Special Episode: Strategy, design and reflections on a journey into and out of PhD Studies
University of Technology Sydney
Leanne Sobel is a strategic designer, educator, and researcher. She is currently the director of strategic design at Snowmelt and an Adjunct Fellow at the University of Technology Sydney Business School. Leanne brings a wealth of experience to her practice, having worked on public and private sector projects over her 20 + year career including working in diverse domains such as design education, experiential design, place-based strategy, innovation, management consulting, organisational strategy and design thinking.
Leanne holds a Bachelor of Design from Swinburne University, Master of Management from the Macquarie Graduate School of Management, and a PhD of Management from UTS in which she investigated the role of design in strategy. Leanne is an experienced training facilitator of executive education specialising in strategic design, strategy, complexity, and organisational change. She teaches in the UTS Executive MBA and has extensive experience in design-led workshop facilitation for strategy, organisational challenges, and innovation initiatives. She is also a member of the UTS Centre for Climate Risk and Resilience, UTS Change for Good, and the UTS Innovation and Entrepreneurship Collaborative.
Leanne is the first repeat guest I’ve had on The Knowledge Mill and, more importantly, is a close friend and valued colleague of mine. Since she was featured in the second episode of the podcast – a conversation we recorded in November 2022 – she has completed her PhD and moved into her current roles with Snowmelt and UTS. To get a recording done before her PhD was conferred, we actually sat down to speak earlier in 2025 and I’ve held onto that recording so this episode could be the finale for 2025. The two years between drinks proved a valuable opportunity for both of us to reflect on how some things – like studies, projects, and jobs – change while other things – like friendships – hold steady.
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This episode of The Knowledge Mill was recorded in my office at UTS on May 2, 2025.
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