Public Digital has joined the kyu Collective

As you know, Public Digital has always sought to influence leaders and institutions from diverse parts of the world. Being a truly global company is very important to us. But whilst we have always been open to enhancing our network, we have never, until now, been inspired to more formally partner with someone.

By partnering with kyu, our network just made a lot of new connections. Joining the Collective offers us a fantastic opportunity to work in more places, with different people, on new challenges that will allow us to have even more impact. It includes IDEO, SY Partners and Atölye - 3 companies we have been working with for quite some time. We’re excited about doing more with them, and collaborating with others we’ll be meeting soon.

kyu has taken a minority stake in Public Digital, leaving the majority in the hands of the founders. Fundamentally, Public Digital - our people, our work, our positions - remains the same. Farah Ramzan Golant kyu’s CEO of EMEA, has joined our Board. With her background and experience I have no doubt she will be a brilliant addition.

kyu rejects the orthodoxy of traditional, short-termist business consultancy and believes in delivering public good – at scale, over the long-term. Their stated purpose is “to be a source of creativity which propels society and the economy forward”. Creativity and user centred design are threads that run through the entire Collective, just like they do for us. So we are also gaining an opportunity to learn from others who have applied principles that we share to disrupt the status quo.

Joining kyu is also a moment for us to say a few public thank yous to our non-executive directors.

Roger Acton has been with us since day 1. He helped us navigate the tricky first phase of growth. Public Digital is now a group of nearly 30 people working across the globe, supported by a growing and increasingly diverse network of experts. Without his calm support and independent challenge, we wouldn’t have got here. Our chair Tim Brooks helped us structure this partnership with kyu. His commercial nous - and the elegance in how he dispenses it - have been crucial in setting up this next step for Public Digital. Thank you Roger and Tim, we all look forward to continuing to work with you.

As I’ve written before, optimism counts in an era where pessimism is prevalent. Joining kyu is another reason why I feel very optimistic about the future. I’m looking forward to writing in more detail about our plans very soon.