Head of Finance, North America at Design Bridge and Partners and David Werzinger, CFO at Smart Design, Jason Sophie, CFO at Beardwood&Co in conversation with Mike Perry of Tavern. More panelists to be announced.
The Business of Design is a three part, intimate roundtable series spotlighting the people who make great creative work possible but rarely get the spotlight.
Design is often celebrated through craft and creative vision. But behind every successful studio, agency, or in-house team is a group of operators, strategists, and leaders quietly holding the system together. Client services managing trust and expectations. Strategists shaping clarity and direction. Operations, finance, and HR building the conditions for sustainable work.
This series reframes “business” not as the enemy of creativity, but as its infrastructure.
Each session brings together experienced practitioners in a specific discipline for an honest, peer level conversation about what actually happens behind the scenes. Shared lessons and an open Q&A exchange with the audience.
Capped at 50 attendees, the goal is intimacy, candor, and usefulness. This is not about inspiration quotes. It’s about how the work actually gets done.
Panel
Kafele Boothe is a seasoned finance executive who thrives on helping creative and media organizations reach their full financial potential. Currently the Head of Finance, North America at Design Bridge and Partners (WPP), he has overseen a 16% YoY increase in revenue and a 7-percentage point increase in margin within his first year. While Kafele maintains a humble approach to leadership, the one area where humility evades him is his Microsoft Excel proficiency and technical skill.
His career includes progressive leadership roles at industry staples such as MediaCom, Interbrand, iCrossing, Hearts & Science, and PHD. A defining chapter of his global experience was spent during his three years living abroad in Haifa, where at the Bahá'í World Centre he stewarded an international investment portfolio and negotiated contracts with global asset management partners. Now based in Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn, Kafele is a dedicated mentor to agency staff across all levels and disciplines, and he regularly hosts discussions at his home focused on social issues, the advancement of humanity, and the betterment of the world.
Event Series: Fresh Dialogue
These events are critical discussions that focus on current events, issues of cultural relevance and emerging topics in the world of design.
Event Venue & Nearby Stays
Welcome to Chinatown, 115 Bowery, New York, United States
USD 47.72 to USD 139.97
