21CB operates out of London and San Francisco with global reach.

The founding team, led by Jonathan Mildenhall and Neil Barrie, came together while building Airbnb into the most influential travel brand in the world.

It was then they realised that the leading brands of the 21st century needed a new playbook.

Today, 21CB has 28 full-time employees along with a roster of the industry’s top talent and specialist freelance collaborators who work across departments including strategy, project management, and design.

The company is majority minority-owned and 60% of the team are women.

The London office is shared with the great folks of Uncommon Studios.

The cornerstone values are Ambush with Humanity, Diversity in Harmony, Commercial Creativity, and Purposeful Growth.

This means its process is open and hyper-collaborative. It goes deep inside companies and works closely with cross-discipline leadership teams, facilitating opportunities for clients to feel safe to “discuss the undiscussable”.

It works with the world's most ambitious brands and leaders, challenging them to create a positive cultural legacy.

The company has an internal self-appointed Impact Committee that runs initiatives to champion the creative industry’s inclusivity and diversity. One of which is the publication of the book ‘A Colourful View From The Top’, featuring 21 career stories from leaders of colour in partnership with Pulitzer-Prize-winning Little, Brown.

To ensure the book reaches those who need it most, 21CB has committed to funding a copy for every majority-minority state secondary school and launched a GoFundMe campaign to raise £82,000 to get it into EVERY state secondary school in the UK.

The company prioritises a kind, collaborative, and flat structure with an inclusive culture that ‘ambushes with humanity’.

Every member receives monthly Juno points, a bespoke Enneagram report, coaching, a hybrid work option, competitive pay, and private healthcare insurance options.

An internal self-appointed Culture Committee runs culture programs for employees that have included drag shows, a death doula workshop, improv class, Fireside Chats with business and VC leaders, exhibitions, virtual global hangouts, and Lunch & Learns.

21CB embraces a diversity of working styles and continually builds structures in place for employees to share and work with each other’s unique capabilities.

It loves codifying ways of working that are compassionate, accessible, and efficient.

A project team often includes an executive strategy director, a strategy director, a mid-level strategist, a junior strategist, and project managers working in deep collaboration with each other and their clients.

The company invests in junior talent by assigning them a line manager, a mentor, and a budget for strategy training tools.

It is passionate about connecting junior talent to opportunities for growth such as growth map reviews, contact with industry networks, the ability to own and present parts of the project, encouraging and supporting them to write thought pieces, attendance at industry events, Enneagram coaching to identify their unique working style, and team resources to support it.

21CB also partners with Brixton Finishing School and College Track to support the entry of rising talents into the creative industries.