Dawn Lim
As Executive Director of DesignSingapore Council (Dsg), Dawn sets the vision and strategy for Singapore’s national agency for design. Since taking over the reins in 2022, she has positioned Singapore Design for the future – focusing on design's role in shaping emerging technology, sustainability and systems of care. She also oversaw the relaunch of Singapore Design Week held every September and the debut of Dsg’s global showcase, Future Impact, at Milan Design Week 2023 and again in 2024. She is also the Co-Commissioner of the Singapore Pavilion at the Venice Biennale Architecture and leads Singapore’s highest design accolade – the President*s Design Award.
She has two decades of experience in public and private sector trade agreements, policymaking, partnership development and industrial strategy in Asia and Europe. She honed her business and commercial acumen in the shipping industry at PSA Corporation, and put that to good use subsequently at the Singapore Economic Development Board attracting the world’s top companies to invest in the country to drive economic growth.
She holds a Bachelor of Science in International Relations from Georgetown University and a Master of Science from the Stanford Graduate School of Business. Dawn has presented on the power of design across international platforms such as the UNESCO Creative Cities Network, SXSW, ChangeNow Summit, Intercorp Festival of Innovation, Singapore Design Week, as well as with partners like JLL, Stagwell, Deloitte Centre for the Edge, WGSN. She is a UK Design Ambassador, advisory member to the Seoul Design Award and has been invited as a jury member on a wide range of design platforms.