A human-centred Design Leader with over 17 years’ experience.
I harness Curiosity in Design to connect people with experiences that matter, helping businesses and communities achieve extraordinary things.
Total Jobs
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GoCardless
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Lendable
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Holland & Barrett
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Time Warner Group
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Student Beans
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Totally Money
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Total Jobs 〰️ GoCardless 〰️ Lendable 〰️ Holland & Barrett 〰️ Time Warner Group 〰️ Student Beans 〰️ Totally Money 〰️
I’ve harnessed curiosity at
Highlights as a Leader.
Head of Product Design
Since 2022 we've seen a 140% increase in transactions and sessions grow 48%. After implementing the vision for our retention strategy, the retention rate went up by 44% over three quarters. I've made research a key part of our overall strategy. On top of that, I've put new Design processes in place across the org, and we're hitting the highest team eNPS scores in the company.
Head of Design
With the help of the C-Suite I set up first Design Org within the new innovation hub, Wellness Futures, in their first attempt in the digital age to diversify and scale globally. I and my talented Product and Design teams created two healthtech apps from 0 to 1 - H&B&Me and Ivie - now rolled into H&B&Me. Alongside this I managed a team of designers and researchers through wartime relocation (Russia to Turkey) whilst maintaining quality output.
My principles.
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Much of what makes a good Designer can be used in management, by showing empathy to and collaborating with your team, and taking their individual needs into account via the likes of 1-2-1s, visibility over career progression and performance reviews. Transparency is a key value for me, and I believe in encouraging my team to come to me with their ideas for processes, product features and general thoughts and feelings about their careers and the company. I try to allow the autonomy they deserve, whilst also being available for feedback and guidance when they need it. My teams also frequently enjoy high eNPS scores.
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Curiosity is the driving force of innovation, and I take that into all of my interactions with colleagues. I’m a hands-on design leader. I believe in the power of autonomy but also the necessity of direction. If a team or individual designers is unsure of a direction, I can lend a hand either from a business, product or design lens. I’ve got 13 years of individual contribution under my belt, so have been happy to roll my sleeves up and advocate or teach prototyping skills, UI precision or training teams on how to set lasting design principles.
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Play is the foundation of a good design culture and there is no end to the prototype. The design process I work towards facilitates autonomy, value and collaboration. My design teams always work ahead of time and aim to return key deliverables to the business quickly. The key ingredient is pen-to-paper. Paper prototypes bring everyone on the journey quickly.
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I believe in research. Understanding the user needs will make businesses grow. Without it, you’re focussing on metrics alone, which means you might build a nice product but if no-one cares about it, you won’t solve problems and so won’t make money. Research is the backbone to any strong design team, and has always been my first focus whenever I’ve joined a business, be it at Holland & Barrett or Health Tech startups like My Online Therapy.
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I’ve worked with the C-suite and senior leaders within businesses with tens of millions of customers to set strategic direction guided by user insight. I believe in the power of Desirability (the third circle in IDEO’s Three Lenses of Innovation) to guide strategy. I believe it’s an often overlooked but crucial ingredient for innovation.
Highlights as a Designer.
After the 0 to 1 launch of a self-guided audio therapy tool, 93% of users reported a positive change in mood or outlook after using this product. This success led to signing an exclusive contract with Vitality to be their primary Telehealth provider.
Lead Designer -> Head of Design
How I stay curious
Outside of Design I’m a musician with over 10 million streams writing songs for artists like Jordan Mackampa. A highlight being his title track on his debut album, Foreigner. I compose for publishing houses String & Tins, Felt Music and Extreme and have played over 40 Sofar shows.
I’ve helped edit several best-selling novels such as The Authenticity Project, as well as writing three of my own novels.
More case studies.
Latest writing.
Creating a human-centred, design-led product strategy
“A strategy underpinned without user research is guesswork. Things may seem right on the surface but put under enough scrutiny and the foundations will start to falter.”
Turning a Design Vision into an effective Strategy
“The most important part of crafting a vision is doing it together as a team. Without everyone’s input to the vision there can be no effective long-term strategy.”