Over the past 29 years, Overland Park-based Dimensional Innovations built a reputation for creating one-of-a-kind, eye-catching, interactive displays, and now it's Chad Hutson’s job to keep the already innovative company on the cutting edge for years to come.
Hutson, a 22-year creative marketing and interactive display veteran, joined Dimensional Innovations in January as an executive director and now has been named as chief strategy officer. He will focus on the future, monitoring trends and driving innovation to help the company continually create new experiences that excite clients.
Hutson spent 11 years as CEO of Chicago-based Leviathan, a subsidiary of customer experience consultant Envoy. Leviathan focused on creating distinctive environments and experiences for huge brands such as Disney, Universal, Amazon, Nike, McDonald’s, T-Mobile and FedEx, often competing against Dimensional Innovations for projects.
“In this industry, we’re always looking at the latest and greatest in regard to display technology and how we can integrate that technology so that it’s invisible in the built environment,” Hutson said. “Imagine looking at a wood panel that looks like wood one minute, and the next minute it’s got video content shining behind it that is clearly visible. Or maybe it's about adding artificial intelligence to our content creation. I’ll be looking at what’s emerging today as cutting edge, start to prototype with it in our lab and see how we could apply it in the future.”
This process is more marathon than sprint. Hutson said his job is to look at the horizon and figure out how to get the whole team there, evolving along the way as it needs to — but eventually winning the race.
“Our team is so busy working across many different disciplines that they have their noses down in what they’re doing, and I’m just trying to help occasionally say, hey, let’s look at what else is happening in our industry,” Hutson said. “Should we try this, too? How could this tie into where we’re trying to go in the future? Let’s try this new trick or this new technology because it seems like that’s where we want to go.”
Hutson said his role keeps him continually busy. He travels a lot. He’s based in Chicago but spends a lot of time in Kansas City. He also attends conferences nationwide to gauge where the industry is headed, and he visits prospective clients to discuss what Dimensional Innovations can bring to the table.
Hutson works with the development team and oversees the marketing, products and strategy teams.
“I really work with everyone here,” he said. “It’s a wide-ranging role that just has me thinking about our strategic initiatives and talking to the rest of the team about them. A lot of planning goes into it.”
