Where are they now? With Anita Chordia and Laura Ogle
From Fashion Forecasting to Futures Thinking: Laura Ogle on Curiosity, Design Strategy & More Fun at Work.In this special episode, featuring DMBA alums Anita Chordia and Laura Ogle from the live webinar series “Where Are They Now?”, Laura shares her path from studying fashion and designing at Athleta for eight years to becoming lead design strategist at Whipsaw, where she works across industrial design, strategy, UX/UI, and brand to create cohesive physical-digital experiences. The conversation highlights design strategy as an inclusive toolkit, the importance of curiosity, shared language, and communication frameworks, and Laura’s belief that work (and life) needs more fun—using constraints and guardrails to create freedom. Laura discusses myths about design thinking “not working,” her approach to futures thinking (inspired by the Institute for the Future), and her concept of voting on ideas rather than people. She describes People on a Mission and their San Francisco newsstand project “Disposable Culture,” where passersby trade spontaneous art for a newspaper, then see their work turned into posters around the city. In rapid-fire hot takes, Laura emphasizes “you win, or you learn,” strategy as creative work, and the future as something designed rather than predicted. Student Q&A covers how DMBA courses transfer to real work (including communication tools from Live EC), roles DMBA graduates pursue, differences from traditional MBAs, what to highlight on resumes, and examples of integrated work, such as Whipsaw’s ReefTrack underwater navigation product. Laura also reflects on being laid off and unemployed for a year, using daily LinkedIn posts to demonstrate her thinking, and ends with a provocation: decide what you want to make—and do it without waiting for permission.00:00 Welcome to the DMBA Podcast + Today’s Alumni Takeover01:30 Meet Laura Ogle: From Fashion to Design Strategy04:07 Why Design Strategy: Curiosity, Toolkits, and a Shared Vocabulary06:58 We Need More Fun at Work: Curiosity, Reframing, and Guardrails09:52 Design Strategy Myths: “We Tried Design Thinking and It Didn’t Work”11:31 Futures Thinking in Practice: Agency, Big Visions, and Daily Use13:41 People on a Mission: Playful Futures + The Disposable Culture Newsstand17:57 Hot Takes (Rapid Fire): Winning vs Learning, Strategy as Creativity, Designing the Future21:41 DMBA Lessons Learned: Follow Curiosity + Quilters vs Questers24:24 Defining Success + The Layoff Year: Finding Fulfillment and Rebuilding28:08 Reframing the Job Search: LinkedIn as a Daily Thinking Practice29:13 Sharing Your Thinking: From Cringe to Self‑Starter Signal31:39 What’s Lighting You Up Now: Futures Report & Tech in the Home32:50 Designing with Hope & Delight: Inside the Futures Report Process33:57 Audience Prompt + Q&A Kickoff: Curiosity, Frameworks, and Real-World Transfer37:04 When Physical + Digital + Brand Click: ReefTrack Case Study40:47 Future-Thinking Prompts: “What Do You Want to Feel?”41:42 DMBA Career Paths: The Strategist as Translator (and Active Listener)45:19 DMBA vs Traditional MBA: How to Position Yourself Authentically50:06 Impact of the Futures Report: Building an Internal Capability52:31 Leading Creative Teams: Matching Strengths Through Listening54:17 Final Provocation: What Do You Want to Make?55:28 Closing Thanks + What’s Next in the Webinar Series
