Yasushi Kusume is Vice President of Brand Design Identity and Experience for Electrolux Group Design and a brand design and design identity expert. His responsibilities include the on-going orchestration and creation process of the design identity for all touch points to create a full brand experience; and driving the development of the organisations design competence relevant to the competitive strength of Electrolux Group Design. Yasushi was Vice President of Brand Design and Creative Direction for Philips Design at Royal Philips Electronics until 2012 April. Recent appointments and speaking engagements include key note speaker at Red dot "Design as a value generator" - workshop at the Designhuis, Eindhoven 2011, Key note speaker at Interbrand Best Global Brands event, Amsterdam 2011, Panel speaker at Corporate Citizen Forum, Harvard 2011, 2013 IF Communication Design Jury.
Neil Gridley is a Design and Innovation Consultant working with businesses at all stages of growth. He has over 20 years experience in consultancy and international business, including user centred design and brand development at Philips, design management at Tesco and as a programme development leader at the UK's national strategic body for design, the Design Council. He has developed successful products, brands and services across industries and sectors, for businesses ranging from start-ups through to global corporations. He is a highly regarded practitioner and often asked to speak on the role of design in business at events, especially through his connections with the Design Council and their Design Leadership Programme.