Leadership
I lead design in environments where clarity, trust, and cross-disciplinary alignment matter most to delivering outcomes that hold up over time.
My leadership sits at the intersection of product, engineering, business, and user experience. I help teams make durable decisions under constraint and move forward with confidence when the path is not obvious.
How I lead

My leadership style is grounded in creating shared understanding before pushing toward solutions.

In practice, this means:

  • Framing problems at the system and business level before debating interfaces
  • Making constraints explicit so teams are aligned on what is possible and what is not
  • Translating between disciplines so product, engineering, marketing, and stakeholders stay focused on the same outcomes
  • Using evidence and reasoning to guide decisions rather than preference or hierarchy

I am most effective when leadership requires synthesis, judgment, and momentum, not just execution.

What This Looks Like in Practice

Across my work, leadership has shown up less as direction and more as orchestration.

Examples include:

  • Establishing shared interaction or system models so teams debate substance, not opinions
  • Turning ambiguous inputs from research, sales, and analytics into clear decision frameworks
  • Facilitating alignment sessions that surface tradeoffs early instead of late
  • Owning decisions when uncertainty is high and downstream risk is real

This is how teams move faster without creating fragile outcomes.

Business and Organizational Fluency

My leadership is informed by formal business training and hands-on experience directing teams.

With degrees in business administration and management information systems, I bring fluency in:

  • Organizational dynamics and incentive structures
  • Revenue, risk, and operational considerations
  • Technical feasibility and implementation realities

This background allows me to lead design conversations that hold up at the executive, product, and engineering levels without losing sight of user impact.

When I Am Most Effective

I do my best work in environments where:

  • Problems are complex or poorly defined
  • Multiple disciplines must align to move forward
  • Decisions have long-term consequences
  • Teams value clarity, accountability, and thoughtful tradeoffs

These conditions allow leadership to function as a stabilizing force rather than a reaction to chaos.

Colleague feedback
“Not only is Derek a technical UX expert, he is also a strong leader of people. He empowers his team, providing guidance and support as needed.”
Deb Hartman, Ph.D

Vice President Customer Insights
Case Studies
These case studies highlight leadership, decision-making, and design execution under real constraints.
Let’s Connect
The easiest way to reach me is on LinkedIn. For more detailed inquiries, you can also use the contact form.