David became Deputy Chief Executive of the Design Council in June 2008. His remit is to lead the delivery of our programmes and strengthen our impact across the UK. That means he will be working with Designing Demand and regional development agencies on delivering this programme for SMEs and he'll have a hand in raising the Design Council's profile on the international stage.
Before he joined the Design Council, David was Director of Nissan Design Europe where he set up one of the industry's most innovative product, brand and service design operations, resulting in a complete replacement of the Nissan product range. An economist by training, David has also worked for Audi and Lotus, and prior to this, he specialised in senior planning roles in the petrochemical industry working for the likes of Texaco and Mobil.
Before he joined, David had already had an impact on much of the Design Council's high profile work. He contributed to the Tax Credits elements of the Cox Review of Creativity in Business, and successfully pioneered the first successful claim in the UK for Tax Credits for design-led businesses. He has also been an active member of the Advisory Board for the Design Skills Plan and a regular speaker at Design Council forums.
david.godber@designcouncil.org.uk
