The usual
Principals /
Saffron is led by three principals:
Ian, Jacob and Wally.
Wally Olins CBE – Chairman
Wally co-founded the brand consultancy Wolff Olins.
He led the team that reinvented the BT brand. Other clients included Orange, 3i, Akzo-Nobel, Repsol, Q8, The Portuguese Tourist Board, Prudential, Renault and Volkswagen.
He is recognised as perhaps the world’s most experienced brand practitioner. He has also worked with several countries, regions and cities on branding issues.
He is a Visiting Fellow at the Saïd Business School at Oxford, Lancaster University and Copenhagen Business School and frequent commentator on branding. He has written six books including the seminal Corporate Identity, first published in 1989.
Born in London and educated at Oxford, Wally was awarded a CBE in 1999.
Jacob Benbunan – CEO
Jacob established Wolff Olins in Madrid in 1991. He developed brand programmes in Spain, Latin America and France for clients like Repsol, BNP Paribas, Union Fenosa, Orange, Ono, Saint-Gobain, Vivendi, Banco Security, Mabe and Ixe.
Jacob left in 2000 to help position Ono as a key player in the Spanish broadband market. In 2001 he left to start Saffron. Before Wolff Olins, Jacob led Strategy Services at KPMG in Madrid.
At Saffron, Jacob has led projects in telecoms (Turkcell, Connex, Yoigo), finance (Bankinter, Capital One), technology (Indra, Mondragón) and airlines (Vueling).
Jacob holds a Masters in Industrial Management and a BS in Industrial Engineering both from Boston University.
Ian Stephens
Ian brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise in leading global branding programmes in a number of market sectors including professional services and consumer goods. He has led major branding programmes for international law firms Weil, Gotshal & Manges and Linklaters, as well as the global brand programme for consumer goods company Unilever.
Other clients include PricewaterhouseCoopers, ABN AMRO, Ford, PepsiCo, Compaq, and Microsoft.
He joined Saffron from Wolff Olins where he was a member of the European management team, and is a frequent speaker, commentator and writer on branding issues.
Ian graduated from Bristol University with a BA in Economics.