👋 Hello!
TL;DR: work samples | resumé | callmeismael2@gmail.com
I’m a Senior Director of Product Design with 20+ years of experience leading design organizations that deliver measurable business results at scale.
My impact includes:
- Leading monetization and retention strategies for 100M+ global users across streaming platforms at Peacock/NBCUniversal
- Scaling a design organization from 4 to 100+ Product Designers, UX Writers, and Researchers at BEES (AB InBev)
- Driving e-commerce platforms generating $38B+ in gross merchandise value
- Increasing sales by 35% and conversion speed by 44% through ML-based recommendations
- Improving NPS by 10 percentage points YoY through research-driven UX enhancements
- Transforming marketplace UX from poor (10.3) to perfect (81.5) Baymard Institute rating
I thrive at the intersection of design, product, business, and technology, partnering with executive teams to shape product vision and strategy that drives significant growth and user engagement.
Design, Systems, and Scale
My approach bridges design vision and business outcomes through scalable systems:
- Created the HEXA Design System that reduced layout creation time by 30% while ensuring consistency across components and experiences
- Led the development of administrative and reporting applications enabling partner sellers to manage products, pricing, and fulfillment
- Established Spirit, the first design system in the non-profit sector, at JDRF
- Implemented UX best practices that transformed marketplace experiences from a 10.3 to 81.5 Baymard Institute rating
- Applied behavioral psychology principles to drive a 99% increase in donation amounts
- Leveraged tools such as Figma, Sketch, Maze, Dovetail, Baymard, FullStory, Optimizely, Qualtrics, Mixpanel, and Amplitude to create data-informed experiences
Leadership Philosophy
I build and scale world-class design teams by:
- Scaling Design Organizations: Grew a team from 4 to 100+ designers, researchers, and writers, including 17 managers and directors
- Global Leadership: Orchestrated design teams across multiple countries to create cohesive global experiences
- Executive Partnership: Collaborate with C-suite to define growth strategies and OKRs that align design with business objectives
- Cross-Functional Alignment: Connect design with product, engineering, and business teams to drive integrated solutions
- Mentorship: Develop structured pathways that elevate individual contributors to leadership roles
- Vision Setting: Establish clear design direction that balances user needs with business imperatives
My approach emphasizes both empowering teams and delivering measurable results that advance the organization’s strategic goals.
Strategic Design Process
My methodology balances user needs with business goals across multiple contexts:
Discovery:
- Research Integration: Combine qualitative insights with quantitative data to identify high-impact opportunities
- Business Alignment: Partner with stakeholders to define success metrics that tie to organizational objectives
- Market Analysis: Evaluate competitive landscape to identify differentiation points
Strategy:
- Journey Optimization: Identify key moments in user flows that can drive significant metrics improvements
- Problem Definition: Frame challenges with clear success criteria to focus team efforts
- Roadmap Development: Create strategic vision that balances short-term wins with long-term direction
Execution:
- Systems Thinking: Develop scalable patterns that maintain consistency across platforms
- Team Orchestration: Coordinate specialists across research, design, and content to deliver cohesive solutions
- Technical Partnership: Work closely with engineering to ensure feasible implementation
Measurement:
- Impact Validation: Use A/B testing to quantify the effect of design changes on key metrics
- Continuous Optimization: Leverage analytics to identify ongoing improvement opportunities
- Knowledge Sharing: Document learnings to build organizational knowledge and improve future work
This approach has delivered significant metrics improvements across streaming platforms, e-commerce marketplaces, and fundraising applications.
Ismael T.
Product Design + Strategy