Woods Bagot, the global architecture, interior design, and master planning firm operating across 17 studios worldwide, is pleased to announce the appointment of Sarah Kay to the position of CEO. Sarah will assume the role from July 1, 2024, leading the next step in Woods Bagot’s journey towards total place design, with an emphasis on how place design can positively impact society. Sarah succeeds Nik Karalis as CEO after his nine-year tenure and heralds a new chapter for the firm, which was founded in 1869 in Australia.

“I feel compelled as an architect, and now as a CEO, to have a positive impact through our work,” states Sarah. “As architects and place designers, we are perfectly positioned to have a positive influence on the world ahead of us. It is in fact our responsibility to have a leading voice in shaping our cities and our places with a long-term, sustainable and socially responsible outlook. Woods Bagot is inherently collaborative, and I am excited and buoyed by the future that we can achieve by working together across our diverse skills and services within our industry.”

Sarah has been a member of the Woods Bagot leadership group for 25 years and a director for 15 years. A highly respected architect with an extensive international career spanning North America, Australia and the UK, Sarah has led and designed high-profile projects and integrated precincts across commercial, transport, residential and culture sectors. Most recently, Sarah has led Woods Bagot’s Sydney studio, a role she has also held in New York. As CEO, Sarah’s expansive business acumen will continue to broaden Woods Bagot’s impact through its diverse specialist brands such as ERA-Co, Customs Bureau, and sustainability consulting business Global Impact Group (GIG).