Designability appoints new chief executive to accelerate product innovation
Charity Designability has announced the appointment of Catharine Brown as its new chief executive, who will help continue improving the lives of people with disabilities and long-term health conditions.
Catharine begins the role for the charity, which transforms the lives of people with disabilities through the design of assistive technology, with immediate effect.
She brings 15 years’ experience of charity leadership, having led the fundraising and marketing activities of a number of national charities, and latterly working as a consultant advising charity CEOs and Boards on strategy and leadership development. Her early career was in commercial marketing at brands including Marks & Spencer and The Economist.
The new chief executive is also a trustee for ActionAid, an international development charity that works with women and girls living in poverty. She is driven by the ethos of access, equality and inclusion for people from all walks of life.
Commenting on her appointment, Catharine said: “I am delighted to be joining Designability as we celebrate our 50th anniversary and look ahead to an exciting future. We have some amazing product innovations launching this year, including a new baby carrier for parents who are wheelchair users, alongside leading some ground-breaking research projects. I’m looking forward to helping more people with disabilities and long term health conditions live life to the full.”
Libby Gawith, Chair of Trustees at Designability, added: “Catharine has a compelling mix of leadership experience from both the commercial and charity sectors which will be hugely valuable in helping Designability reach our goals.
“We are looking forward to an exciting year ahead, as we continue our 50th Anniversary Appeal to fund the development of new workshop space to enable us to help even more people in the years to come.”
Now in its 50th year, Designability is a national charity that aims to transform the lives of disabled people and those living with a long-term health condition through the design of assistive technology.
Its goal is for people to achieve greater independence and happiness in their lives. Over the last 50 years, the charity has created over 300 products which have changed the lives of over 250,000 people.
