Design leadership amidst rapid change

Richard drives Smart's direction and operational success. His passion for using design and technology to create positive change is evident in his focus on client projects in mobility, emerging technology, health, and wellness. A champion for pushing boundaries, Richard consistently explores new ways to impact both organizations and individuals.

His exceptional work has earned him numerous accolades, including SDN Award, FastCo Innovation, IDEA Gold and D&AD awards. With a diverse background in engineering and design, and experience on design teams in the UK and Japan, Richard brings a global perspective to his leadership, and has served on the Design Management Institute’s advisory board since 2011.

Founder of Murmur Ring, Ashley Lukasik's passion is creating the conditions for collective creativity. She has built her career exposing organizations to human-centered design as a means to respond to complex challenges for which they do not have a preexisting roadmap. After completing an M.A. in Anthropology at the University of Chicago and running a medtech startup company, Ashley spent several years leading partnerships at the visionary design school, IIT Institute of Design, which inspired her to launch and co-produce The New Bauhaus feature documentary with Opendox. She produces immersive experiences and multimedia content worldwide that connect design pedagogy with emerging technology and culture. Her work has appeared in Architectural Digest, Design Milk, New York Times, Forbes, and more.

Wayne is an human centric design leader with over a decade and a half of experience in applying design methodologies to complex challenges—from physical to digital to brand to corporate strategy and organizational design. 

Prior to working with Empathy, Wayne was Chief Strategy Officer for Unreasonable, an environmental and social impact accelerator and VC, where he brought his experience to bear on the challenges our world faces and to help steer the company towards the future. Prior to this he held senior design leadership roles in a variety of innovation and design firms including Fjord (now Accenture Song), R/GA, SYPartners and more.

His belief in the power of design to drive positive impact is unwavering and it's what he dedicates both his professional and personal time to do. Outside of his day job, Wayne is an adjunct professor at NYU’s Stern School of Business. He also sits on the Board of Directors for Dreamyard, a Bronx- based non-profit that collaborates with Bronx youth, families, and schools to build pathways to equity and opportunity through the arts, and spends a lot of his free time mentoring young designers of color to change the face of the design industry.

Anijo Mathew is Dean and a Professor at the Institute of Design focused on entrepreneurship and urban technology. His research evaluates new models of innovation enabled by technology and media convergence through the lenses of design fiction, design-led innovation, and entrepreneurship. He works with global organizations to adapt and change strategic responses to transforming technologies.

Anijo is the founder and board member of Vamonde, a Chicago storytelling app operating worldwide and named by Built in Chicago as one of six Chicago startups shaping the future of virtual reality.

A native of India, Anijo holds a PhD in Design Computing from The Open University in the United Kingdom, a Master in Design Studies from Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design, and a professional Bachelor of Architecture from Birla Institute of Technology Mesra in Ranchi, India. He has taught at Harvard University’s School of Business, the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, and Illinois Tech’s Stuart School of Business. Anijo served as Head of Department of Art and Design at the College of Architecture, Art and Design at the American University of Sharjah in the UAE from 2019 to 2021.