On the couch with Marcel Weickl

Qualified as an industrial designer, a degree he completed at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology, Weickl has been in the industry for more than five years. He did a brief stint at Petersens, a Cape Town-based company that produces domestic furniture specialising in veneers and solid wood products. During this tenure he was responsible for designing the "African Renaissance" range, which included beds, side tables, TV units, and dining room furniture.

He left the group in 2002 and joined the then Cecil Nurse as an industrial designer. His responsibilities included new product development, product management of more technical ranges and the compilation of the "About Time" catalogue.

Three years later, Weickl was instrumental in changing Cecil Nurse to CN Business Furniture. This was not just a name change – it meant shifting the offering from a product only company to a group that would provide complete office solutions. Weickl was directly involved in setting up CN Corporate, which he headed up for nine months.

In this new role, which he assumed in July, Weickl works closely with the national procurement manager; and his responsibilities include product development, national and international travel to source new products, as well as imports.

Weickl believes in stretching people and taking them out of their comfort zone – something he achieves when his direct reports are required to take on responsibilities outside of their job description. He also intends to push for collective collaboration and intends to nurture team work.

When not focusing on furniture and design trends, Weickl can be found sampling good food and wine and trying his hand at cooking. In addition to this he is passionate about travelling and, time permitting, loves to dabble with watercolours.