Below is our recent interview with Rana Florida, CEO of The Creative Class Group:
Q: Rana, tell us more about your background. What were you doing before The Creative Class Group?
A: My parents – first generation immigrants from Jordan – drilled the importance of education into me and my siblings. They wanted us all to become doctors or lawyers. I was not drawn to either profession, so I went to business school without a clue as to what I would end up doing. I just knew that I wanted to land a high-level corporate job and I did just that, in Washington, DC. I was super excited by my six-figure salary and bonuses but was not happy. I was stuck commuting in traffic all day, I had crazy bosses and I had no control over my time and schedule.
One day when BMW called to create an ad campaign around my husband’s work (Richard Florida and Rise of the Creative Class) I had to think long and hard about leaving the safety net of my steady pay check and risking my relationship to launch an advisory services company, The Creative Class Group with my husband. 11 years later, I’m thrilled that I did. We have such an interesting roster of clients we work to solve some of the greatest challenges of our time.
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Q: CG specializes in a wide range of research and advising which helps companies navigate the creative economy. Can you give us insights into your economic development expertise?
A: We are fortunate to work with some of the world’s top brands and all of our work is custom for the client’s needs. For instance, we’ve worked with Cirque du Soleil advising them on the most creative neighborhoods to pitch their tents to Starwood Hotels, Le Meridien on recreating the guest arrival experience to working with Audi on their Urban Future Initiative to We Work on their Global Cities Initiative. We helped the Atlantic launch their online media property, City Lab and of course we love working with mayors and regions around the world on their economic development strategy.
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Q: What type of customer would benefit the most from your service?
A: All types of customers can benefit from our global advisory services or research and data. We helped Converse target the entrepreneurial Creative Class for their Jack Purcell Brand, and helped Art Basel launch their Cities initiative. Our clients range from the United Nations, Air Canada, Kraft, and Philips and more.
Q: What is your leadership style?
A: I like to hire competent people who manage their own schedule, time and work load.
