Finding Our Way

Joining Peter and Jesse is business strategist Roger L. Martin, former Dean of the University of Toronto's Rotman School of Management, who advanced the conversation about design and business with his influential work in the late 2000s. We'll talk about the parts of that vision that worked out as well as the parts that didn't, the new forces shaping design's business impact, and what design leader...

Head of Philips Design, Peter Skillman, joins Peter and Jesse to share lessons from Philips' century of design innovation, from light bulbs to the compact disc to healthcare technology. We'll also talk about the cultural factors that support design influence, what he learned and had to unlearn from his time in Silicon Valley, and how the game for design leaders has fundamentally changed in recent...

Joining Peter and Jesse to talk about what's next for design is veteran Silicon Valley design and product strategy consultant Audrey Crane, who will share her perspective on the changing mandates for design among her clients, the power that consultants wield that in house teams don't, and why sometimes the most effective design leaders are those who talk the least about design.

On this show, Peter and Jesse are joined by Gaurav Mathur, VP of Design for Indian e-commerce giant Flipkart. He'll share with us his perspective on the big issues facing design leaders in India today, including hiring and training for junior designers, as well as design leaders making the case for the business impact of design, and the opportunities for design-led startups in the Indian market.

Joining us to talk about what's next for digital product design is Leslie Witt, chief product and design officer for mental health care platform Headspace. Along the way, she'll share with us her journey from designer to design leader to P&L business leader, she'll also talk about building the credibility for a broader mandate for design as well as for yourself as a leader, and what to do when...

Joining Peter and Jesse to talk about what's next for digital product design is John Cutler, veteran product manager and product management consultant. Along the way, we'll discuss what product leaders know that design leaders don't, facing ambiguity and uncertainty from executives, and how design leaders can more effectively advocate for the true value of their team's work.

Anne Pascual, VP and Head of Design for European fashion e-commerce giant Zalando, joins Peter and Jesse to talk about driving innovation in a mature product category, the differences between leading design for an agency and leading design in-house, and creating a culture of trust at scale.

Koji Pereira, Chief Design Officer for Brazilian fintech Neon, joins Peter and Jesse to talk about his career journey from Brazil to Silicon Valley and back again, finding the balance between speed and quality, and strategies for making the design team and the design process more inclusive

Vuokko Aro, VP of Design for the UK's popular digital-only bank Monzo, joins Peter and Jesse to talk about shifting your design approach as your company scales, building a true peer relationship with product leadership, and creating a sense of togetherness for remote and embedded teams.

Jesse and Peter grapple with the prevailing discourse around design leadership, the shift occurring from what design has been to what it is becoming, the ego death necessary for leaders to embrace their potential, and the opportunity for professionalism.

Christina Goldschmidt joins Peter and Jesse to reflect on her first 60 days on the job as the newly appointed VP of product design for the music industry giant Warner Music Group. She offers thoughts on getting up to speed and finding early success as an incoming leader, profiling your stakeholders as if they were users, the leadership power of personal vulnerability. (Recorded November 2023, publ...

LEGO's Rebecca Nordstrom leads the team designing the software they use to produce those billions of little bricks. She joins us today to talk about bringing UX to the factory floor, measuring success when user adoption is mandatory, and the differences between leading design in North America and in Europe.

Peter and Jesse are joined by Cynthia Savard Saucier, co-author of the book Tragic Design and VP of UX for the Canadian e-commerce giant Shopify. We talk about what's worth fighting for and what's not, sharpening the business acumen of her teams, and the strategic value of kindness.

In this episode, "mission critical" takes on a whole new meaning when you're the Chief Experience Officer for the United States Air Force. The first person to take on that role, Colt Whittall, joins us to talk about getting things done when you have more influence than authority, finding meaning and purpose in government service, and taking risks in an environment where failure is not an option.

Hardware design, software design, package design, experience design. Rajat Shail oversees all of it for home automation company Vivint. Rajat joins us to share what he's learned about managing design as a holistic function, the benefits and pitfalls of using design thinking training to engage executives, and what to do when your mandate is broader than your boss's.

In this episode, Peter and Jesse reflect on the conversations they had with senior design leaders, the themes that emerged, the challenges facing design leaders today, and our hope for a brighter future.

In this episode, Peter and Jesse speak with Tim Allen, Global Head of Design and Research for Instacart, about his craft-forward approach to design leadership, how psychological safety enables innovation, partnering with strong operations leaders, and how growing up Black in Japan proved formative in his lifelong advocacy for inclusion in design.

In this episode, Peter and Jesse speak with Che Douglas, who has shifted from VP of Design to VP of Product for Booking.com, the world's leading travel website. Che talks about the cultural and functional relationship between product and design, what it's like to lead both as an integrated team, and the necessity of driving alignment in order to drive change as a leader.

In this episode, Peter and Jesse speak with Jehad Affoneh, Chief Design Officer of Toast, on topics ranging from the what it means to be an executive, how accountability is shared across functions, the importance of aiming metrics at organizational maturity, developing an experience strategy, working with Founder-CEOs, and the differences in working B2B and B2C.

In this episode, Peter and Jesse speak with Daniela Jorge, Chief Design Officer at PayPal, about vision, delivering on an end-to-end customer experience, growing and developing the next generation of leaders, taking advantage of design skills such as facilitation, and what she's learned from working in more traditional companies.

In this episode, Jesse and Peter speak with Rachel Kobetz, Global Head of Design for Expedia Group, about how at the core of her role is organizational transformation, how intentionality is at the core of every action, and the importance of relationship and communications in all directions.

In this episode, Jesse and Peter are joined by Greg Petroff, Chief Design Officer at Cisco Secure, and former design executive at GE, ServiceNow, and Compass, who shares with us his experiences in elevating Design's voice in the product development process, the importance of partnership, relationship, and communication, and why he's hopeful for Design continued influence and impact.

Kaaren Hanson, Chief Design Officer at Chase Bank, joins Peter and Jesse to discuss her approach to being a design executive, including what components need to be in place for success, how she coaches her teams, what she's learned to do (and not do), and how she navigates idealism and pragmatism.

In this episode, Katrina Alcorn, General Manager for IBM Design, joins Peter and Jesse to uncover various aspects of being a design executive, including where to spend your time and energy, how to maintain culture and cohesion at scale, and the importance of showing compassion for yourself.

(This is our last episode for a couple months. Talk to you in August!) In this episode, Jesse and Peter field questions from listeners, which lead to a range of discussions, including leading in immature organizations, the power of playing politics, overcoming imposter syndrome, and developing a self-reflective leadership practice.