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Marie-Christine Schmidt, CEO of Danish design company GUBI, discusses her background, leadership approach, and views on contemporary design during a visit to Australia with Cult for Saturday Indesign 2025 as well as meetings with architects and designers in Sydney. Based in Denmark, Schmidt has spent more than 25 years working across design, innovation and communication, including roles at major Danish brands such as Bang & Olufsen, before joining GUBI five and a half years ago. She became the company’s first female CEO earlier in 2025.

During the podcast, Schmidt describes GUBI as a storytelling-driven brand that balances heritage and contemporary design. Rather than treating historic pieces as nostalgia, she emphasises their relevance to current cultural conversations and positions them in dialogue with new work. GUBI’s product strategy is roughly split between reissued heritage designs and contemporary collaborations, with a focus on long-term relationships with designers rather than short-term projects. This approach, she says, supports continuity and innovation without abandoning the company’s design roots.

A key focus of her tenure has been strengthening GUBI’s brand narrative, particularly through digital channels. Physical events and product launches are also designed with digital storytelling in mind.

Schmidt highlights the importance of presentation, sustainability and the overall experience surrounding design objects, from packaging to unboxing. She advises designers to invest as much effort in communicating their ideas as in creating the product itself. Reflecting on the Australian design scene, she also notes a strong sense of community and collaboration, drawing parallels with how Danish design gained international recognition through collective effort.

LISTEN HERE!

GUBI
gubi.com

Cult
cultdesign.com.au

Next up: Earle Arney discusses London and Sydney on the podcast