Strategic product design leadership for product growth
I've built design teams from scratch in fast-moving startups and led design at global scale inside one of the world's biggest tech companies. What stays constant: I bring structure to ambiguity, align people around a shared design vision, and keep the user at the center even when the pressure is to move fast.
I'm actively exploring how AI changes the way design teams think and work — not as an expert, but as a leader who believes curiosity and adaptation are now core leadership skills. I'm bringing my team along in that learning, and I'm figuring it out in practice, not in theory.
How I work
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I start by questioning the problem
Most design failures happen before a single pixel is drawn. My first move is always to challenge whether we're addressing the right problem, for the right people, at the right moment. That discipline saves teams from building beautifully in the wrong direction.
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Decisions at the intersection of user, business and time
User needs and business goals are only half the equation. The other half is timing — go-to-market windows, release cycles, and strategic priorities that define what's viable now versus later. I make those trade-offs explicit, document the reasoning behind every call, and keep the team aligned on what we're optimising for and what we're consciously deferring.
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Continuous discovery, not linear phases
Research isn't a phase I schedule at the beginning — it's a practice I maintain throughout. I promote continuous discovery: lightweight interviews, usability sessions, and data analysis happen in parallel with design, not before it. My job as a leader is to create the conditions where the team is always learning, not just executing. Decisions informed by real signal are always more defensible than decisions based on assumption.
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How I make design decisions
I make decisions at the intersection of user needs, business goals, and technical reality — and I'm explicit about which lens is driving each call. I document the reasoning, not just the outcome, so the team understands the logic and can challenge it. I involve stakeholders early, not to get approval, but to build shared ownership. Good design decisions should be explainable to anyone in the room.