GOOD DESIGN - Key Persons

Job Titles:

• Head of Design and Innovation at GWA Group

Andy Grigor is the Head of Design and Innovation at GWA Group, a market-leading designer, and manufacturer of bathroom and kitchen products for the Caroma, Methven, Clark, and Dorf brands. Andy has led the design and innovation team for Methven since 2016 and the GWA design team since 2020, he brings with him a wealth of design and product development experience. Andy's professional career has spanned over 20 years' originating with the design-led brand, Fisher & Paykel. He honed his skills by creating a diverse mix of products ranging from furniture and lighting to mass-manufactured small appliances & electronics for brands such as Breville, Sunbeam, & LG. His work has received wide recognition and industry design awards both locally and internationally. Fuelled by curiosity and an enthusiastic passion for design, Andy's eye for detail and focus on making ideas happen complements his growing team. His vision is to cultivate a multi-talented team, simulate collaboration and enrich creativity.

Job Titles:

• CREATIVE DIRECTOR
• FOUNDER
• Founder and Creative Director of Process Creative

Andy Homan is Founder and Creative Director of Process Creative, an award winning Sydney-based digital agency founded in 2006. Andy has over 20 years of experience in design, UX and development. Nowadays, his primary focus is on e-commerce strategy and solutions for brands on the Shopify Plus platform whilst refining and expanding the ever-growing Process team. He regularly speaks on e-commerce particularly in relation to the rapidly evolving fashion, beauty and lifestyle verticals.

Job Titles:

• Managing Director
• Is Director of Dow Goodfolk

Annie Dow is director of Dow Goodfolk. Established in Auckland in 1993, we have evolved into one of New Zealand's leading brand design companies. Annie is a passionate and authoritative expert on the value of branding and believes that creative excellence will bring her clients a healthy return on their investment. Prior to founding Dow Design (formerly) with her late husband, Greg, Annie worked in Sydney and London. A graphic design graduate, she initially worked with her father, neon sign designer and display engineer James Leggett. Her international experience included a period as art director at the London Stock Exchange.

Job Titles:

• Creative Director
• Creative Director, Bramp
• Design Director for Re Agency

Annika is a Creative Director passionate about idea-driven design and brands that tell unique stories. She believes in the power of differentiation and has lead major brand launches and rebrands. Annika has lived in Germany and Australia, with over 15 years work experience both at large-scale branding agencies including Interbrand, R/GA and Meta Design as well as boutique design studios. She has created holistic brand experiences for BMW, MINI, Google, Westpac, Panasonic and Qantas among others. Her most famous project was the BMW rebrand. Her most appreciated project was the Benevolent Society rebrand and interactive sculpture for Vivid Sydney, which received international accolades including a Brand New Award and was published around the world. Annika has worked as Design Director for Re Agency, R/GA, Interbrand and MetaDesign Berlin. Previously she held the creative lead at full service brand agency Whybrand in Germany. She believes in the power of creative culture and strives to create an inspiring environment of shared knowledge.

Job Titles:

• CEO
• Chairman
• Investor
• Member of the Leadership Team

Brandon is the CEO of Good Design Australia, Chair of the Australian Good Design Awards, and Deputy Chair of the Australian Design Council. He has spent the past 25 years passionately advocating for the value of good design to improve our social, economic, cultural and environmental quality of life. He is a qualified Industrial Designer and currently an Adjunct Professor of Industrial Design at both the University of Canberra and the University of New South Wales. He became a Senator of the World Design Organization (WDO), the global body for Industrial Design, after serving as President (2013-2015), the first Australian to hold this position. During his term, he led the strategic transformation of the organisation, resulting in a new name, vision and mission aligned to the United Nation's Sustainable Development Goals. He helped spearhead the establishment of the World Design Impact Prize and World Design Medal and Chaired the Selection Committee for the 2022 World Design Capital®, awarded to the City of Valencia, Spain. Prior to establishing Good Design Australia, Brandon was the Executive Director of Design Strategy at Standards Australia, recognised by the Australian Government as the nation's peak standards body. He studied Mechanical Engineering at the University of Newcastle where he later graduated with a Bachelor's Degree in Industrial Design. He holds a Ph.D. in Environmental Design from the University of Canberra's School of Design and Architecture. Brandon is an investor and mentor for numerous tech startups and Non-Executive Director of Spacetalk Limited (ASX:SPA), an Australian technology company that designs and develops breakthrough wearable technology. He was made an Honorary Design Ambassador to Japan, an international design advocacy role organised by the Japan Institute of Design Promotion (JDP), and is a Fellow of the Design Institute of Australia.

Job Titles:

• Member of the Leadership Team
• Patron

Jan works at the intersection of social policy and innovation, education and entrepreneurship. She has founded and led multiple organisations and collaborations in Australia and internationally and is a sought after global speaker and strategy advisor. Her lifelong work and commitment to unleashing the talent of young people, driving social innovation and entrepreneurship, and transforming education has seen her recognised as one of Australia's ‘True Leaders' in 2018 and the Inaugural Australian Financial Review and Westpac ‘Woman of Influence' in 2012. Jan has been awarded honorary Doctorates from the University of Sydney and Murdoch University in Perth and membership to the Order of Australia in 2000 for services to the Australian community. Jan is the author of Every Childhood Lasts a Lifetime (1996) and The Future Chasers (2014).

Job Titles:

• Managing Director of Quidni Advisory
• Patron Emeritus ( 2015 - 2018 )

Gerhard Vorster is the Managing Director of Quidni Advisory, a boutique strategy advisory firm. Working directly with boards and senior leaders, Gerhard guides businesses to reposition them in pragmatic yet unexpected ways. Gerhard's commitment to continuous learning and innovation is reflected in his close affiliation with RMIT College of Business, Good Design Australia and several national and international initiatives. Previously, Gerhard was the Chief Strategy Officer for Deloitte Australia and Asia-Pacific - a position he held for five years. Gerhard was a key strategist and executive in designing and implementing the Deloitte Australia growth story since 2003. Prior to this, Gerhard was the Managing Partner (Consulting) for the South African, East Asian, Australian and Asia-Pacific practice regions. He has broad sector experience in the areas of: professional services, banking and securities, automotive, innovation, mining, oil and gas, telecommunications and media. In addition to completing several executive education programs at top tier business schools globally, Gerhard is trained as a professional Civil Engineer, holds a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering at the University of Pretoria and a Masters of Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Potchefstroom (Cum Laude).

Job Titles:

• Chairman
• Chief Experience Officer

Maureen Thurston-Chartraw is Aurecon's Chief Experience Officer. In 2016, she was appointed as Aurecon's Global Director, Design to Innovate to liberate creativity and cultivate change throughout Aurecon. In her current role, leverages design thinking as a capability to capture and convey new value, and embed Aurecon's experience program and Design to Innovate thinking across the business. For over 30 years Maureen has played at the intersection between business, creativity and culture, leveraging design as an instrument of strategy to envision the future, reimagine models, systems and structures and invent more meaningful value for clients. Maureen joined Aurecon from Deloitte where she implemented design methods and a design mindset to help transform the Australian accounting firm from a traditional professional services organisation to a bold innovator. Maureen is the Chair of Good Design Australia, an Adjunct Professor at UTS, an industrial designer, educator, entrepreneur and author. She wholeheartedly believes that Aurecon's competitive currency is in its creative capacity to innovate, and is currently embedding design as a strategic component within Aurecon's integrated Future Ready strategy.

Job Titles:

• Principal Design Adviser to the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games

Michael Bryce was the inaugural Patron of Good Design Australia. Michael was an architect and designer acknowledged in Australia and overseas for his distinguished work in graphic, urban and environmental design. He was born in Brisbane, started school in Gordonvale and was educated at Brisbane State High School and the University of Queensland. In 1968, he commenced his own architecture practice in Brisbane, developing a special interest in graphic design. From 1979 to 1983, he was Federal President of the Industrial Design Institute of Australia. He was also a member of the Design Board and the Design Council. His practice has won awards for graphic and environmental design, including the RAIA (QLD) Civic Design Award, the House of the Year Award, and the RAIA President's Award. The practice has also received many citations in the print industry and Design Institute awards. In 1988, his practice joined the worldwide Minale Tattersfield Design Strategy Group with offices in London and Paris and clients worldwide including Harrods, San Pellegrino, FA Premier League, BNP, and the Eurostar train. Beginning in 1992, Michael Bryce became the principal design adviser to the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games, designing the Olympic bid logo and advising on the application of the corporate branding. His sport-related design work also includes graphics for the Brisbane 1982 Commonwealth Games and Expos ‘85 and ‘88. His sports logos have included the Australian 1996 Commonwealth Games team, the Dolphins Australian Swimming team, the Wallabies Rugby team, and the world cricket body, the ICC. He was a board member of the Queensland (Symphony) Orchestra and Trustee of the Queensland Art Gallery, a Ministerial Adviser on the Child Accident Prevention Foundation and various product safety committees. He was Founding President of Melanoma Patients Australia and a volunteer with the State Emergency Service in Queensland. Following 5 years in the Air Training Corps he served as an Intelligence Officer in the Royal Australian Air Force Reserve from 1956 to 1970, including appointment as honorary Aide de Camp to the Governor of Queensland. He was awarded the Air Efficiency Award (AE) in 1970. He was Patron of the RAAF Association in Queensland Patron of the Combat Support Group Association. Mr Bryce was Patron of a number of community organisations and other arts related bodies. He has served as President of St John Ambulance [Qld] First Aid Services Division and was made a Knight of Justice in the Order of St John of Jerusalem (KStJ). In 2006, he was made a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) for services to the design profession and the community. He has had a long association with universities around Australia and taught and mentored young graduates and was committed to the expression of a distinctive Australian identity within an international framework. He was awarded Honorary Doctorates by the Universities of Queensland and Canberra and was Adjunct Professor of Architecture and Design at the University of Canberra. Michael Bryce was awarded Life Fellowships of the Royal Australian Institute of Architects and the Design Institute of Australia and was a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. In 2006, he was inducted into the Australian Design Hall of Fame. In September 2008 he retired from his practice upon the appointment of Ms Bryce as Governor-General of Australia. The practice he founded continues today as Minale Bryce Design Strategy. Michael was recognised with the Australian Design Prize in 2020, Good Design Australia's highest honour, shortly before he passed away.

Job Titles:

• Awards Coordinator / Conference and Events Manager

Job Titles:

• General Manager