PITCH in Conversation

Jay Hussain, Creative Director, Jones Knowles Ritchie

Jay is a Creative Director with over 10 years of experience working across 3D design, architecture, and brand design. He is a conscious creative and believes design to be an integral tool for a better world. This passion has allowed him to lead and deliver multiple sustainable and impact-led projects for big global brands to small start-ups.

Alongside this, he is passionate about opening up the creative industry and providing opportunities for people from underrepresented backgrounds. He recently helped pioneered JKR’s Sparks Academy programme for those with no formal design training to gain experience in the industry.

Jay has also achieved multiple accolades throughout his career, most notably D&AD, Red Dot, Fast Co Innovation, and Design Museum’s Product Design of the year.

Johanna Yaovi, Founder of The Curl Talk Project

Born in Paris and having made London her adopted city, Johanna Yaovi grew up and evolved in two of the most multicultural cities in Europe. Being mixed-race, she has always been interested in topics such as diversity, culture, and representation. These passions led her to create and launch The Curl Talk Project in 2017.

Thanks to her strong marketing and PR background, Johanna succeeded to organise sold-out events, partnered with inspiring brands such as Samsung and Google for Start-ups, and secured coverage in BBC News, Stylist, Glamour, The Guardian, and more.

Johanna currently works as a Freelance Senior Campaign Lead and counts Google UK and the Greater London Authority among her clients.

Leonie Moreton, Managing Director, Coffee & TV

Leonie Moreton is a progressive and dedicated creative leader with a passion for people. In 2014 Leonie joined Coffee & TV, when it was an emerging start-up, as the studio’s Business Development Director. Her action-orientated and diligent approach to establishing the Coffee & TV culture and brand led to her promotion to Managing Director in 2021. Previously, Leonie ran a theatre company, The Paper Birds, before embarking on a new career path, working in production at Gorgeous and HSI London respectively.

Leonie was shortlisted for the WACL Future Leaders 2018 and appeared in Pitch magazine’s Top 100 Superwomen in 2019. Currently, Leonie is a member of Ops Stories, a community for people working in operations. She is an active Bloom member and mentor, and was co-leader of their Parents Initiative group. She also contributed to the APA’s Parents in Production group, and is a regular speaker on event panels, and writes for industry publications about the importance of cooperative and harmonious workplaces.