July, 2026.- For nearly eight years, Amanda Szylo Duncan was Managing Director and Head of Strategy at Interbrand, one of the world’s largest brand consultancies. Now she has joined Houston Group, an independent consultancy that has been building its reputation for fifteen years. What drew her was the energy and closeness—between the team and with clients. The leadership team is incredibly hands-on and genuinely cares about the work and the people behind it.
In this interview, Amanda Szylo Duncan discusses what an independent consultancy offers that a global giant cannot: less red tape, faster movement from thinking to doing, closer client relationships, and a more integrated way of working. With some of the best strategic brains in the business, joining forces with other curious thinkers and pushing forward together is exactly what she was looking for.
Szylo also addresses the idea of “commercially grounded” brand solutions. To put it simply, commercial groundedness means the brand work has to be an enabler of growth, not just a reflection of where the business is today. That means the work has to connect to how the business actually makes money, or how it wants to in the future. It starts with asking different questions earlier. Not just “What does this brand stand for?” but also “How does this business make money now, and will that change?”, “What decision does this need to enable?”, and “Who needs to act on this and will they be able to?” In her first 90 days, that means spending time with clients and asking questions early. Listening before delivering.
On the changing nature of client briefs, Amanda Szylo Duncan notes that we are at a genuinely significant moment of change. Many old systems are no longer working. We are being asked to keep doing our jobs at the same time as unlearning how we have been doing them, driven by the introduction of AI at a pace she has not seen in her career. Extended timeframes are increasingly rare. Businesses are moving faster, and the job is learning how to bring the same rigor to a shorter runway. The constant is the role as the outside expert view on clients’ businesses. They are moving just as fast facing all of this change. The privilege is coming in upstream and working with them to charter the course.
Finally, Amanda Szylo Duncan reflects on moving across categories. At the core, what stays the same is the strategic foundation: helping clients identify the best future destination and defining the most effective path to get there. But switching categories is a genuine muscle flex. It is about intellectual flexibility over having all the answers. The best thinking often comes from not assuming the rules of the last category apply to the next one.
- From Interbrand to Houston: You spent nearly eight years at Interbrand as Managing Director and Head of Strategy. What does an independent consultancy like Houston offer that a global giant like Interbrand couldn’t, and what will you miss?
I haven’t worked in an independent agency for nearly a decade, and what immediately stood out was the energy and closeness – between the team, and with clients. Stu and the exec leadership team he’s built with Stace, Gretel, Alex C. and Alex T, are all incredibly hands-on and genuinely care about the work and the people behind it.
We have some of the best strategic brains in the business, and that excites me to no end. Joining forces with other curious thinkers and pushing forward together is exactly what I was looking for. You’ve got a powerful team here: Cara bringing over a decade at Houston, with deep experience and a strong understanding of both the work and the clients; and Chloe, who joined last year from Design Studio (now Further) with experience across different markets, bringing a fresh, outside-in perspective. It creates a genuinely complementary and unique dynamic.
There’s also a strong partnership culture at Houston, and that directly translates into the work. With less red tape, we can move faster from thinking to doing, stay closer to our clients, and work in a more integrated way. From what I’ve seen, it allows us to stay flexible in how we solve problems. We’re focused on solutions that are immediately useful and fit for purpose, not just a fixed artefact list.
I’m also really excited to be working again with Alex Creamer, who was my creative partner for almost six years at Interbrand. We share a real belief in the power of brand thinking and the impact that great brand work can have, so the opportunity to work together and with the entire creative team, is also big Houston draw card.
- The Competitor to Collaborator Shift: Stuart O’Brien said Houston has “gone up against you more than once.” Now you’re on the same side. What did you learn about Houston’s strategic weaknesses when you were competing against them that you’re now hired to fix?
I’ve followed Houston for a long time and have always been interested in what drives their success.
The longevity of client relationships, the great humans who work here, the quality of the work, and the diversity of challenges that come Houston’s way always felt special and rare.
From our conversations, it’s clear I’m not joining to fix anything — it’s about adding to something that’s already been working for fifteen years.
I bring a different experience to the table: eight years at Interbrand and more at the agencies before that. As I settle into the role, it’ll be about combining Houston’s magic with my own experience to sharpen and evolve what we offer strategically.
- Commercial Groundedness: Houston promises “commercially grounded brand solutions.” In a world where brand consultants often deliver beautiful but unactionable frameworks, what does “commercially grounded” mean in your first 90 days?
To put it simply “Commercially grounded” means our brand work has to be an enabler of growth, not just a reflection of where the business is today. That means the work has to connect to how the business actually makes money, or how it wants to in the future.
It starts with asking different questions earlier. Not just “what does this brand stand for?” but also “how does this business make money now, and will that change?”, “what decision does this need to enable?”, and “who needs to act on this and will they be able to?”. In my first 90 days, that means I’ll be spending time with our clients and asking questions early. Listening before delivering. Getting that foundation right is where I want to spend my energy.
And it should be said I don’t think any strategist intentionally delivers a beautiful, unactionable framework. In fact, I think we’d all agree it’s our worst nightmare having the work collect dust in a drawer.
- The Changing Brief: You said “a lot is changing in our industry, but helping clients navigate complex business challenges—that’s the constant.” What’s the most significant way client briefs have changed in the last five years that most strategists haven’t adapted to yet?
If I broaden slightly, I think we’re at a genuinely significant moment of change. Many old systems aren’t working anymore. We’re being asked to keep doing our jobs at the same time as unlearning how we’ve been doing them driven by the introduction of AI at a pace I haven’t seen in my career.
And when you’re faced with that kind of relentless current, it helps to float back and ask: what’s actually staying constant? For me, that’s our role as the outside expert view on our clients’ businesses. They’re moving just as fast facing all of this change. We have the privileged position of coming in upstream and working with them to charter the course. You can’t read the label from inside the bottle, as they say.
And if we continue on the idea of pace it’s impacting us all across the board. Extended timeframes are increasingly rare. Businesses are moving faster, and the job is learning how to bring the same rigour to a shorter runway.
- Coles, Westpac, NRI: Your portfolio spans retail, banking, and technology. When you move from a financial services client to a retailer, what strategic muscle do you have to flex differently, and what stays the same?
At the core, what stays the same is the strategic foundation. Helping clients identify the best future destination, and defining the most effective path to get there. All while staying deeply attuned to the specific consumers, culture, and category each brand lives in.
But switching categories is a genuine muscle flex. I love Adam Grant’s work on thinking like a scientist, having what he calls intellectual flexibility over having all the answers. Every new category is an invitation to put the beginner’s mind back on. The best thinking often comes from not assuming the rules of the last category apply to the next one.
And you feel that difference acutely in practice. Take insurance. Unless it’s claim or renewal time, most insurers haven’t earned the permission to be part of your month, let alone your life. The brand job comes with its own set of difficulties. Switch to retail and it’s almost the opposite. Habit, immediacy, and relevance in a category where consumers are making decisions constantly, not occasionally. Same strategic tools, completely different drivers.
This changes how you frame the problem, who you’re really designing for, and what success looks like.
- Building the Strategy Function: You’re joining an expanding strategy team with Cara Meade and Chloe Jensen. How do you structure a strategy department so that three senior strategists don’t step on each other’s toes, and how do you know if you have the right number?
Houston runs a hands-on senior model – so the shapes of our teams work. The nature of our clients and projects means there’s an expectation of high performance across every department, with directors very much front and centre and on the tools of their own accounts.
Cara and Chloe are exceptional directors. They lead with grace and smarts, and deliver rock-solid strategic solutions for our clients. We all share a love of brand thinking, but we each bring our own unique experience, both personal and professional, to the work. This means no matter what challenge comes into the agency, we’ve got the experience to solve it.
As for the right number in a team, it really depends on your agency model, how you service an account, and the depth of work running through the studio. I came from a very similar structure at Interbrand, and it works. But it does rely on trust, honesty, and knowing genuinely we’re all in it together.
