Sarah Pirie-Nally | Inspirational Leader

I’m a growth-focused strategist, design-thinking expert and entrepreneurial thought leader with over two decades’ experience in designing and driving transformative change across industries. As Founder and CEO of Wonder & Wander and Evolve X, my core mission is to teach people how to dream bigger, design better, and lead with heart so they can create meaningful lives, businesses and communities. My journey features many incredible twists and turns, going right back to my school years when I built my first web page at age 15 and petitioned to add graphic design as a VCE subject. I was also undiagnosed neurodivergent, which I can now see shaped my worldview and my frustration at the status quo, as well as my drive to always campaign for the underdog. My first professional chapter was in recruitment, which introduced me to working with clients to create value proposition design - before it even had a name! I then moved into the corporate world as Commonwealth Bank’s first ‘intrapreneur’, co-founding and leading the groundbreaking Wired for Wonder Innovation Program. After six fulfilling years, I made the leap into entrepreneurship, signing Commonwealth Bank as my first blue-chip client on day one. I founded Wonder & Wander in 2017 with my business partner-turned-life partner Steve Pirie. We joined forces at a tumultuous time in our lives - both going through divorces and juggling commitments across Australia and New Zealand. Our shared vision for Wonder & Wander is to empower leaders and entrepreneurs to spark transformation. Instead of bland conferences and workshops, we partner with amazing people and enterprises to craft immersive environments that turn ideas into lived experiences. These have included everything from a spirit-lifting She Evolves retreat for 144 women in Fiji (pg4) to a 10-day Stewardship Voyage to Antarctica for 153 climate-action-curious business leaders (pg5). With education and people skills in my blood - my mum is a teacher, and my dad’s an HR guru - I also share knowledge and resources to inspire organisations to unlock innovation and drive positive change within their industries, including AGL, Energy Australia, QMS Media, Callaway Golf, Melbourne University, RMIT, Entrepreneurs Organisation, Sky Tower Auckland, BNZ and more.