British Fashion Council appoints David Pemsel as its new chair

The British Fashion Council has appointed David Pemsel as its new chair. Mr Pemsel succeeds Stephanie Phair, an executive at Farfetch, who steered the organisation through the pandemic. Phair stepped down earlier in September.

Demsel was appointed to BFC’s executive board in 2016 and is the founder of ScienceMagic.Inc, a creative and strategic company that helps brands, talent and businesses to grow. Previously he was CEO of Guardian Media Group.

While Demsel does not have a fashion consultancy background, his aim is to bring a fresh perspective to the BFC at a time when digital innovation, inclusivity, sustainability and a lull in consumer spending is facing the fashion industry.

While the retail and fashion sector has largely recovered from the pandemic closures, Demsel will need to steer and nurture both the emerging talent that London is known for as well as established businesses through a new set of challenges.

Further to his role at the BFC, Demsel is also a voting member of BAFTA, received the accolade of media leader of the year in 2019, and regularly speaks on leadership at the London Business School.