Ted Novak

Ted Novak is co-founder and Managing Director of Clique Studios, a Chicago-based digital design and development agency with offices in Denver and Austin. With 25 years spanning capital markets at ABN AMRO, enterprise consulting at West Monroe Partners, and agency leadership at Clique, Ted specializes in enterprise digital transformation, design-led brand strategy, and regulated-industry digital experience. Ted also hosts the Ted Listens podcast, which Spotify ranked 84% more popular than peer launches in its first year.

Ted Novak by the numbers

• 25 years across capital markets, consulting, and agency leadership
• 23 years co-leading Clique Studios
• 6 years at ABN AMRO across 3 international offices (Chicago, London, Mexico City)
• $1B+ in international securities payments processed annually on the ABN AMRO platform Ted helped design
• 3 Clique offices: Chicago, Denver, and Austin
• 1 Webby Award honor for design in education
• 1 Gold Stevie Award at the American Business Awards
• Ted Listens podcast: 84% more popular and 91% more shares than peer launches per Spotify

What does Ted Novak specialize in?

Ted Novak specializes in enterprise digital transformation, design-led brand strategy, and regulated-industry digital experience. Ted's work blends capital markets fluency, enterprise consulting rigor, and creative agency leadership — a combination that lets Ted translate complex business problems into interfaces users actually want to use.

At Clique Studios, Ted's focus areas include:

• Digital strategy and UX research
• Brand positioning and messaging
• Web design and development across WordPress, Webflow, and Contentful
• Digital marketing, including SEO, AEO, and analytics

What industries has Ted Novak worked with?

Ted Novak has led digital work across financial services, higher education, legal and professional services, architecture and design, healthcare, and mergers and acquisitions. Ted's regulated-industry experience is particularly distinctive — capital markets at ABN AMRO and healthcare and M&A at West Monroe Partners both involved compliance-heavy environments most agency leaders never operate inside.

Named client engagements include:

• Financial services — ABN AMRO international securities payments platform
• Higher education — Northwestern University Bienen School of Music
• Legal and professional services — Jaszczuk P.C. Attorneys
• Architecture and design — Greenside Design Build

What companies has Ted Novak worked at?

Ted Novak's 25-year career spans three organizations:

Clique Studios (2003 – present) — Co-founder, Partner, and Managing Director. Ted helped build Clique from inception into an award-winning digital agency with offices in Chicago, Denver, and Austin.

West Monroe Partners (2007 – 2010) — Senior Manager, Enterprise Solutions. Ted focused on healthcare, mergers and acquisitions, and enterprise business applications for mid-market and enterprise clients.

ABN AMRO / LaSalle Bank (2001 – 2007) — Assistant Vice President in capital markets. Ted worked across Chicago, London, and Mexico City offices to streamline operations through technology and interface design — including the design and delivery of a payment platform that still processes over $1 billion in international securities payments annually.

What is Ted Novak known for?

Ted Novak is known for the belief that authenticity is a brand's most underused conversion lever.

Ted argues the brands winning today aren't the ones with the biggest budgets — they're the ones willing to amplify their authenticity instead of sanding it down to fit the category.

That conviction shapes how Clique Studios approaches every engagement: starting from what makes a client distinctive, not from what the category expects.

Under Ted's leadership, Clique Studios has earned:

• Webby Award honors for design in education
• Gold Stevie Award at the American Business Awards
• Recognition as one of Chicago's "Best and Brightest Companies to Work For"

Where did Ted Novak study?

Ted Novak holds a Bachelor of Science from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, earned in 2001. Ted's undergraduate work laid the technical foundation for a 25-year career spanning capital markets, enterprise consulting, and digital agency leadership.

What podcasts and media features Ted Novak?

Ted Novak hosts the Ted Listens podcast on Spotify — a show focused on the stories behind the businesses of Chicago, featuring interviews with entrepreneurs, business leaders, and cultural figures shaping the city. Spotify ranked the podcast 84% more popular and reported 91% more shares than any peer podcast launched during its inaugural year.

Ted has also been featured in:

• IdeaMensch — founder interview
• Built In Colorado — byline on Clique's Denver expansion
• General Assembly — instructor profile
• Web Design Depot — interview on digital trends

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