Design director · Formerly IBM Core Software · Austin
I build design teams that hold steady and ship.
At IBM I led the designers, researchers and UX engineers behind the software that earns most of IBM Software's revenue. My focus is the organization: its structure, its standards, and its seat at the table with product and engineering.
Leadership case studies
Four stories, 2019 to today
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2022 – 2026
Scaling a design organization through constant change
How I kept a design team whole through reorganizations at every level, then grew it to cover IBM's core software portfolio.
100%team retention through the 2023 reorganizations -
2019 – 2021
Making design quality a shared standard across IBM
A governance board, a review practice that spread to new business units, and a credential designers actually wanted.
1,000+badges earned in the first six months -
2023 – 2024
Launching data and AI products, including Db2 and watsonx.data
Getting design in the room early on new products, and moving fast enough to matter when strategy shifted late.
14.5% → 89.1%trial sign-up completion after the Planning Analytics redesign -
2021 – 2022
Running IBM's AI strategy with the Chief AI Officer
Turning a strategy into a management system, a single trustworthy AI go-to-market, and a portfolio IBM could report on.
$250Mestimated revenue opportunity from the trustworthy AI sales play
About
My first career was as a legal secretary. I went back for a computer science degree, built web applications for small businesses, and joined IBM in 2015 as a front-end engineer and the accessibility focal point for my product.
Since then I have moved toward the work around the work. I led IBM's front-end developer community, managed engineers, ran the company's design review program, served as chief of staff to the Chief AI Officer, and most recently led design for IBM's core software, through May 2026.
That path shapes how I lead. I understand engineering from the inside, I know how the business runs, and I treat the health of a team as a deliverable. Early on, I rebuilt the developer track of IBM Design's new-hire bootcamp around a real project for a real internal client. Within a year, participants' rating of how ready they felt rose from −43 to +33 NPS, and their managers' rating rose from −75 to +50. I also helped define IBM's Developer Profession career model, which gives developers a certified path toward Senior Technical Staff Member and Distinguished Engineer.
- 2025 – 2026Director of Design, Core Software60 people · 35+ products
- 2022 – 2024Director of Design, Data & AI40 people · Db2, Business Analytics
- 2021 – 2022Program Director, AI Strategy and Chief of StaffOffice of the Chief AI Officer
- 2019 – 2021Design & UX Program DirectorIBM Design Program Office
- 2017 – 2019Engineering ManagerIBM Design Program Office
- 2015 – 2017Front-end engineer, then FED@IBM program leadIBM Cloud
- Before IBMWeb developerB.S. Computer Science, Arizona State University
Writing
- Foundations of trustworthy AI: governed data and AI, AI ethics, and an open and diverse ecosystemIBM Watson blog · 2021
- Lessons learned from standing up a front-end development program at IBMIBM Developer · 2020
- Playback on Design Thinking: Not Just for DesignersIBM Design · 2018
- Building a Sustainable Community of PracticeIBM Design · 2018
- Lead the Change You Want to See at WorkDesign at IBM · 2018
- Design Thinking: Not Just for DesignersDesign at IBM · 2017
Speaking
- Closing keynote: Leading the Change You Want to See at WorkMobile+Web DevCon, San Francisco · 2017
- Revolt, Regroup, Rebuild: Community at ScaleThe Lead Developer meetup, Austin · 2018
- Celebration of Women@IBM panelGrace Hopper Celebration · 2018
- How to Negotiate Salary and PromotionAnitaB.org Austin · 2019