Above: Damian Nielsen

The Australian Sign & Graphics Association has announced that long-time association office bearer Michael Punch will retire from his active roles with the association at the end of June, handing over his duties to Damian Nielsen as of 1 July.

Mick Harrold, ASGA president, said Punch’s retirement marks the ‘end of an era’ for the association, with the former general manager and current membership and events manager playing a ‘pivotal role’ across many years.

“Virtually every one of our members will know Michael by name, and have positive memories of the many conversations and interactions they’ve had with him over the years,” Harrold said.

“In many ways, he has been the face of the ASGA, and the things we have achieved over the past few years are in no small part due to his dedication.

“There will be more to say in the near future about Michael and his contribution to ASGA, but suffice to say there are few people, in any industry association, who have demonstrated the kind of commitment to members and to his industry that Michael has done, and we are fortunate to have had his contribution for such a long time.”

Punch’s current role as membership and events manager will be taken up by Damian Nielsen, the creative director of his Queensland consulting company, INbrandigo.

Nielsen has held the vice presidency of the ASGA for the past five years, is the association’s Queensland chair, and sits on its education committee.

Nielsen has more than 30 years’ experience in the signage industry, starting with work experience which was followed by an apprenticeship where he learned everything from brushwork through to fabrication and installation. Having recently stepped aside from his role as general manager of CV Media, Nielsen says he is now planning to balance his consulting work through INbrandigo with opportunities to ‘give back’ to the industry which has provided so much to him over his career thus far.

“There’s no question I have very big shoes to fill, but it’s exciting to be taking on these responsibilities at such an exciting time for the association,” Nielsen said.

“I am delighted to be stepping into this new role and very much looking forward to connecting with all our Members over the coming months as we continue to roll out a busy program of webinars, events, and other initiatives to support their businesses and the wider industry.”

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