# Ben Pham

> Ben Pham is the San Francisco-based co-founder and CEO of Obello, an AI graphic design platform he built with Ollie Ralph after their work at Character. Pham co-founded Character in 1999 with Tish Evangelista and Rishi Shourie; Dentsu announced its acquisition agreement in 2018. His work spans branding, strategy, packaging and digital experiences.

- **Role:** Co-founder and CEO at Obello
- **Organizations:** Obello, Character
- **Nationality:** Vietnamese-American (self-description)
- **Education:** California College of the Arts
- **Known for:** Co-founded Character in 1999; the agency became the subject of a Dentsu acquisition agreement in 2018., Worked on Essential’s positioning and brand identity as a Character creative director., Co-founded Obello, which announced $9.5 million in total funding in November 2025.

## Career timeline

- **1979** — Fled Vietnam with his sister and young aunts, according to his own public account.
- **1992–1996** — Attended California College of the Arts.
- **1999** — Co-founded Character with Tish Evangelista and Rishi Shourie.
- **2015** — Announced as a HOW Design Live speaker with Paul Miller on packaging ideation.
- **2018** — Dentsu announced an agreement to acquire Character; Pham was identified as partner and director of strategy.
- **2022** — Obello founding year listed on its company profile; distinguished from the later product launch.
- **2023** — Returned to Vietnam in April for the first time in 44 years and shared the journey publicly in May.
- **2024** — Launched Obello with Ollie Ralph, according to Obello’s own history.
- **2025** — Obello announced an $8.5 million seed round in November, bringing total funding to $9.5 million.
- **2026** — Published Why Brand Guidelines Fail After Handoff on January 21.

## Achievements

- Co-founded Character in 1999; the agency became the subject of a Dentsu acquisition agreement in 2018.
- Worked on Essential’s positioning and brand identity as a Character creative director.
- Co-founded Obello, which announced $9.5 million in total funding in November 2025.
- Selected to speak at HOW Design Live in 2015 alongside Paul Miller.

## Latest updates

- **2026-06** — Publicly announced Gen Pen across Obello workspaces, combining gestures and prompts for AI editing.
- **2026-01** — Published Why Brand Guidelines Fail After Handoff on January 21.

## Links

- Website: https://www.obello.com/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/benpham1

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/ben-pham
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-22