Reading Room, an international digital consultancy, has strengthened its team with the appointment of Neil Shewan as managing director of the Melbourne office.

Reading Room has strengthened the team to target clients who wish to utilise digital channels and technologies to truly change their business and more effectively deliver strategic goals. They will utilise its services agile, user experience, behavioural psychology and digital strategy. All with a view to help its clients to bridge the gap between strategic, design and technical thinking.

In this newly created role, Shewan will oversee growth in Melbourne and bring the full suite of Reading Room’s international capability and experience to the market. He reports to Margaret Manning, Reading Room group CEO.

Manning noted that there is an underlying hunger for innovation, and desire to be world-leading in Melbourne. “I’m really excited about the prospect of bringing the international perspective of Reading Room’s UX team, digital psychologists and developer teams to our Melbourne clients,” she said.

“I have been looking to join an independent digital consultancy that excels in three key areas – user experience, business consulting and technical delivery – Reading Room ticked all the boxes for me,” Shewan said. “After following its work overseas for many years, I was impressed by how the company has grown its digital and creative capability in-house, rather than through acquisitions like other agencies.”

Reading Room has also launched a series of six webinars to help organisations master digital change – covering strategic, marketing and technical topics critical for brands to reach their full digital potential in 2015.

“The first webinar looks at digital psychology and the increasing role of behavioural sciences in creating engaging online user experiences. There has been a lot of interest in our pioneering work in this space,” said Shewan.

Shewan was previously the managing director and co-owner of Melbourne creative agency TANK, where he led the growth of the business over the last nine years. He has worked with numerous clients including General Motors Holden, Marriott Hotels, Centrelink and Medicare for the Australian Government, Australia Post and Federation University.