Writing

Notes on design leadership, hiring, and the organizational craft of building world-class teams.

I write in two places: a Substack newsletter for short, regular dispatches, and longer-form perspectives hosted here.

Four pieces, if you only read four

The full archive runs deeper, but these are the ones I’d hand you first. Politics inside the org, the design exec’s role in transformation, building a design organization from the ground up, and what I screen for in design hires.

• Politics Isn't a Dirty Word

  Why Design Leaders Need Organizational Intelligence

  The Executive Designer · Dec 2025
  Substack ↗
• Building a Design Organization from Scratch

  A Journey of Hiring and Culture-Building

  Article · Aug 2023
  Read →
• Design Executives as Change Agents

  Driving Organizational Transformation

  Article · Aug 2023
  Read →
• 5 Must-Have Qualities in Every Design Hire

  Even junior ones — what to screen for, and why.

  The Executive Designer · Nov 2024
  Substack ↗

The art and influence of design leadership — strategy, impact, and the real work of partnering across the business. If you’re growing into a design leadership or executive role, you’re in the right place.

Leadership

Politics Isn't a Dirty Word

Why Design Leaders Need Organizational Intelligence

The Executive DesignerRead ↗

Strategy

The Success Inertia Effect

Why Some Companies Struggle to See the Value of Design

The Executive DesignerRead ↗

Leadership

Dealing with the Delta

The Gap Between Expectations and Reality

The Executive DesignerRead ↗

Long-form essays

Deeper pieces on building teams, navigating hiring, and the cultural transformation design executives quietly drive.

• Aug 2024Design leadership

  My Journey as a Design Leader: Reflections from a Podcast Interview

  From aspiring doctor to design leader — how empathy and collaboration shaped my approach to UX, and what it takes to build design-centric cultures that advance business objectives.

  Read →
• Apr 2024Building a team

  Putting Our Members First: User Experience Shaping the Future of Achieve

  How UX research became integral to crafting human-centered digital experiences at Achieve — from 0–1 product validation through 10–100 scaling, including the launch of the Achieve brand and the GOOD and MoLO apps.

  Read →
• Sep 2023Design leadership

  Beyond the Roadblocks: Leadership Strategies for Stalled Projects

  When a project comes to a standstill, momentum is rarely the answer. A field guide to introspection, realignment, and the kind of leadership that revives stalled work.

  Read →
• Sep 2023Culture

  Death by a Thousand Comments: Tackling Collaboration Overload in Modern Design

  Modern design tools like Figma and Miro are powerful catalysts — and, mishandled, the surest way to grind a team into paralysis. How to keep collaboration generative.

  Read →
• Aug 2023Design leadership

  Design Executives as Change Agents: Driving Organizational Transformation

  Design leadership extends far beyond products. The dual job is external (defining unparalleled human experiences) and internal (driving the cultural transformation that lets a company deliver them).

  Read →
• Aug 2023Building a team

  Building a Design Organization from Scratch: A Journey of Hiring and Culture-Building

  The pivotal elements to consider when building a design team from the ground up — hiring, structure, ritual, and the commitment to a diverse and inclusive environment that makes the rest possible.

  Read →
• Aug 2021Design leadership

  Influencing the Organization as a UX Leader

  As a UX leader you are the org's expert on all things "user." How do you extend that expertise to shape organizational strategy — and why must you?

  Read →