Blake Lough, Purple Shirt's co-founder, is joining the Elemental Concept group leadership team as Chief Experience Officer, taking global responsibility for human centred experience design across both Purple Shirt and Elemental Concept. Steve Alexander, Purple Shirt's other co-founder, is becoming CEO of Asia Pacific, overseeing operations and growth across the region for both businesses.
Both of them are staying exactly where you'd want them, leading their New Zealand clients and team directly, while also taking on these new group responsibilities.
Chris Green is stepping into a global role as Head of Strategy and Innovation across Purple Shirt and Elemental Concept, bringing a decade of CX experience from Australia into the wider group. And Kimberley Edgell is taking on day to day oversight of Purple Shirt's New Zealand operations, so there's a clear, consistent point of contact here at home while Blake and Steve's attention widens.
We asked Blake and Steve what this actually means for the people they work with here in New Zealand.
Blake put it simply: "This feels less like a new role and more like a new name for the work I've been doing over the past year. My calendar now stretches a bit earlier and later to fit in with our overseas teams, but we're just as focused as ever on delivering excellent service to our existing clients here in New Zealand. The part I can't wait for is taking our expertise into new markets and solving new problems with a genuinely great bunch of people."
Steve was direct about it too: "For our clients and team here in New Zealand, nothing changes about how we work. Same people, same approach, same conversations. We're just doing it as part of a bigger business now, backed by the technical talent of our global delivery teams. Blake and I are genuinely grateful for the opportunity, and excited about what happens when more of the world gets to see what this team can do."
Bimal Shah, CEO and founder of Elemental Concept, said the appointments reflect what he's seen since the acquisition: "I already knew Blake and Steve were excellent. That's part of why we wanted to join forces in the first place. What's impressed me since the acquisition is watching them do it up close, the way they think strategically but still get right into the detail of a client's problem to find the real answer. These roles reflect exactly the kind of leadership we need for our next stage of growth."
This follows a year of integration work between the two businesses, including a shared strategic framework and a combined service offering that's already shaping projects on both sides of the Tasman. For our New Zealand clients, the practical answer is the one Steve gave. Same people, same approach, and now a bigger team standing behind it.
