Susana Soares

Susana is Programme Lead for Innovation at the Design Council, where she leads programmes that bring skills, capability and innovation together to deliver impact. Her work focuses on embedding Design for Planet innovation to support the delivery of the UK’s Industrial Strategy across government and industry.

She develops and delivers systemic, design-led approaches that enable cross-sector collaboration and build organisational capability and skills to address complex contexts —particularly across the net zero transition and wider innovation landscape. 

Before joining the Design Council, Susana was Course Lead and Senior Lecturer in Product and Service Design at London South Bank University, where she championed design futures education and led research into responsible and regenerative innovation. She also co-founded the Regen Material Futures Lab, exploring how emerging technologies and circular systems can drive sustainable design practices.

With over 20 years’ experience spanning design, academia and research, Susana has collaborated with partners including the Wellcome Trust, the Royal College of Art and EPSRC. Her work combines strategic foresight, behavioural insight and systems mapping to help teams navigate uncertainty and design for lasting impact.

Susana holds an MA in Design Interactions from the Royal College of Art and is a passionate advocate for regenerative and ethical design, Susana’s interests lie in how systems and behaviours evolve towards just and biodiverse futures.

Outside of work, she enjoys live music and is passionate about running.