Design Executive Council Podcast

We’ve entered an age where experiences are no longer designed in cycles - they unfold in real time. In this episode, Gordon Ching sits down with Jeff Gelfuso, SVP, Chief Product and Experience Officer at Qualtrics, to explore how AI and real-time intelligence are reshaping experience management. Jeff describes this age of AI as a time when consumer expectations for immediacy are colliding with a g...

AI should not be measured by how fast it can be deployed, but by the trust it builds and the creativity it amplifies. In this episode of the Design Executive Outlook on Enterprise AI series, our founder and CEO, Gordon Ching, sits down with Eric Snowden, SVP of Design at Adobe. Eric shares how Adobe resisted the industry rush to bolt AI onto products, choosing instead to prioritize trust, agency,...

AI represents a paradigm shift as profound as the Industrial Revolution, only unfolding at unprecedented speed. In this episode of the Design Executive Outlook on Enterprise AI series, our founder and CEO, Gordon Ching, sits down with Benedikt Lehnert, Entrepreneurship and Design Fellow at Princeton University. Benedikt describes this moment as one of both fascination and unease: a frontier where...

AI is not incremental; it’s expansive. It demands that we treat it as a redefinition of experience, not just a tool for automation. In this episode of the Design Executive Outlook on Enterprise AI series, our founder and CEO, Gordon Ching, sits down with Christina Vallery, Chief Design Officer at The Cigna Group. Christina frames the AI era as an inflection point, one charged with both excitement...

What are humans uniquely good at, and where do machines excel? For Kurt Walecki, Fmr. GM & SVP of Design at Intuit, with over 30 years of experience, this is the defining question of the AI era. In this episode of the Design Executive Outlook on Enterprise AI series, Kurt shares how successful innovation requires more than technology. It demands multidisciplinary collaboration , design, engine...

How can businesses leverage AI as a material whose true value emerges when applied to real business problems, and not simply magic? n this episode of the Design Executive Outlook on Enterprise AI series, Gordon Ching sits down with Matthew Holloway, Global Head of Design at SnapLogic , to explore a new way of thinking about artificial intelligence. With over a decade of experience spanning early m...

We often reduce artificial intelligence to two letters: AI . But what about the intelligence behind the artificial? In this episode of the Design Executive Podcast, Gordon Ching is joined by Dan Makoski, Chief Design Advisor & Fmr. Chief Design Officer at UnitedHealth Group , who reframes the AI conversation by focusing on what’s too often ignored, the human side of intelligence. He challenges...

AI is not the answer; it's a tool. In this episode of the Design Executive Podcast, Gordon Ching is joined by Andy Vitale, VP, Head of Product Design at Taxwell, to explore how AI is reshaping product, design, and business strategy. They examine the hype surrounding artificial intelligence. While much of the world is chasing AI's "magical" promise, Andy brings it back to reality:...

What does it take to lead at every altitude of design? In this episode, our Founder and CEO, Gordon Ching, sits down with Jyoti Shukla, SVP of Experience Design at SiriusXM Pandora and board member at KEXP, to explore the dual nature of modern design leadership. From steering strategic conversations in the boardroom to shaping human-centered products on the ground, Jyoti shares how she toggles bet...

In this episode, host Gordon Ching is joined by Suzanne Pellican, Kaaren Hanson, and Benedikt Lehnert to unpack what it really takes to lead through change, from the mobile shift to the AI era. We reflect on past tactics like immersive scavenger hunts during the mobile transition and contrast them with today’s AI reality: faster cycles, less coordination, and tools evolving by the minute. Designer...

Design roles are evolving—shaped by new tools, shifting team dynamics, and rising expectations for strategic impact. From junior designers to CDOs, the skills required are expanding beyond execution towards systems thinking and business fluency. In this episode, Kaaren Hanson and Benedikt Lehnert join Gordon Ching to discuss the resurgence of service design, pressure on mid-level roles, and the me...

In a world where speed and efficiency dominate, how can we keep creativity, critical thinking, and quality design at the forefront? Join Kaaren Hanson, Benedikt Lehnert, and host Gordon Ching as they explore how design leaders can foster creativity, sharpen judgment, and balance efficiency with meaningful impact. This isn’t just theory—it’s a must-listen for designers, leaders, and forward-thinker...

This week on Capital D, we reconvene on the Design Executive Council stage with design leaders Benedikt Lehnert and Kaaren Hanson joined by our host, Gordon Ching, Founder and CEO of the Design Executive Council, to explore the human impact of design. In this episode, we examine the growing role of AI in design leadership and the fine line between efficiency and over-reliance. From automating perf...

In this pilot episode, design leaders Benedikt Lehnert and Kaaren Hanson join our host, Gordon Ching, Founder and CEO of the Design Executive Council, to dive into the human consequences of design decisions, the struggle with meaningful metrics, and how to bring more order and harmony to fast-moving organizations. We also explore the ethical dilemmas of designing AI to be more human-like—what happ...