We’ve welcomed Phoenix Studios’ Managing Partner and Founder, Jonny Westcar to the DBA Board.
Voted in by the membership at our AGM on Thursday 17 September 2026, Jonny joins DBA Chair HMA’s Nicola Tiffany, Treasurer Deborah Longbottom and DBA Directors TDC PR’s Tim Duncan, forpeople’s Louise French, EDIT Brand Studio’s Khadija Kapacee, Turner Duckworth’s Georgina Leigh-Pemberton, Haleon’s Simon Ritchie and tangerine’s Matt Round on the DBA Board.
The Design Business Association (DBA) is the design industry’s trade association. The Directors of the DBA are a mix of DBA members and other design industry experts with extensive experience of integrating design into business strategy at executive level. They collaborate closely with the DBA’s management team to elevate the role of design in business and government and build confidence in design investment.
Jonny’s career began at WPP over 25 years ago, becoming Managing Director of Brand Union London and he’s spent his career moving between the agency and client sides of the table.
Jonny founded Phoenix Studios in 2021 and believes, more than ever, in the case for design as a business asset: “I want to help the DBA make that case more forcefully, on behalf of every member, from independent designer to global agency.”
Alongside his agency focus, Jonny has also worked client-side as Marketing Director at Nominet, the technology not-for-profit registry for the .uk domain, giving him a rare vantage point on design from both sides of the table, as agency partner and as brand owner. Says Jonny: “With a background spanning both design and tech, I want to help member practices find where AI can be genuinely transformative for them, a source of deeper client collaboration, and a catalyst for rethinking their value proposition and business model, not just their output.”
His work has taken him across diverse markets from Latin America, India and the wider subcontinent to Eastern Europe, giving Jonny first-hand experience of how design culture and values shift across markets: “British design carries real authority overseas and I want to help the DBA build on that, supporting members who are exporting their work and expertise, and making the case for design as one of the UK’s most exportable skills.”
“Jonny has been an energetic supporter of the DBA for over twenty years and involved with the Association in many capacities both as a member and through DBA programmes including Twenty/Twenty mentoring. Jonny’s extensive knowledge of factors impacting design teams and businesses in the UK and internationally, and his generous enthusiasm and commitment to supporting the sector will be a fantastic asset to the DBA. We’re delighted to welcome him to the DBA Board.”
Having been appointed in 2020, 2LK’s Andy Sexton and NatWest Group’s Stephanie Verschoor have stepped down from the Board at the end of their terms, and the DBA would like to extend huge thanks to them both for their invaluable input and support.
The DBA’s AGM was held online on 17 September and included the launch of the 2026 DBA In Focus Report, the most comprehensive benchmarking tool in the design sector. The report is exclusively available to DBA members.
Further details about DBA Directors, the Board and its role, can be found here.