Paul Stead

I'm a dyslexic designer who failed the 11+ but went on to create / lead a Global Design business employing circa 750 staff in 27 offices.
My dad was a woodwork teacher, so I grew up making furniture and building houses. At school I had a paper round, was a part-time projectionist, and during holidays worked in a timber yard and as a cleaner in a mental hospital.
I went to Loughborough to be a CDT teacher but soon found the opportunity to be a designer. After an MA at Bucks University, I secured a junior designer role at Fitch & Company working designing the check in desks for T4 Heathrow.
I found my vocation, and soon was promoted to designer > snr designer > Associate director running part of the business.
I left Fitch on my 30th Birthday to form PSD Associates, my mum gave my £2,000.00 and my wife Julia supported me + gave me a computer + much moral support.
The business grew + grew ( mainly as I got on planes and went to America ) we won Motorola as a client and invested heavily in the same CAD systems ... because we had the tech we won Swatch as well as many other global clients..
In consulting you are " what you eat" ... and we were at the top table with many of leading B2B (business to business) + B2C (business to customer) brands not only developing product but we became an interdisciplinary agency, delivering retail, packaging, POS (point of sale), branding, www providing a full range of design services.
In 2000 we sold the business to a large Advertising agency, with the aim of growing a global design franchise. Which we did by buying my old company Fitch where i took over as Worldwide CEO.
Roll forward 3 years and that business was sold and I started again, this time an Innovation +design business BREWERYLONDON. We opened 3 offices London / NY / Seattle and had a satellite office in Cincinnati to service P+G(Proctor and Gamble). Up until covid we worked for many FMCG companies (Fast Moving Consumer Goods) creating + testing new products, new brands endeavouring to find new market opportunities. Clients inc Estee Lauder, Pepsi, 3M, John Deere, Gillette, Mondelez, and Dell (to name a few).
Covid, made travel impossible, the world shut down! Since then I have been spending more time with the family, sailing + skiing + investing in start-ups, teaching at my old Universities, local charity work, and developing properties.
I'd appreciate the opportunity to inspire the designers of the future and (if possible) share some practical "innovation tips" to CDT teachers and perhaps run a innovation workshop.