LPK

Infobox Company
company_name = LPK Inc.
company_
company_type = Private (ESOP)
foundation = 1983
location = 19 Garfield Place, Cincinnati, Ohio, 45202; USA
key_people = Founders: Jerry Kathman (President and CEO), Howard McIlvain (Executive Vice President, Chief Creative Officer), Mort Libby (Chairman of the Board, Retired), Ray Perszyk (Retired), Jim Gabel (Retired)
industry = Brand Design; Branding
num_employees = Approximately 400 (as of June 2008)
homepage = http://lpk.com/

LPK (Libby Perszyk Kathman) is an international design agency headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, USA with four additional locations in Geneva, Switzerland; Frankfurt, Germany; Guangzhou, China; and London, England. According to its website [ [http://lpk.com/ LPK: Building Leadership Brands® ] ] , LPK specializes in “Building Leadership Brands” by integrating strategy, design and innovation.

History

After serving in the First World War, Cliff Shaten returned to Cincinnati, Ohio and started an art studio named C. H. Shaten Studios in 1919. The company grew to be one of the largest art studios in the area, and in 1959, seven of its employees purchased the company, renaming it Studio Art Associates. During the 1960s and 1970s, the company—renamed Cato Johnson—extended its global reach with offices in London, Brussels, Geneva, Paris, New York, and Toronto. In 1975, Cato Johnson was acquired by the advertising firm Young & Rubicam (Y&R), which continued to expand locations, spreading into San Francisco, Hong Kong, Sao Paulo, and Mexico City. In 1983, five Y&R shareholders—Mort Libby, Ray Perszyk, Jerry Kathman, Howard McIlvain and Jim Gabel—organized a leveraged purchase of the Cincinnati office, which had established close working relationships with Cincinnati-headquartered Procter & Gamble and other consumer goods clientele. LPK emerged from this buyout.

LPK Today

Today, LPK's global headquarters remain in Cincinnati. LPK works primarily to provide strategy, design, and innovation for its clients in the fast moving consumer goods and service brands sectors. Named “One of America’s Fastest Growing Private Companies” [ [http://www.inc.com/inc5000/2007/company-profile.html?id=200740890 Libby, Perszyk, Kathman - Advertising & Marketing, inc5000 Article - Inc. Article ] ] by Inc. Magazine in 2007, LPK was also chosen by the Wall Street Journal as a “Winning Workplace” [ [http://www.winningworkplaces.org/topsmallbiz/2007finalists/index.php Winning Workplaces | Top Small Workplaces Award ] ] for its “dedication to artistic integrity, employee empowerment and client partnership.”

LPK has developed and managed brand design franchises for category-leading brands including IBM, Pantene, Pampers, Olay, Hershey, Valvoline, Quicken, Heinz, AT&T, Hallmark, U.S. Bank, Samsung, Novartis, and Kellogg.

Organization

LPK is an employee-owned company, and its staff participates in the LPK Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) that was created in 1994. The purpose of the ESOP is to assist in the transition of ownership once the original five founders of the company reach retirement. Under this plan, all eligible employees are allowed ownership interest in the company.

With a presence in North America, Europe, and Asia, LPK is the world's largest employee-owned brand design agency, as its main competitors are owned by large, publicly traded ad agencies.

External Links