Design Economy Ambassadors

Lord Bilimoria

Chairman of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC)

Lord Karan Bilimoria CBE DL is the founder of Cobra Beer, a household brand in the UK and one of the most awarded beers in the world. In 2006, Karan Bilimoria was appointed as the Lord Bilimoria of Chelsea, becoming the first-ever Zoroastrian Parsi to sit in the House of Lords. In January 2025 Karan was appointed Chairman of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) United Kingdom. He served as President of the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) from 2020 to 2022. In June 2022, Karan was appointed a Trustee of Policy Exchange. In 2025 Lord Bilimoria became a Co-Chair of the Digital Transformation Taskforce at the B20 South Africa, Patron of The FW de Klerk Foundation and was appointed Senior Fellow to the Milken Institute Europe and joined the Advisory Council for the Milken Institute’s Investing in Europe’s Competitiveness Initiative. 

George Clarke

Architect, TV Presenter & Founder, MOBIE

George Clarke is an architect, broadcaster and campaigner who has spent more than thirty years championing better designed homes for everyone. Born in Sunderland in 1974 and raised on a council estate in Washington, George studied architecture at Newcastle University and UCL’s Bartlett School before working with Sir Terry Farrell in London. He founded his own architectural practice soon afterwards.  

Across more than 500 episodes for Channel 4, his programmes, including George Clarke’s Amazing Spaces, The Restoration Man, Old House New Home, Remarkable Renovations and Building Home, have brought architecture, craft, restoration and good design into millions of homes. His documentaries, including The Empty Homes Scandal and The Great British Council House Scandal, have taken on some of the biggest issues in British housing, helping put empty homes, social housing and the future of how we live firmly on the national agenda. George’s work has always been about more than buildings. It is about people, places and the way good design can improve everyday life. He is a passionate voice for restoring and reusing what we already have, making homes warmer, healthier and more affordable to run, and opening up better futures for young people who might never have imagined a career in architecture, design or the built environment.  

George is Chancellor of Northumbria University and works with organisations including The King’s Foundation, the National Trust, the Woodland Trust, the Design Council, the Foundation of Light, Maggie’s and Shelter. Across these roles, he supports causes close to his heart, spanning health, housing, heritage, nature, design and education. He is also the author of seven books. His belief is simple, good design should never be a luxury. It should make life better for everyone.

Martyn Evans

Professor of Design and Faculty Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Arts & Humanities, Manchester Metropolitan University

Martyn is Professor of Design and Faculty Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Arts & Humanities at Manchester Metropolitan University, where he also serves as Director of Manchester School of Art. 
 
A leading figure in design research and education, Martyn holds advisory roles with the UK Design Council and the Council for Higher Education in Art & Design. He is also a member of the International Advisory Council for the Design Research Society. His previous positions include serving on the Arts and Humanities Research Council Advisory Board and as a College of Experts member for the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport. Martyn’s research is rooted in the strategic role design plays across sectors - particularly its power to shape and communicate futures as a catalyst for innovation. With deep expertise in design futures and design for sustainability, he has presented his work nationally and internationally and contributes as a reviewer for various research councils. He has led and collaborated on a wide range of funded research projects. 
 
He has supervised numerous doctoral researchers across diverse areas of design, most of whom investigate the value design brings to organisations and society. With a strong background in curriculum development and academic leadership, Martyn has held key roles including Head of Department and Director of Research and served as an external examiner in the UK and South Korea. He holds a BA (Hons) in Product Design from Ravensbourne College of Design and Communication (1996), an MA in Industrial Design from Manchester Metropolitan University (1997), and a PhD in Design Futures from Lancaster University (2010). 

Yinka Ilori MBE

Multi-disciplinary Artist and Designer

Yinka Ilori MBE is a British-Nigerian artist, designer and founder whose bold visual language draws on his dual heritage to convey new narratives through contemporary design.

Humorous, provocative, and playful, his projects demonstrate how design can bring together communities, reimagine spaces, and have a positive impact on society, while evoking a sense of joy and optimism. Spanning a wide range of disciplines – including branded partnerships, gallery exhibitions, and his own line, Yinka Ilori Objects – his work engages themes that resonate with audiences worldwide and is guided by a belief that art and design should be accessible to everyone. A graduate of London Metropolitan University’s BA in Furniture and Product Design, Ilori’s work has been showcased globally through solo and group exhibitions, public commissions and set and exhibition design. In 2025, the same year that he was appointed a Royal Designer for Industry (RDI) by the Royal Society for Arts (RSA), he launched the Yinka Ilori Foundation with a mission to create playful, inclusive, and sustainable community spaces that foster creativity, opportunity, and self-sufficiency, especially for children and youth.

Usman Haque

Co-founder, HAQUE TAN

Trained as an architect, Usman Haque  is co-founder of design studio HAQUE TAN and urban technology studio Umbrellium, dedicated to transforming urban environments by combining the scale of architecture with the ingenuity of art and the eccentricities of technology. His work embraces many disciplines, including interactive architecture, participatory design, the internet of things, urban community infrastructure and large-scale public art/performance. He has created spectacular participatory events and large-scale installations for cities around the world, opening the Singapore Biennale, the Dubai World Cup and Toronto’s Nuit Blanche, and his work has been exhibited internationally. He was co-founder of Starling Technologies, dedicated to pedestrian safety; earlier he founded Thingful.net, a search engine for the Internet of Things; and Pachube.com, one of the earlies IoT data and communities, acquired by LogMeIn in 2011. He taught at the Bartlett School of Architecture, including the Interactive Architecture Workshop (until 2005) and, with Adam Greenfield, RC12 Urban Design cluster, “Participatory systems for networked urban environments”. He received the 2008 Design of the Year Award (interactive) from the Design Museum, UK, a 2009 World Technology Award (art), the Japan Media Arts Festival Excellence prize and the Asia Digital Art Award Grand Prize. 

Professor Mariana Mazzucato

Founding Director, UCL Institute for Innovation & Public Purpose

Mariana Mazzucato (PhD) is Professor in the Economics of Innovation and Public Value at University College London (UCL), where she is Founding Director of the UCL Institute for Innovation & Public Purpose. She is winner of international prizes including the Grande Ufficiale Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana in 2021, Italy's highest civilian honour, the 2020 John von Neumann Award, the 2019 All European Academies Madame de Staël Prize for Cultural Values, and 2018 Leontief Prize for Advancing the Frontiers of Economic Thought. She is a member of the UK Academy of Social Sciences (FAcSS) and the Italian Academy of Sciences Lincei. Most recently, Pope Francis appointed her to the Pontifical Academy for Life for bringing ‘more humanity’ to the world. As well as The Entrepreneurial State: debunking public vs. private sector myths (2013), she is the author of The Value of Everything: Making and Taking in the Global Economy (2018), Mission Economy: A Moonshot Guide to Changing Capitalism (2021), and most recently The Big Con: How the Consulting Industry Weakens our Businesses, Infantilizes our Governments and Warps our Economies (2023). She advises policymakers around the world on innovation-led inclusive and sustainable growth. Her roles have included for example Chair of the World Health Organization's Council on the Economics of Health for All, Co-Chair of the Global Commission on the Economics of Water, a member of the South African President’s Economic Advisory Council, and the Co-Chair of the Group of Experts to the G20 Task Force for the Global Mobilization against Climate Change.

The Rt Hon Ian Murray MP

Minister of State jointly in the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology

Ian Murray was appointed as Minister of State jointly in the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology on 6 September 2025. He was previously Secretary of State for Scotland from 5 July 2024 to 5 September 2025. He has been the Member of Parliament for Edinburgh South continuously since May 2010.

Michelle Ogundehin

Author, Brand Consultant and TV Presenter

Originally trained as an architect, Michelle is an established and experienced presenter, commentator and consultant who has served on numerous industry and educational juries, speaker panels and advisory boards. She is a Contributing Editor to FT HTSI magazine as well as regularly writing for many other prestigious publications including Dezeen, Vogue Living, The Sunday Times and Femail. She was a Trustee of the V&A for 8 years, and in April 2021 was appointed as a Trustee of London's Design Museum. In February 2024 she became an Ambassador for Breast Cancer UK (a charity devoted to breast cancer prevention), and was also awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Arts from the University of Brighton, the highest honour it can bestow, in recognition of her outstanding contribution to interiors and wellbeing.

She gained notoriety for her Equal Rights for Design campaign. Backed by Sir James Dyson and Sir Terence Conran, this proposal to change the UK copyright laws with respect to design culminated in new laws being passed in 2016 that made knock-off designer classics illegal. It was an industry game changer.