Social Driver recently hired Director of User Experience (UX) Orion Kinkaid, continuing to expand its presence and expertise in its Kansas City, Mo., office.

Kinkaid brings over 12 years of experience in the digital UX creative discipline, content strategy and content management.

Prior to joining Social Driver, Kansas native Kinkaid held senior creative positions at Garmin and VMLY&R, where he led the largest technology transformation initiative in North America for Sprint, designing a simple yet detailed end-to-end website experience that reduced the friction that ultimately helped digital sales grow by 200% and reduced over 50% of call drivers. He also helped design the first iPhone app for Southwest Airlines and worked with TEDxKC.

“I am excited to join Social Driver because I believe in what we are doing and who we are doing it for,” said Kinkaid. “I love solving problems and turning them into simple solutions to build valuable experiences and am looking forward to helping our clients kick-start their concepts.”

Social Driver plans to continue to invest in talent and build out its Kansas City office, in addition to its offices in Washington, D.C., and Bellingham, Wash. Social Driver CEO Thomas Sanchez and Co-Founder & Chief Strategy Officer Anthony Shop both originated from Kansas City and plan to maintain their roots.

Social Driver also participates in Back2KC, an initiative to reconnect and expose Kansas City natives and former residents to Kansas City’s growth-stage innovation ecosystem, vibrant business environment and captivating culture.

“In addition to being a great place to work and live, Kansas City has a large tech talent market and benefits from brain gain, attracting thousands of new tech workers every year,” said Sanchez. “Social Driver has done exciting work with existing clients based in Kansas City like the American Academy of Family Physicians, global manufacturer Fike, the Women’s Foundation, and Country Hill Motors and we look forward to building relationships with other organizations in the area.”

Social Driver held a kick-off event at its Kansas City office at the Plexpod Crossroads in May that drew the support of the community, as well as Kay Barnes, former mayor of Kansas City, and her husband Tom Van Dyke, Social Driver Advisory Council member. 

“The event generated a lot of excitement in the Kansas City community. People were eager to check out our new space,” said Karee Miller, Executive Assistant to the CEO at Social Driver.