As Design Director, Ken Lay will provide design leadership and management, concept and creative expertise, and process and design development. Lay will be working closely with and under the direction of Entertainment Industry veteran Michael Shulman, Gable’s Senior Vice President of Design and Development, to strategically grow the design discipline.
Shulman said, “Bringing Ken Lay to Gable as Design Director deepens our retail and architectural design expertise and advances our approach to managing projects with a hands-on, pragmatic architectural design. His background and our start-up mentality will allow us to grow as a design-centric thought leader.”
Ken Lay brings over 20 years of design expertise in retail design and planning, creative direction, omnichannel integration and environmental graphic design. He has lead multidisciplinary design teams for dynamic architecture and design initiatives through managing, developing, and delivering designs for projects with budgets from $500 to $550 million. Additionally, Ken Lay holds a Bachelor of Architecture from University of Cincinnati, College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning, plus he is Six Sigma Green Belt certified.
“We were founded on the fundamentals of design and creativity so it’s exciting to expand our influence of design for our clients’ projects. Ken has an ideal background and the passion to strengthen our design capabilities and discipline.” said, Paul Gable, President and CEO of Gable.
Lay’s most recent endeavors at the helm of design include careers at Luxottica and Macy’s. At Luxottica, he led and collaborated on the design of the new Target Optical 2.0 concepts, prototype implementations, and rollout of over 150 locations. Prior to that, while at Macy’s, Lay directed the design aspects of the exterior, interior and way finding designs of the five-year, $550MM Macy’s Herald Square Flagship project partnering with the planning and construction teams.
Lay commented, “I’m excited to join Gable leading the Solutions Design Group where we will bring a creative and holistic approach to projects including those that integrate brand experience, architecture, and interiors to create memorable places for people to work and play.”
