David Blyth new chair of think

Gary Harwood (HKLM), Gaby de Abreu (Switch) and Mohammed Jogie (Morning Star) were all re-elected for another term, while Des Brown (Red Nail), Brad Kirshenbaum (Blue Moon), Jacques Lange (Bluprint) and Kassie Naidoo (King James RSVP) were voted in as first-time board members.

The new think board will hold its inaugural meeting in early May, where it will be formalising an action plan for the next two years. “Our plan will be to use and build on the strong platforms which the previous board has created, in arenas such as free pitching, education, and design events,” says Blyth.

“We will also focus on other areas which we believe need attention, one of which is helping to initiate formal research to assess the value South African business places on design.”

This research, Blyth maintains, will help think achieve one of its key aims, namely to increase awareness of design as a professional, business-oriented industry which in turn will add credence to many other think initiatives. In addition, Blyth believes, the constitution of the new board will aid think in this endeavour.

“The new board is made up of nine unique individuals who all come from different design disciplines, from brand strategy to eventing to copywriting. I believe that this diverse experience puts us in a particularly strong position to elevate design in the eyes of both its clients and practitioners.”

The AGM was held at the FNB Conference Centre in Sandton.