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 400 people from all around the world. 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
NBCUniversal
Eliel Johnson
Charles Schwab
Amanda Linden
Facebook
Amy Lokey
Google
Heidi Shelton
FIGS
John Couch
Hulu
Kayvan Sotoodeh
Tillster
Sandro Cosaro
Fandango
John Moon
Samsung
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
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.
Past
leadership
events
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.
Design
leadership
events
Members of the Design Leadership Forum convene at dinners, special events and retreats. These gatherings are for honest conversations and to get the perspectives of peers who have been through similar experiences.
Event date and location
- August 2, NYCAgency Dinner
- August 16, DenverDinner
- August 23, DCDinner
- August 30, DallasDinner
- September 6, PhoenixDinner
- September 13, San FranciscoExecutive Dinner
- September 27, Los AngelesDinner
- October 4, Palo AltoDinner
Nominate a
Design Leader
The Design Leadership Forum brings together industry veterans and rising stars who direct design at leading companies.
Nominations for the Spring 2018 cohort are now open. 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.
