Design guru Stephen Bayley becomes first non-executive director of Sidhu & Simon Communications

Monday 14th July 2008

Stephen Bayley, design guru, known as the ‘second most intelligent man in Britain’ is today announced as the first of three Non-Executive Directors to join the management board of Sidhu & Simon Communications, the Automotive, Formula One™ and Luxury Goods public relations & sponsorship agency.

Nav Sidhu & Cécile Simon – Managing Partners

"For Stephen to agree to be our first Non-Executive Director is a great honour for the agency and its client partners. His notoriety as a respected commentator on design, lifestyle and cars means his guidance and counsel will help us produce even stronger campaigns for our client partners, especially across the luxury goods and automotive divisions. Stephen’s arrival at Sidhu & Simon Communications gives us a smarter edge when responding to the increasing move by carmakers and luxury goods brands towards greater lifestyle media content as a key component of their overall communications strategy.

Carmakers are often let down by the failure of lifestyle PR agencies to activate and bring-to-life the brief. With over 40 years of combined in-house automotive PR experience, we engage carmakers on their own territory and in their own language, thereby achieving the best-fit solution to the brief and budget. It’s about making carmakers feel comfortable when it comes to doing business in the lifestyle PR arena."

This announcement comes at the same time that Sidhu & Simon Communications consolidates the agency into three ‘expert’ divisions that best reflect their expertise and client offering, namely, Automotive, Formula One™ & luxury goods divisions. The agency’s informed experience within these sectors combined with a diverse lifestyle media community helps drive added value into every level of our client campaigns whether offline with traditional or online with social and consumer media.

Sidhu & Simon Communications will shortly be announcing a further two Non-Executive Directors. Each will be a leading figure within their respective industry sector.

Stephen Bayley - Biography

Stephen Bayley was once described as ‘the second most intelligent man in Britain’. This is controversial and very possibly untrue, but what is indisputable is that – as the author of more than ten books, nearly thirty exhibition catalogues, countless articles, broadcasts and newspaper columns – he is one of the world's best known commentators on modern culture. Tom Wolfe said of him "I don't know anybody with more interesting observations about style, taste and contemporary design."

A graphologist did a blind analysis of his handwriting and said, "His presentation skills are off the chart, as are his innovative and creative thinking. He is opinionated, innovative and people-oriented. Blessed with the courage of his own convictions, he leans to extremes, black or white. Never grey. You simply can't ignore him. The word ‘bolshie’ comes to mind."

Bayley was the first director of the Design Museum in London and currently writes for several major newspapers and is a contributing editor to GQ magazine. He is also a regular columnist in British CAR magazine where he offers a critique of contemporary motoring design from a philosophical perspective.