24/01/2024
Ross Bull, Coexistence’s co-founder, has always led a double life. He has worked globally in developing/post-conflict countries; as well as being co-founder of Coexistence.
Although Mary had a background in design (her grandfather founded J&J Wiggin, which became Old Hall, and she worked for the Design Council, Heal’s, and the General Trading Company prior to setting up Coexistence), Ross’s story is incredibly different. He studied mathematical economics & statistics at Bristol, and worked in the UK’s Ministry of Energy prior to meeting Mary and setting up Coexistence.
Through Mary, Ross became aware of Casa Vogue, a monthly magazine that showcased emerging Italian furniture, lighting designs, and architecture. She also took him to a major exhibition of Italian furniture and lighting held at Harrods in 1970-71 that opened his eyes to the world of contemporary product design. When asked about this, Ross said “I wondered why the UK did not at that time have access to such products and what Mary and I could do to improve the situation”.
Ross is still involved behind the scenes as a consultant for Coexistence, and is about to go to Kyiv helping to support Ukraine’s smallholder farmers.
These two deep interests had to coexist in Ross’s career, and reflecting back, Ross said ”if I had not worked abroad, I would not have been exposed to different ideas and international management standards which I was able to use subsequently to help develop Coexistence”.
