Dick Powell steps down as chairman of D&AD

Tim Lindsay will assume the role later this year

After almost ten years as Chairman of D&AD, Dick Powell has decided to step down from the role in September: current CEO Tim Lindsay will take his place.

In addition to his term as Chairman, Powell’s unique contribution to D&AD includes twice serving as President and being a recipient of the President’s Award. “No-one has done more for D&AD than Dick,” says D&AD President Harriet Devoy. “He has played a huge role in transforming the organisation and everyone involved with D&AD owes him an enormous debt of thanks.”

The past decade has seen significant change at the charity. Its industry-leading awards has grown into a truly global celebration of creativity, while the D&AD Festival will this year welcome 3,000 attendees to London’s Truman Brewery from 21-23 May. D&AD has continued to support the next generation of creatives through its thriving New Blood festival, awards and academy, with the Shift programme creating a pathway into the creative industries for those outside traditional academia.

“It’s time for someone else to pick up the baton and to help guide this wonderful organisation through its next decade,” Powell says. “Needless to say, I have absolutely loved doing the job but, apart from it being time for a change, my wife would really like to see a little bit more of me!

“Tim and I have been talking about how best to organise a succession plan for several months. Early on, he said that he would be very interested in becoming Chairman if the timing was right for him. I think this is very good news indeed - Tim has been a fantastic CEO for D&AD and becoming Chairman is a great way for D&AD to hang onto all that experience, enthusiasm and capability,” Powell continues.

“Not only has it been a privilege to serve D&AD as CEO for seven years, it's been the most enormous fun,” Lindsay says. “We have a great COO in Dara Lynch, a great team and an appetite to go even further in standing up for creative excellence and a fairer, more diverse industry. I'm looking forward to providing continuity and helping us tackle the new challenges in a new role. I'd also like to pay a huge tribute to Dick Powell. He's been an extraordinarily brilliant Chairman.”