Key details
Time
- 4pm – 5pm
Location
- Online
Price
- Free
Who can attend
- Everyone
Type
- Webinar
Most organisations and individuals are still operating with structures and models designed pre-pandemic and pre-AI — tools that haven’t kept pace with today’s complexity, speed, and human demands.
This talk will explore what it truly takes to design the right conditions for leadership — so people can organise themselves mindfully, partner effectively with AI, create differentiated value through creativity, and lead change that delivers and lasts.
Join Marty Zalewski, course leader of the upcoming short course Leading with a Design Mindset for a World Changed by AI in conversation with expert guest speakers:
- Annette Giardina, UK & Ireland Chief Innovation and Sustainability Officer at Avanade, a joint venture between Accenture and Microsoft
- Neil Pearse, Partner in the People & Organisational Practice at McKinsey & Company in London.
This talk will be moderated by Professor Emeritus Jeremy Myerson.
Speakers
Marty Zalewski is a design-led transformation leader with over 25 years of experience bridging business, creativity, and human experience. His work and research sit at the intersection of experience design, growth strategy, and organisational behaviour — helping leaders navigate complexity, rethink growth, and shape organisations capable of becoming self-sustaining, self-learning systems through intentional investment in human potential. Marty is also the course leader for the new RCA short course Leading with a Design Mindset for a World Changed by AI.
Professor Emeritus Jeremy Myerson
Jeremy has been academic, author and activist in design for more than 40 years. He co-founded the Helen Hamlyn Centre for Design in 1999. Jeremy Myerson was Director of the Helen Hamlyn Centre for Design for 16 years until 2015, pioneering new practices in inclusive design in relation to population ageing. Today, he holds the Helen Hamlyn Chair of Design at the RCA and directs his own venture WORKTECH Academy, which provides a forum for academics and practitioners to share new ideas on the future of work and workplace. He is also a Visiting Professorial Fellow at the Oxford Institute of Population Ageing, Oxford University.
Annette brings a distinctive perspective on innovation and sustainability at scale. She recently led The Avanade Intelligent Garden, awarded Gold at the 2025 RHS Chelsea Flower Show, which used AI and sensor technology to support resilience, sustainability, and living systems in complex urban environments.
A former philosophy lecturer at the University of Oxford, Neil brings a rare perspective that bridges business strategy and humanistic thinking. His work focuses on how mindset, values, and behaviour shape organisational capability in the context of AI-enabled transformation.
In the series
Free online talks led by RCA academic faculty featuring notable guest speakers with industry specialism and leading professional practitioners in their field.
