Existing board directors, Andy Sexton, Partner and Executive Creative Director at 2LK and Stephanie Verschoor, Head of Design & New Digital Solutions at NatWest Group were also reappointed for a further term of three years. Three directors stepped down at the AGM after various terms of service, including Diageo’s Global Design Director, Jeremy Lindley who was first elected to the DBA’s board in 2015 and served as Chair of the DBA’s board for three years, between 2019 and 2022.

The DBA’s directors are either members of the association, or other design sector experts, and possess diverse experience of bringing design to the strategy-setting c-suite of business. They work closely with the DBA’s management team to develop the strategy by which the DBA supports the sector to drive design ever further up the agenda in business and government and to build universal confidence in design investment.

Jos Harrison has been building brands at Reckitt for nearly 15 years and is Global Head of Brand Experience and Design at the business.

Says Harrison of his appointment,“Radical transformation is needed to meet the needs of our changing planet and society, and designers will play a pivotal role in this change. In the last few years, I have become extremely passionate about sustainability, including obtaining a qualification in Carbon Net-Zero business leadership from Cambridge University, and I’m excited to join the DBA Board to help guide the DBA and by extension, designers everywhere – in preparing themselves to lead entire industries into a more sustainable future.”

“I’m delighted to welcome our new board director, Reckitt’s Jos Harrison whose experience will be invaluable to the DBA’s work in preparing the design sector for the future,” says DBA Chief Executive, Deborah Dawton.

“My thanks also to the three directors stepping down this year, Coley Porter Bell’s Vicky Bullen and Volvo Group’s Pernilla Johannson for the insight, commitment and enthusiasm they brought to their roles, and in particular to Diageo’s Jeremy Lindley, who also chaired the DBA overseeing a strategic review, and instigated the formation of our first council of members on the issue of DE&I in design. This work will see Jeremy continue as chair of the group, which later in 2023 aim to deliver tangible assets into members that will impact their approach to DE&I.”

“It has been a great privilege and learning journey to serve on the DBA Board since 2015 and to have been elected Chair by my fellow Directors for the three-year term 2019 – 2022,” says Lindley.

“I was delighted to hand over as Chair to the super talented Warren Hutchinson who is already leading the Board with vigour and strategic brilliance. While I was Chair, the Board and Executive Team of the DBA aligned to a bold new purpose, vision and mission and reaffirmed the values of the DBA in service of the design industry. I am deeply proud of how the DBA team led and supported the industry through Covid, the organisation emerged stronger and with exciting plans that will further strengthen our dynamic industry. I look forward to continuing to be an active member and advocate for Design Effectiveness.”

To view the DBA Board of Directors head here.

With thanks to Vicky Bullen of Coley Porter Bell, Pernilla Johannson of Volvo Group and Jeremy Lindley of Diageo for their time and invaluable insight, who stepped down from the Board at the 2023 AGM.

• The Design & Technology Association’s Blueprint 1000 and specifically the Teachers in Residence programme provides D&T teachers the opportunity to get under the skin of the industry and take this knowledge back to the students they teach. If you’d like to get in touch with Debbie at Bulletproof about opening up your studio to showcase the opportunities in the industry, you can do so on LinkedIn. 
• The Creative Mentor Network aims to make design more accessible and inclusive regardless of socio-economic background. 
• Katie Greenyer, Creative Talent and Network Director at Pentland Brands shared the story of Design Pool, an in-house internship programme that has helped 160 young people who wouldn’t have otherwise been aware of the creative industries, get into design. 
• The National Saturday Club gives 13-16 year olds a peak inside the kitchen of design through Universities – and the participants get to showcase their work at Somerset House – a great initiative to inspire the future generation in a wide range of subjects, not just design. 
• Many young people are choosing not to leave education with £50k+ debt and are forgoing degrees all together. There was a discussion among members about advertising jobs that weren’t just for graduates and improving the diversity and accessibility of the industry. Creative Lives in Progress was mentioned as a good place to share roles for juniors. 
• There was an interesting discussion about apprenticeships, with some on the call having set schemes up in their own businesses to catch creatives before ‘bad habits’ appear – and they’ve been impressed by the dedication and attitude of the young people not choosing the ‘traditional’ route to a design education. 
• Placements were also discussed as a great way to get real-life experience of the industry to understand it better, with many on the call having been on sandwich courses themselves.
• One member shared a 15-year plan they have established to get young teenagers from local schools into their studios for a tour and to hear from people in different roles and understand the different career paths open in the design industry.
• And this forum served as a reminder for one member to give back in some way to the industry they love. If this is something you want to do too, I’d encourage you to go to the closest school to your front door.  
• The DBA is involved with Discover Creative Careers, a government-funded programme working to ensure there is a larger and more diverse intake of talent into the creative industries – more information to come on this soon.

Our Members’ Forum takes place on the first Monday of each month, at 4 – 5pm. If you would like to attend, get in touch here. 

Our next Members’ Forum will be taking place on Monday 5 June at 4pm BST.