PA Consulting welcomes Dan Toon, former Head of Design at McLaren Applied

Design expert Dan Toon joins PA Consulting (PA), the consultancy that’s bringing ingenuity to life, as a partner in PA’s Consumer and Manufacturing practice. Dan brings 19 years’ experience in research and data-led design and will help to shape PA’s design and innovation capability with a strong focus on building a leading-edge Design capability in the UK and Europe.

Dan first joined PA in 2010 where he supported the design, innovation and product development services for clients across a number of sectors. From there, he moved to Happen, a global innovation agency which is part of Accenture, where he focused on delivering product innovation through existing assets in the FMCG sector.

Dan returns to PA from McLaren Applied, where he spent over four years as the Head of Design, growing a research, design and engineering capability to deliver innovation services for health and wellness, consumer products, motorsport, transport and energy clients.

PA’s consumer experts help clients create innovative and sustainable solutions, reinvent manufacturing processes and develop smart, connected supply chains. Their capabilities extend from market insight and taking products from creative design through development and launch, to finding new ways to connect brands with consumers.   

PA recently created Hydrow™, the indoor rowing machine, an experiential product that debuted to rave reviews and was named one of the 'Best Inventions of 2020’ by Time Magazine. PA also developed a 100 per cent plastic-free, sustainable and home compostable tea bag for Tea Sheets and developed lightweight recycling packaging for craft spirits company Dunnet Bay Distillers.

Wil Schoenmakers, Global Head of Consumer and Manufacturing at PA Consulting, said: “I’m delighted to welcome Dan back to the team to help shape and grow our Design and Innovation strategy. Dan’s wide-ranging experience in research and data-led design will help to deliver compelling solutions and strategies for PA’s clients and accelerate bringing ingenuity to life.”

Dan added: “I’m thrilled to be coming back to PA at such an exciting time. Magic happens when science, engineering and design are closely connected. I know of no better place where genuine scientific depth can be leveraged by design to create insight and data-led products and services that will move us all forward.”