Sanky announced as D&AD president-in-waiting

Simon ‘Sanky’ Sankarayya, founder of digital consultancy All of Us, has been appointed deputy president of D&AD, and will take over the presidency of the organisation in September 2010.

Sankarayya will serve for a year under the organisation’s new president Paul Brazier, creative director of advertising agency AMV.BBDO, who was inaugurated last night, taking over from Williams Murray Hamm partner Garrick Hamm.

Tim O’Kennedy was appointed chief executive of D&AD in June, filling a role that had been empty for two years. Sankarayya says, ‘There’s definitely a positive feeling around at the moment – finally, there’s someone in charge.

‘Dara Lynch [chief operating officer and financial director] has done a fantastic job, but being chief executive wasn’t really part of her remit.’ Sankarayya adds, ‘Digital is definitely part of the tapestry at D&AD now, not just a bolt-on as it is in some organisations – and this is partly why [past president] Simon Waterfall and Hamm were so keen to get me involved in the executive in the first place.’

As well as the appointments of Sankarayya and Brazier, D&AD has also made four new appointments to its executive board. Turner Duckworth co-founder Bruce Duckworth has been appointed to a design seat, while Virgin Atlantic head of design Joe Ferry will take the in-house creative seat.

Mark Denton of Coy Communications and Billy Mawhinney of BJL have been appointed to advertising seats on the board.

The four new executive board members were elected by D&AD members from a shortlist of 14 designers and advertising creatives.

Those stepping down from the executive committee are president Hamm, Rosie Arnold, Brian Jenson and Simon Carbury from the advertising seats, Sebastian Conran from the design seats, and Brett Foraker and Tim Molloy from the in-house seats.

New president Brazier says, ‘I haven’t checked, but I’m willing to bet that every incoming D&AD president has described the year ahead as “challenging”. This one certainly will be. There’s less money about. More awards schemes competing for entries. And the possibilities in communications seem to change almost daily.’

Last month, D&;AD was forced to cut 12 jobs, with chairman Anthony Simonds-Gooding saying the cuts followed a 22 per cent drop in D&AD Awards entries in 2009 (News, DW 12 August).

Other cost-cutting measures being put in place to meet the executive committee’s strategic plan include a reduction in the number of President’s Lectures to four or five a year.

New faces at D&AD

• Tim O’Kennedy was appointed chief executive in June
• Paul Brazier has taken over as president, with Simon Sankarayya appointed deputy president
• Bruce Duckworth, Joe Ferry, Mark Denton and Billy Mawhinney have all been appointed to the executive board
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