Laura McDermott is the Founder of Colectivo and an expert in learning experience, sustainability design, and impact-led innovation. Her work focuses on helping organisations rethink how they approach sustainability and regeneration through project-based methodologies that combine empathy, stakeholder collaboration, design thinking, and lean innovation.

Before founding Colectivo, Laura held roles across education, social impact, and innovation, including Director of Academic Experience and Innovation at IE Business School, Design Lead at the IE Centre for Social Innovation and Sustainability, and Adjunct Professor of Innovation, Sustainability, and Design at IE University. Through Colectivo, she has worked with multinational companies, high-impact start-ups, UN agencies, global academic institutions, and state agencies to design projects that support social, digital, and sustainability transitions across EMEA and LATAM.

Laura is also an educator of Design, Innovation, and Impact at IE Business School. She holds first-class honours from the Master in Customer Experience and Innovation at IE Business School and the Postgraduate Certificate in Climate Entrepreneurship at Trinity College Dublin, alongside further studies in English, bilingual education, and data visualisation for business. Her writing has explored ethics, democracy, mentorship, behavioural design, and sustainability, and she has been recognised as an Under 35 Changemaker by the PMI Awards and one of the Top 100 Women in Social Innovation by Euclid Network.