An informal lunch, along with creative food for thought, are on the menu for a Fireside Chat with Paul Leibowitz, President and Chief Creative Officer of Leibowitz Branding & Design, a company he founded in 1991. Open to the entire community, the event will be Monday, February 11 from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in the Blackstone LaunchPad in Bird Library. Leibowitz will share his story of coming to Syracuse as a student, and then launching a world class branding and design firm after graduation. The format will be an engaging conversation with students interested in learning more about creativity from his perspective managing integrated brand, print marketing strategies for a variety of clients in financial services, education, media and healthcare — and from his unique perspective as a dynamic innovator. All are invited to join us for this engaging conversation.
Leibowitz is a 1984 graduate of the College of Visual and Performing Arts at Syracuse University and is proud of his lifelong connection to the University. He credits much of his professional and personal success to his time at Syracuse. He has hired over a dozen graduates as full-time employees from the Communications Design program in SU:VPA as well Newhouse and Whitman graduates, and every summer he employs one or two interns from CMD, Newhouse or the iSchool.
He has donated consistently to the College of Visual & Performing Arts since 2001 and has endowed two awards within the College. In 2011, he endowed the Paul Leibowitz Award for Communication and Digital Design, awarded annually to students who exemplify expertise in web navigation via cutting edge interactive design and use of emerging technology in contemporary communication design. And in 2017, he endowed an award in Communications and Rhetorical Studies, the Paul Leibowitz Endowed Fund for Student Immersion in National and International Engagement to help students with financial needs participate in the Department’s fabulous immersion programs.
In 2012/2013 he traveled weekly from his home in Westchester County to Syracuse where he taught Intro to Communications Design to sophomores and Communications Design Problem Solving to juniors and seniors as a Professor of Professional Practice. It was one of the most rewarding experiences of his professional career and while he was asked to return to teach the following year, he had to decline because it was difficult to juggle both worlds.
Professionally for Syracuse University, Leibowitz Branding & Design successfully completed the research, strategy, design and implementation of the SU:VPA rebrand, including the website and various print marketing communications materials. In 2015, the company created the interim brand guidelines to provide guidance on how the University relationship is communicated across the Colleges, an important step to the University’s recent rebrand. In addition, in 2017 Leibowitz completed the redesign of news.syr.edu and the subsequent update to align the site with the University’s new brand standards. Furthermore, the company continues to work with the College of Engineering & Computer Science, designing their alumni magazine and departmental newsletters. In addition to Syracuse, Leibowitz has worked with other higher ed institutions including Hawaii Pacific University, Stevens Institute of Technology and RPI.
In the media industry, Leibowitz Branding & Design enjoys a 14-year relationship with Charter Spectrum as brand guardians. In financial services, Leibowitz Branding & Design works with hedge funds, asset managers, wealth managers, large banks and insurance companies to effectively communicate their culture and offerings. In healthcare, Leibowitz has created numerous public awareness campaigns for the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases and now helps non-profit healthcare agencies navigate the new intricate healthcare payment system and communicate their offerings to their patients.
Prior to launching Leibowitz Branding & Design, he worked in television designing on-air graphics, magazine publishing, package design and small brand consultancies.
He has given numerous lectures on entrepreneurship, business practices, design and social media at Syracuse University, Columbia Business School, Gotham Media Ventures, the Financial Communications Society, the Mutual Fund Education Alliance and Investment Advisers Association.
To stay current with market trends as well as influence the content of conferences and webinars, Paul is active in many professional organizations including the AIGA (American Institute of Graphic Arts), where he is the past chair of the Design and the Environment Special Interest Group, the AMA (American Marketing Association), is a Corporate Partner of the MFEA (Mutual Fund Education Alliance), was Director of the IMAA (Investment Managers and Advisors Alliance) is a member of the IAA (Investment Adviser Association) and is on the board of the FCS (Financial Communications Society).
Leibowitz Branding & Design has won numerous design awards and recognition from peers for projects and initiatives that have measurably improved their clients’ bottom line.
He is married to Teresa Byrne for 23 years and has two children, Jonathan 21 (SU Class of 2020) and Claire 16. They live in Mt. Kisco, NY. Paul enjoys competitive cycling and he learned to love snow while at Syracuse. Now, he looks forward to winter so he can ski.