Design Leadership
Advancing the practice of design leadership.
Advancing
our craft
Our mission is to advance the practice of design leadership by fostering a community where the world’s best can learn from one another. We strive to make the Forum inclusive and relevant to those confronting the challenges of leading design teams.
Design Leadership
Forum members
This community is made of 1300 people from 31 countries. Here are a few of the most active members.
Leslie Witt
Small Business, Intuit
Irene Au
Khosla Ventures
Janet Covey
JPMorganChase
Frank Yoo
Lyft
Lori Kaplan
Ecosystem, Atlassian
Bob Calvano
A+E Networks
Shawn Johnson
Discovery Channel
Eliel Johnson
Charles Schwab
Amanda Linden
Facebook
Amy Lokey
Google
Heidi Shelton
SEPHORA
John Couch
Hulu
Sandro Cosaro
Fandango
John Moon
Apple
Cliff Spence
Whalerock
Jon Dean
Fox
Christy Schaefer
LA Times
Byron Phillipson
Hulu
Todd Zaki Warfel
Author
Bob Baxley
Expert-in-residence
Eli Woolery
InVision
Aarron Walter
InVision
Michelle Chin
Disney
Shani Sandy
S+P Global
Laura Hahn
Priceline
Renda Morton
New York Times
Daniela Shuffler
WeddingWire
Pradeep Nayar
Allstate
Preet Singh
Quicken Loans
Yana Carstens
Table XI
Stephen Gates
InVision
Meriah Garrett
USAA
Erica Weiss Tjader
SurveyMonkey
Shu Lai
Coursera
Darren Tome
Mashable
Levon Sharrow
Patagonia
Laurie Schiada
Boeing
Dane Howard
Samsung
Jimmy Ball
PwC
Amy Keeling
Athenahealth
Lara Hanlon
IBM
Corwin Stone
Active Network
Todd Wilkins
Automattic
Kim Hicks
Disney Channel
Krystianne Avedian
Capgemini
Mindy Duong
East West Bank
Priyanka Kakar
The Walt Disney Company
Abigail Hart
Google
What members
are saying
“Face-to-face conversations are the best resources for growing as a design leader. The connections I’ve made here are real, the advice and anecdotes are fresh and relevant, and it’s been equally rewarding to offer some help in return.”
“The more I learn, the more I realize how much more there is to learn. Who better to learn from than design leaders who have been (and are still) in the trenches? The connections that will be made and relationships that will develop within this community will be priceless.”
Benefits of
membership
Learn from the best
An inside view of the practices at high-functioning design teams and their solutions to common problems.
Speak in confidence
A chance to have candid, confidential conversations about issues that keep you up at night.
Broad perspectives
A chance to connect with a broad network of experts committed to helping fellow design leaders advance.
Best practices from the front lines
The opportunity to learn from veteran design leaders and industry influencers.
Design
leadership
in action
Mike Davidson facilitating a member dinner in Palo Alto with design executives from Google, Atlassian, SurveyMonkey, Hortonworks, and 20 other companies.
Design leaders from ENGIE, The Orange Group, EY, BPCE, Thales Design Center, Dailymotion, Saint Gobain, and others meet on a Paris rooftop.
In Toronto, dinner attendees received a copy of Kim Scott’s Radical Candor and InVision’s Design Systems handbook
CEOs, product, and design leaders from Intuit, Caseport, AT&T, discuss partnership strategies in Dallas.
Chef hanging out with Design Leadership Forum members before the discussions.
Kimberly Hicks (Disney), Mindy Duong (East West Bank), Puneet Thakar (Appetize) trade hiring strategies at the Los Angeles dinner.
Henry Hongmin Kim (Coca-Cola), Gene Lee (MailChimp), and Asa Sherrill (Macquarium) talk about operationalizing design at scale at the Atlanta dinner.
Brent Brooks (AIG), Bob Calvano (A+E Networks), Aaron Gardner (Blackrock), and Maria Nicholas (Moody's Analytics) listen in for insights on leading growing design teams
Dane Howard (Samsung NEXT) shares his leadership stories with Jose Benavides (Realor.com), Liana Lawrance (Rocket Lawyer), and fellow members at the San Francisco dinner
Stanford d.school tour with Bill Burnett, Executive Director, Design Program at Stanford University.
Leslie Witt (Intuit) discussing how to create design forward organizations.
Dinner discussion with leaders from Amy Lokey (Google), Amanda Linden (Facebook), Eliel Johnson (Charles Schwab), and more.
Amy Lokey (Google), Irene Au (Khosla Ventures), and Lori Kaplan (Atlassian) discuss scaling design at enterprises.
Bill Burnett (Stanford) shares the origin story of the Stanford d.school.
Amanda Linden (Facebook), Frank Yoo (Lyft), and Amy Lokey (Google) at the Palo Alto dinner.
Shani Sandy (S+P Capital), James Findlater (Vimeo), Laura Hahn (Priceline) at the New York City dinner.
Laura Hahn (Priceline), Renda Morton (New York Times), and Gregg Meyer (WeWork) discuss how to amplify design culture.
Upcoming
design leadership
events
The Design Leadership Forum convenes at dinners, online events, a private slack community, community meetups, and at retreats that help members recharge while learning. Spending time together empowers us to connect and exchange ideas faster—and as a true community.
Event date and location
- February 21, AustinDinner
- February 23, LagosCommunity Meetup
- February 28, OnlineFireside
- March 6, NYCLunch with John Maeda
- March 6, OnlineLivestream with John Maeda
- March 14, AtlantaBreakfast
- March 21, SydneyDinner
- April 4, AmsterdamDinner
- April 11, NYCBreakfast
Nominate a
Design Leader
The Design Leadership Forum brings together industry veterans and rising stars who direct design at leading companies.
Please submit a form if you or an experienced design leader you know would be a strong addition to the community.
All members of the Design Leadership community agree to follow a clear code of conduct.
