New SABS Design Institute leader shaking things up

Mageni aims to position South Africa as a global design hub...

"I believe that design and innovation should be used to respond to current and future technological, economic and social demands and should act as the catalyst to meaningfully overcome the national challenges of high unemployment, poverty and inequality. To achieve that, I am going to ensure that policies and processes are positively geared to enable the translation of new ideas and research and development output into sustainable economic opportunities to aid in the development of new businesses and a culture of innovation by design," he says.

His vision for the Design Institute is to create a one-stop-design-hub by providing a solution-enabling environment to those who have difficulty finding the appropriate channels to put their ideas into practice.

SABS should demonstrate how design adds value to economy

He further believes in fostering sustainable economic growth by driving activities where social and commercial value is aligned through responsible and ethical business practices.

"It is important that the SABS should demonstrate how design adds value to the economy and society by setting explicit and measurable objectives and report on the impact regularly. By taking advantage of the rich, long history of the SABS, I am certain that the engrained intellectual capital will enable the SABS Design Institute to become more relevant as the official design promotion body in the country," Mageni concludes.

Mageni has been trained in social science, education, strategic HR management and advanced strategic marketing and PR management and was employed within the financial services sector for the past nine years. The last three years he spent as part of the Executive Management Team within Absa and Barclays Africa with his most recent responsibility that of Head: Citizenship, Africa. He has led various teams within diverse disciplines such as Sales, Marketing, Communication and Corporate Affairs across the continent.