How I Lead: Supporting Teams, Driving Strategy, Delivering Impact

Roles
Senior Director of User Experience & Research / Product Design
VP of User Experience & Research / Product Design

Overview

With over 20 years in UX and product design, I have led teams through hypergrowth, reorgs, mergers, and major transformation efforts. My experience spans startups and enterprise organizations, where I’ve built design teams from the ground up and evolved design maturity across complex ecosystems. This case study highlights how I lead, including my philosophy, the systems I create, and the ways I support teams to deliver meaningful, scalable work.

My Leadership Philosophy

I believe great design leaders connect people, problems, and ideas. I lead with empathy, clarity, and pragmatism, helping teams navigate ambiguity while staying focused on both user needs and business outcomes.

Here are the core principles that guide my leadership:

Empowered teams do better work.

I create conditions where designers have ownership and support.

Clarity Creates Momentum.

I turn fuzzy goals into action by shaping strategy and aligning rituals across teams.

Designs Works Best As A Team Sport.

I partner closely with product and engineering and work to ensure design is treated as a strategic partner, not a service function.

Putting It Into Practice

1. Building and Scaling High-Performing Teams

At Henry Schein One, I grew the UX team from 4 to over 20. I introduced a formal career ladder and established a governance model that gave individual contributors more voice and visibility. I’m deliberate about building team culture, combining lightweight structure with the freedom to work independently.

At Kroll, I helped unify previously siloed, international UX teams across product and marketing. I brought the group together under a shared vision and introduced team-wide rituals that improved both collaboration and morale.

What I use:

Team charters, growth plans, 1:1 coaching, leadership pods, hiring rubrics, and async updates that are actually useful.

2. Leading with Process, Not Bureaucracy

Throughout my career, I have launched design systems, accessibility programs, and research repositories. Each one was created not just to improve design operations, but to reduce friction for the people doing the work.

At Quorum, I led the rollout of a new design system and added accessibility audits to our standard workflow. This helped us stay compliant with public sector requirements without slowing the team down.

At Henry Schein One, I implemented an AI-powered research repository that analyzed hundreds of hours of interviews. This helped product teams go from “insight overload” to making decisions with confidence.

My approach:

Keep things lightweight, collaborative, and clearly tied to purpose.

3. Advocating for Design at the Leadership Table

Design leadership extends beyond the design team. I work closely with product and engineering partners to co-create roadmaps and define OKRs. I have collaborated directly with CEOs, founders, and GMs to bring a user-centered lens to high-level strategy and ensure design has a seat at the table.

Where I focus:

Building strong relationships, aligning on shared outcomes, and communicating clearly.

Results I'm Proud Of:

  • Increased customer satisfaction by 25% and reduced support tickets by 15% through product strategy and design optimization at Henry Schein One.
  • Grew the UX team at Henry Schein One from 4 to over 20, introducing a formal career ladder.
  • Launched three design systems at Henry Schein One, improving time-to-market by 90% for one product and 30% overall.

  • Improved design and development efficiency by 5x at Quorum, which contributed to a 30% reduction in product time-to-market.

  • Boosted user adoption by 50% at Kroll across North America, Europe, and Asia through cross-functional collaboration and team leadership.

  • Reduced development time by 35% at Kroll by implementing a unified design system.

  • Mentored several designers into leadership roles by providing clear paths and meaningful support.
  • Contributed to a 40% faster time-to-market for product releases by streamlining design processes and improving cross-functional alignment.

Closing Thoughts

For me, leadership is not about being the loudest voice. It is about listening with intention, supporting others generously, and creating space for people to do their best work. I am proud of the products I have helped design, but I am even more proud of the teams I have helped grow.

Learn more about how I built the design practice at Quorum