SENIOR DESIGN & CX LEADERSHIP
I turn design from a cost center into a growth engine.
Senior design leader who builds the teams, systems and products that grow the business, contributing to $600M in net new ARR over ten years on a $1.4B ARR SaaS portfolio at Boeing Digital Solutions. I built the organization from 0 to 115 people across four brands and 83 products, leading hands-on and partnering with product, engineering, and across the business. I design whole customer journeys and AI-enabled products, in Fortune 500 and fast-moving businesses.
Enterprise SaaS • Aviation • Financial Services • B2B, B2G and B2C • Regulated, Complex Industries
Founding Member, Design Executive Council • Innovation Advisory Council Member, Vation Ventures
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$600M
REVENUE: Net new ARR contributed to over ten years, on a $1.4B ARR portfolio
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115
TEAM: People in a design organization built from zero across 4 brands, 83 products with 2.7% annual attrition
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+26
CUSTOMER: NPS pointed (+9 to +35), alongside 12% NRR growth
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$25M
INNOVATION: New new ARR from the Design Sprint program
IMPACT
Builder. Innovator. Operator.
My leadership has three dimensions. I build and grow the organization, innovate across product, technology and partnerships, and operate design as a business tied to product strategy, revenue and customer outcomes. Each case below shows one in practice.
BUILDER • ORGANIZATION AND TEAM LEADERSHIP
From no design function to 115 people
Builds and grows the organization: the hiring, structure, career paths, operating model and systems that let design scale.
Pitched the business case to the CEO and CFO and built Boeing’s first global design organization from zero.
115 people across 4 brands and 83 products, with 2.7% annual attrition. Earlier, 0% attrition across 52 designers for four years on a 5-level career ladder.
Co-founded Boeing’s UX Center of Excellence and a federated DesignOps model across 39 product teams.
INNOVATOR • AI, TECHNOLOGY AND PARTNERSHIPS
AI-native design, in production
Brings new product ideas, technology and partnerships to market, then proves them in production.
Negotiated Figma AI early access: 60%+ design-to-code gains and $2.4M in redundant OpEx eliminated (estimate) through an AI-enabled, 185-component design system..
Led a 15-year Apple partnership with five keynote features, starting with Mobile FliteDeck Pro, the industry’s first iPad-certified aviation app (53% airline adoption).
Founded the Silicon Valley design studio; second company invited to Apple’s Enterprise Design Labs.
OPERATOR • STRATEGY, REVENUE AND CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE
Design tied to revenue and retention
Runs design like a business: product strategy, budget and measurable revenue and customer outcomes.
$25M in net new ARR from Design Sprints and co-creation workshops across 39 product teams.
Voice of Customer and UX research across 39 teams: NRR up 12%, NPS up 26 points, CSAT 4.4/5.
Built eCommerce from zero: JeppDirect grew from $8M to $12M (11% CAGR) with an 18% cost reduction.
Full case studies are shared personally.
Six cases on the decision, the trade-off and the result. Request access.
HOW I LEAD
“Design is most powerful when it changes how a business makes decisions — not just what it ships.”
Player-coach who builds the system. Hands-on in critiques and high-stakes work, and in the design systems, DesignOps and AI-enabled tooling that make design scalable. I build high-performing teams and trust leaders to own outcomes.
Journeys, not just screens. Design the end-to-end customer journey across products, channels and teams, not only the product UX, so experience is managed as one system.
Business case and insight, tied to outcomes. Make the case for design investment at the C-suite in terms of revenue, reduced risk and differentiation, and prove it by connecting customer insight directly to revenue, retention and satisfaction.
AI sharpens that mandate: the leader’s job is to make it trustworthy enough to scale.
CAREER
20+ years, built from the first hire.
Work is described in general terms due to confidentiality obligations. Organization names reflect entities as they existed at the time.
2021 – 2026
Head of Design, Global Director
Boeing Digital Solutions • Jeppesen ForeFlight
Led design strategy across a $1.4B ARR portfolio of 83 products and 4 brands as a member of the business leadership team, with $16.5M budget accountability.
Built the Voice of Customer and UX research capability across 39 teams: NRR up 12%, NPS up 26 points.
Phase two: scaled the organization from 52 to 115 people and sustained 2.7% annual attrition through a DesignOps career model.
2016 – 2020
Director, Digital Experience, Design & Partnerships
Boeing Digital Solutions
Pitched and won executive sponsorship to build Boeing’s first global product design organization: 52 people and an $8M budget across an $800M ARR portfolio.
0% attrition across 52 designers for four years through a 5-level IC career ladder.
Contributed to $160M in net new ARR by making usability a measurable business KPI.
2013 – 2015
Director, Mobile & Cloud Solutions, UX
Boeing Digital Solutions
Led product strategy, P&L and design across 12 mobile and web products: 55 people and an $8.5M budget.
Expanded Mobile FliteDeck Pro into government markets: $152M in total ARR, including $23M net-new; featured in an Apple keynote.
Launched Boeing’s first branded maintenance mobile app, with a 10% efficiency lift for aviation operators.
2011 – 2013
Senior Manager, Web & Mobile Solutions, UX
Jeppesen
Built Jeppesen’s inaugural digital portfolio: 18 people and a $3M budget. Launched Mobile FliteDeck Pro, the industry’s first iPad-certified aviation app: PDMA Co-creation App of the Year, featured in 3 Apple keynotes.
2007 – 2011
Manager, Global eCommerce & Experience
Jeppesen
Recruited to build Jeppesen’s first global direct-to-consumer eCommerce business (JeppDirect) and first dedicated UX practice: revenue from $8M to $12M (11% CAGR), an 18% cost reduction and the 2010 Boeing Service Excellence Award.
2003 – 2007
Manager, eBusiness
Fiserv
Rose from Product Manager to Manager and built the division’s first dedicated UX practice. Led product and design for a platform that let independent Registered Investment Advisors manage client portfolios end to end: contributed to $94M in revenue growth, earned 4 leadership awards and was featured in Investment Advisor Magazine.
CREDENTIALS
Councils, honors, and education.
Councils and boards
Founding Member, 2024-present
Executive peer council of design leaders from Fortune 500 and global companies, advancing AI-era design operating models and design as a board-level business priority.
Design Executive Council
Innovation Advisory Council Member (CXO), 2020-present
Evaluate late-stage AI and enterprise software startups for growth viability, and advise founders on product-market fit, go-to-market strategy and design-led differentiation.
Vation Ventures
Board Member, 2018-2020
Led data analytics and KPI development for a nonprofit connecting underserved youth with mentors.
Mentor Colorado
Executive Advisor, 2015-2018
Led data analytics and KPI development for a nonprofit connecting underserved youth with mentors.
Innovation Pavillion
FIGMA LEADERSHIP COLLECTIVE
DXC leadership meeting at Figma’s ConFig
Member for 2.5 years
DESIGN EXECUTIVE COUNCIL
Member for 3.5 years
Annual Leadership Summit
Honors
APPLE
5 keynote features
Across a 15-year partnership
BOEING
Engineering Excellence Award
Future digital cabin experience
PDMA
Customer Co-Creation App of the Year
Native mobile app for real-time flight navigation
FIGMA
AI Early-Access Partnership
Make & MCP Server
BOEING
Executive Leadership Program
Sole Boeing Digital Solutions selectee
Education
M.S.
Technology Management
University of Denver
B.A.
Political Science
California State University, Northridge
EXECUTIVE CERTIFICATE
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
Innovation & Strategy
CERTIFICATIONS
Design Thinking • Systems Thinking • SAFe • Pragmatic Marketing
PERSONAL
Beyond the work.
Living in the foothills at the gateway of the Rocky Mountains is home base and allows for easy access to some of the best trails in the country. This is where I disconnect and recharge. The outdoors is in my blood: my great-grandfather, Enos Mills, is the founder of Rocky Mountain National Park.
HOME BASE
Littleton, Colorado
Hiking all over the Rocky Mountains, soccer, road trips, drawing, tinkering with new technology, Western art, concerts
HOBBIES
My wife, Donna, and our two Keeshonds, Liesl and Bastian
FAMILY
CONTACT