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Jonathan Sands

The office of design consultancy Elmwood in Leeds was excluded from the business as part of the founder’s succession plans.

Founder and main shareholder Jonathan Sands has been at the helm for almost 40 years and is now passing the baton. One of the most successful years for consulting and work follows to establish leadership in all studios over the past three years.

Successor plans included relocating the headquarters to the London studio and separating the Leeds and Melbourne studios from global operations, which also include bases in New York and Singapore.

In addition to the restructuring, Sands is diluting his personal stake in order to give stakes to the respective leadership teams in all studios.

He said, “Elmwood has been my life’s work, at the helm for nearly forty years. I was given a baton in 1989 when we organized a management buyout, but it was never just my business.

“With a big birthday approaching and the company has a wealth of talent at all levels, it seems like my job here is largely done and the time has come to plan to successfully pass this baton across all five studios. “

Sands will remain chairman of the Leeds office, which will continue to be led by Sarah Dear as managing partner alongside Wander Bruijel and Sabrina Ahmed.

There are plans to rename the studio after the split to reflect the new offerings. The Elmwood brand will be retained by the other companies.

Sands added, “Now more than ever needs to be more agile, from Brexit one day to the global pandemic the next, and with new digital disruptors emerging with new channels and technologies, the rules of engagement are constantly changing.

“We need to immerse ourselves in our customer businesses like never before and be as close to them as if they were part of that business. As our global business acts as the brand watchman for a number of global companies, they need to personally mark their customers at their major hubs around the world .

“Our studios in Leeds and Melbourne, even if they operate internationally, do not need to have this on-site studio presence. It is recognizing the needs of different customers and accelerating the changes in the way they work after Covid-19 that is dividing them both studios. “