D&AD awards chief moves to Firsthand

D&AD student awards deputy director Ian Willingham is leaving the body after six and a half years to head new business development at user-centred design consultancy Firsthand.

D&AD student awards deputy director Ian Willingham is leaving the body after six and a half years to head new business development at user-centred design consultancy Firsthand. Willingham starts his new role in January, and D&AD is now looking for his replacement. ‘I met [Firsthand’s] founder, Matt Marsh, five years ago when we worked together on a series of D&AD student awards workshops,’ he says. ‘My role [there] will be to colla boratively build its reputation and success. D&AD’s been great. I feel privileged to have had such influence and ownership over one of its most respected programmes, the student awards.’ Willingham took on the role of student awards deputy director this year when the awards strategically moved into the D&AD awards team. Prior to this, Willingham was student awards manager and project manager of the product design and innovation awards.

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