Hannah Kreiswirth

COO, Partner

As COO (Chief Operating Officer), Hannah works across the New York and Paris studios leading the operations and production disciplines. Keeping sharp to the work through her executive creative direction on client projects, her focus is to put the strategy and systems in place behind the scenes that allow interdisciplinary teams and diverse clients to thrive. With the belief that design, technology, and creativity can change the world for the better, Hannah connects the people, process, and partners to realize that change through the agency and its clients' success.

Prior to joining AREA 17, Hannah worked in a wide range of contexts – as a creative director, business strategist and entrepreneur within media, publishing and in the New York tech scene. Most recently, she was Senior Director and Head of Creative at Purpose, a social impact agency and accelerator. While there, she built and established a new department and business line, re-envisioned the company’s brand and organizational design and led a team of designers, campaigners, and storytellers in creating organizational and systemic change through creative products and campaigns designed for public engagement.

Day to day you'll find her running and cycling around Brooklyn, gardening with her fingers crossed, traveling to new countries and eating all the spicy food she can find. Her work has premiered on the The New York Times, The Guardian, Funny or Die, Washington Post, BuzzFeed, and others, and has received awards and nominations for Fast Company Innovation by Design Awards, Webby's, Mashies, Do-Gooder, Shorty’s and Creativity International.