Duval Union Consulting rebrands as Scopernia

Digital innovation advisory Duval Union Consulting has rebranded as Scopernia, with a broadened focus kick-starting a new era for the firm.

Digital innovation consultancy Duval Union Consulting has rebranded to ‘Scopernia’, in a move which the firm says reflects a new style of consulting with a broader social scope. Founded in Belgium in 2011, Scopernia under its old guise officially launched in the Middle East through a joint venture with local luxury retailer Chalhoub Group at the beginning of 2018 – with the firm’s new name inspired in part by the region.

“Our old name fitted perfectly with what we used to do. But our current approach to transformation, innovation, partnerships and purpose required a new name that better covers the load,” said Jo Caudron, who founded the firm together with Dado Van Peteghem. “A new era has dawned, a turbulent time, for which we as an agency are completely ready in terms of expertise, network and people. Our name symbolises this new era.”

Taking the scientific revolution inspired by Nicolaus Copernicus as its starting point (Copernicus having upended centuries of dogma by promoting a heliocentric model of the universe), the firm’s new moniker, Scopernia, is a contraction of the famed astronomer’s surname together with the words ‘scope’ – reflecting the firm’s broader advisory perspective – and ‘nia’ – the latter given to be the Arabic word for ‘purposefulness’.

“We are convinced that organisations need to broaden their perspective if they want to transform successfully,” said CEO Nils van Dam. “A few years ago, it was enough to anticipate digital disruptions. Today it is necessary to understand all major social changes in the areas of work, housing, mobility, sustainability, health and living. Companies are gradually realising that a future-proof plan can only be written based on holistic, cross-sectoral insights”.

According to local reports, the rebranding has also followed an ownership restructuring, with Caudron and Van Peteghem together with Van Dam now sharing a majority stake, at 20 percent apiece. Duval Union will continue to own a 30 percent share – with the firm stating that it will remain an active member of the Duval Union ecosystem – while Chalhoub Group holds the remainder. The firm has also moved its headquarters to a new office in Ghent.

“The values of our reborn company are ‘fearless, different and entrepreneurial’. These core values match what is needed in this brand-new decade,” said Van Peteghem, who noted the firm’s expertise in guiding product, service and business model innovation. “We have a fresh view about building partnerships and eco-systems, and are fully ready to help companies in building and implementing future-oriented, transformative and purpose-led strategies.”

Along with the changes at the international level, the firm has also seen some movement among its regional personnel, with former MENA managing director Nick Vinckier taking up a Head of Growth role with Chalhoub Group in the early part of this year. Meanwhile, Jérémy Denisty, a former sales manager with Unilever, has joined the team as a consultant in Dubai, while recent Hult’ graduate Christian Jensen also joined the local office at the end of last year.