Dr Leanne Sobel
Design, innovation, strategy & leadership specialist
Director of Strategic Design and Research, Self-employed; Adjunct Fellow, UTS Business School
Leanne is passionate about applying design practices to unpack complex problems. She has developed a unique perspective to address organisational challenges over her 20+ years of practice across agency, consulting, academic and industry positions.
Leanne has completed a PhD in the role of design in strategy at the University of Technology Sydney. Leanne also holds a Master of Management from Macquarie Graduate School of Management and a Bachelor of Design from Swinburne University and Billy Blue College of Design.
Having worked as a management consultant, design practitioner, and researcher, Leanne brings diverse experience to her work. This includes teaching in executive management and master's levels within business and design programs at the University of Technology Sydney, Sydney University, Macquarie School of Business and Billy Blue College of Design. Leanne brings her industry knowledge into education to create impactful teaching and applied learning experiences with her students. In this capacity, Leanne has worked with industry partners to build design capabilities within teams that activate design approaches in organisational settings to address strategic challenges.
Published works
- Sobel, L., Tompson, T. and Oru, C. (2025) 'A complexity paradigm: four dimensions of management where systemic design practices support work in complexity', Proceedings from Relating Systems Thinking & Design Conference 14 (RSD14).
- Sobel, L., & Schweitzer, J. (2022). Understanding the Role of Design as a Practice for Strategy Development. Innovation Product Development Management Conference, Hamburg, Germany. http://hdl.handle.net/10453/159150
- Sobel, L., Skellern, K., Pereira, K. (2019). Design-led Approach to Healthcare and Manufacturing transformation in an Australian context, Academy of Design Innovation Management Conference 2019, Academy of Design Innovation Management Conference 2019, London
- Schweitzer, J., Groeger, L., & Sobel, L. (2016). The design thinking mindset: An assessment of what we know and what we see in practice. Journal of design, business & society, 2(1), 71-94
- Sobel, L. & Groeger, L. (2013). The Future of Design Thinking in Australia: Barriers and Opportunities, Design Management Institute (DMI) Review, Volume 24, Number 2, Spring 2013: Wiley Publishing
- Other publications