Strategic leadership for purpose-driven organisations
Ernez Dhondy.
Strategy and leadership for purpose-led organisations, shaped with the communities they serve.
Weaves perspectives like a convener.
Imagines futures like a strategist.
Grows leaders like a coach.
Organisations I have worked with
Track record
Twenty years building teams, practices and the leaders who run them.
From growing a two-person studio into one of Australia’s best-known design consultancies, to steering a youth organisation through its spin-out, my work has always been about turning strategy into something people can feel.
3 to 45
practitioners, as founding General Manager of Paper Giant
~$8M
annual revenue, grown from under $500K
~$800K
in new grant funding from the YLab strategy I led
What I believe
Many communities. One shared future.
Communities of experience
Young people, people with lived experience, local residents. The ones who live with the result.
Communities of practice
Frontline staff, community workers, partner organisations. The ones who make it work every day.
Communities of decision
Boards, funders, government. The ones who set direction and hold the purse.
Lasting change happens when these communities shape it together. I earn trust with each, then weave their perspectives to forge a shared way forward.
Services
How I can help.
01
Interim and fractional leadership
Acting CEO, GM or COO cover through a spin-out, restructure or leadership change. I steady the team, keep the Board informed and hand over a clear plan.
A good fit when your Board needs someone in the seat next month.
02
Strategy and organisational reset
Multi-year strategy, theory of change and operating model, built with your team, Board and community. I turn it into clear priorities, accountable owners and measures that show progress.
A good fit when the old plan has run out and the next one matters.
03
Co-design and participation
Participation that changes decisions, from community consultation through to shared decision-making. I bring together communities that see things differently, name where power sits, and then build your team's capability to carry the practice forward.
A good fit when the people affected need a real say.
04
Growth and partnerships
Diversifying funding across government, philanthropy and earned income, and building multi-year partnerships around shared outcomes.
A good fit when one funder is carrying too much of the load.
05
Coaching for designers and design leaders
Diversifying funding across government, philanthropy and earned income, and building multi-year partnerships around shared outcomes.
A good fit when you want an experienced sounding board for your next move.
Approach
Bring every voice in. Decide together. Build for what's next.
Bring every voice in.
Research with staff, partners and community to understand the system you are working in and where the real pressure sits.
Decide together
I bring the Board, leadership and the people who will carry out the work into the same conversation. I name where power sits and how it shapes the choices on the table, then work within those structures to reach decisions people can stand behind. I challenge safely, and I know when a decision belongs to someone else.
Build for what's next.
Together, we look at what's on the horizon and imagine the futures worth working toward. Then we shape the priorities, owners and measures that carry you there, so the organisation is equipped to adapt as pressures and circumstances change.
Selected work
What it looks like in practice.
YLab · Interim leadership · Strategy
Steering a spin-out to independence
I led YLab out of the Foundation for Young Australians, set its 2026 to 2029 strategy and secured around $800K in new grant funding before a planned co-CEO handover.
eSafety Commissioner · Co-design
Young people shaping online safety
Designed and ran an advisory group of 12 young people from First Nations, LGBTQIA+ and culturally diverse communities to shape regulatory recommendations and a national campaign on tech-facilitated abuse.
Paper Giant · Growth · Operations
Scaling a consultancy from the ground up
Built the practices, structure and culture that took Paper Giant from a two-person studio to 45 practitioners across Australia and New Zealand.
Beyond Blue · Partnership
Young people shaping online safety
I led our relationship with Beyond Blue, which started before the organisation had a service design or customer experience practice. I helped build capability, partnered on delivery, and served as a trusted advisor.
About
Hello, I'm Ernez.
My family migrated from Mumbai in 1986 and first settled in Port Hedland, where we relied on the community around us to navigate systems that were anything but accessible. That experience has shaped my work ever since: making sure systems make room for the people they serve.
Over two decades, I have moved from digital and advertising into service design, then executive leadership. I was the founding General Manager at Paper Giant, a trusted adviser to its two founders as it grew, and later Acting CEO of YLab. I do my best work beside leaders whose mission I believe in, briefing, challenging and following through.
Chair, FORE Australia · Board member, YLab
Work with me
Let’s talk about what comes next.
I take on a small number of engagements each year: interim leadership, strategy and organisational reset, participation, growth and coaching. If your organisation is at a turning point, a new strategy, a leadership change or a funding shift, I'd like to hear about it.