Strategic design consultancy ThinkPlace installs new leadership in Africa

ThinkPlace, a global strategic design consultancy focused on complex public sector and societal challenges, has installed a new leadership team in Africa.

With offices around the world, ThinkPlace helps governments, enterprises and non-profit organizations with solving their challenges using design-led, human-centred approaches. The firm primarily works on projects that drive positive social impact, focusing on areas such as healthcare, social and financial inclusion, water and energy, climate resilience, social justice, and economic development.

While the network operates as a global collective, each regional unit is led independently, with the African business now announcing a new leadership team.

Michael Ngigi has assumed the role of Managing Partner while Oliver Muchiri has been appointed Managing Director. They are supported by an Executive Leadership Team that comprises Olivia Okeno (Business Unit Lead for Capacity Building & Brokering), Beth Heald (Business Unit Lead for Service Design & Systems Strengthening) and Akinyi Odera (Project Director for the Ethiopia Studio).

“As we enter our next chapter in Africa, our ambition is clear: to partner with organizations seeking to solve their most difficult challenges in ways that are human-centered, commercially grounded, and capable of delivering meaningful systems change across Africa,” said Muchiri. “We want to be known not simply for the work we do, but for the quality with which we do it, the partnerships we build, and the strength of the teams we develop.”

Ngigi added that the refreshed leadership structure reflects ThinkPlace’s ongoing investment in building a diverse and highly capable technical team across the continent.

In Africa, ThinkPlace operates from offices in Nairobi, Kenya, and Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Recent projects on the continent include strategies for financial inclusion among young people, a strategy to enhance primary healthcare services in five African countries, and a co-designed digital health tool for better health outcomes in Kenya and Nigeria.

Beyond Africa, ThinkPlace’s offices are based in Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, the Philippines, India, the US, and the UK.