I’m a design leader who builds the function, not just the team — the operations, systems and structures that let design ship coherently at scale.
Career Arc
2023 - Present
Elasticsearch
Global · Remote · B2B · Engineering-led
Scaling the Platform team from 5 to 15 designers. Introduced and rolled out the new Borealis UI theme to the open source design system, EUI. Through the OneFeedback project, built a research recruitment pool from 0 to ~300 candidates, growing design’s customer-centricity. Most recently led the ramp-up of AI design skills via a dedicated program.
2013 - 2023
Hamburg · B2C · Team Lead → Director
Responsible for a 30+ person design org. Introduced a multi-platform (iOS, Android, Web) design system ‘The Brewery’ with 65% adoption in the first six months and 80% within 18 months, used by 35+ product teams — professionalizing the design practice as the company scaled.
2001 - 2012
London agencies
Designer → Creative Director
A decade across brand, web and product design in London studios — the foundation the rest was built on.
How I lead
I build structure that creates freedom, not control.
Clarity and autonomy over oversight: I set teams up to run themselves — trust first, step in only when it’s genuinely needed — and coach through the craft rather than direct from above.
I guide the team
from ambiguity to action.
I’m comfortable in the undefined: understand first, move early, adjust as real evidence lands. When resources shrink I protect the goal and find a lighter path to it, not a smaller ambition.
I lead through influence, not the org chart.
Real relationships across product, engineering and leadership — I built them early and consistently, so the trust is already there before I need to call on it.
How I run design
I build and grow teams by blending specialisms.
I compose with the skills and levels to match the work, then grow their range — as a group and individually — through demand-led training and a personal, evolving growth doc and skills matrix.
I earn trust through delivering together, it's never assumed.
I believe in strong collaboration and close domain partnership — design directly alongside product. There’s no ‘seat at the table’ — just people working together to deliver something great.
I systemise the operating rhythm, so the team can run.
Consistency doesn’t rely on any one person — regular product and engineering syncs, reusable templates, clearly named ownership, and a structured design critique that holds quality across the team.
Selected work 2019 - 2026
