Ideas Matter

Earlier this month, our team came together at our Cape Town headquarters to mark a very special milestone: Douglas Knowledge Partners is five years old!

From the very beginning, our firm has been powered by the belief that great ideas deserve to make a real impact in the world. The spark that lit our journey came from Africa’s Business Revolution – the bestselling book by McKinsey & Company’s Africa Chairman, Acha Leke, published by Harvard Business Review Press. Colin Douglas, our founder and CEO, supported Acha and his coauthors in shaping the book, a collaboration that introduced us to two giants of business publishing: Melinda Merino of HBR Press and Rik Kirkland, former Editor-in-Chief of Fortune and then a McKinsey Partner leading global publishing.

These three extraordinary individuals have been instrumental in our growth – from a scrappy start-up into a thriving team of 25 experts serving clients on six continents. Acha not only encouraged us to get started but backed that encouragement with invaluable advice and introductions. Melinda and her colleagues at HBR Press entrusted us with numerous high-profile publishing projects. Rik today serves as Chair of Douglas Knowledge Partners – a friend, counsellor, and source of razor-sharp insights, delivered with warmth and enthusiasm. Their example embodies one of our guiding principles: work with great people on topics that matter.

Over the past five years, we’ve expanded our capabilities to cover the full spectrum of knowledge development – from research and analytics to digital design and amplification. Yet we’re delighted that books remain central to our work. They continue to be powerful vehicles for shaping ideas and sparking change.

This month, we are especially proud to host Sarah Williamson, CEO of FCLTGlobal, in Cape Town as she celebrates the release of her new book, The CEO’s Guide to the Investment Galaxy.

We are deeply grateful to all our clients, collaborators, and friends who have trusted us to help magnify the impact of their ideas. Our fifth birthday is not just a celebration of how far we’ve come, but also of the people who’ve made this journey possible.

Here’s to the next chapter of translating ideas into impact – with joy, purpose, and extraordinary partners at our side.

‍