Bio

Simone LeAmon is one of Australia’s foremost design leaders with over three decades of experience across the public, private and not-for-profit sectors. She brings a rare breadth of expertise in cultural leadership, strategic planning, stakeholder engagement and sector advocacy. Her career, shaped through roles in museums, academia, professional practice, and advisory work, reflects a deep commitment to design as both a creative discipline and a vital agent of change.

In 2021, Simone was awarded the Good Design Australia Women in Design Award in recognition of her lifelong contribution to the advancement of design.

In 2026, Simone becomes the Chief Executive Officer of the Design Institute of Australia (DIA), the nation’s peak body representing design professionals across disciplines. She views her role as both a continuation and a redefinition of a proud legacy dating back to 1937. Her vision is to place design at the heart of Australia’s national conversation as a catalyst for social and cultural progress, economic transformation and environmental responsibility.

Amplifying design as a form of cultural production, Simone was the inaugural Hugh D.T. Williamson Curator of Contemporary Design and Architecture at the National Gallery of Victoria (2015–2025). In this landmark role, she was instrumental in shaping Australia’s first curatorial department dedicated to design and architecture, building the nation’s leading collection and advancing design’s role in shaping social, material and civic life. She spearheaded major initiatives, including the Melbourne Design Fair (2022–2023) and served as curatorial lead for Melbourne Design Week (2017–2025), driving audience growth, philanthropic investment and global recognition for Australian design.

Over a decade at the NGV, Simone curated more than twenty-five exhibitions and award-winning presentations, delivering ambitious, large-scale commissions for the NGV Triennial, the MECCA x NGV Women in Design Commission and Melbourne Now, celebrating the city’s thriving design and manufacturing community. A champion of women and First Nations designers, she continues to mentor emerging practitioners and advocate for the cultural and civic value of design.

Before joining the NGV, Simone established a diverse studio practice delivering commercial and creative projects across interiors, furniture, jewellery, product, digital and experimental design. Working through her studios n+1 equals (1999–2003) and Simone LeAmon Design and Creative Strategy (2003–2015), and in collaboration with architect Edmund Carter under Carter LeAmon (2012–2015), her work was recognised for its wit, precision and cultural insight.

A passionate educator and mentor, Simone is an Adjunct Professor in the College of Design and Social Context at The Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) University. She has held academic appointments at RMIT, Monash University, Swinburne University, Box Hill Institute (Melbourne) and Princess Nora University in Riyadh (1995–2014). She has served as an ambassador, juror and advisor to leading industry bodies and government agencies.

Simone holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts (Sculpture) from the Victorian College of the Arts, University of Melbourne (1993) and a Master of Design (Industrial Design) from RMIT University (2004).

For Simone, there’s little she wouldn’t turn her hand to designing – but what she loves most is communicating why design matters: showing how the things we make, use and live with shape not only our environments, but also our values, our culture and our sense of possibility.