Elevating Finance design maturity
From a reactive team of 2 to a strategic design team embedded in the CFO’s big bets
My role
Senior design manager, Finance design
Scope
6 Finance product domains: Analyst Platforms, Core Modernization, Data, Treasury, FP&A, and ERP
Key impact
Built a team of 7 designers, strategists, and researchers from 2; scaled design coverage across 6 Finance product domains; elevated UX maturity from Level [1] to Level [4].
Timeframe
2023 to 2026
01 · THE SITUATION
Design in Finance was barely present
Two weeks after I joined as a Manager, the Senior Manager who hired me left. I reported directly to the VP and became the de facto design lead, with no domain knowledge, no partner relationships, and no roadmap.
2
designers
1
active project
0
sr. design leaders
01 02 · DIAGNOSIS AND FIRST MOVES
The problem wasn’t capability. It was credibility.
Forcing our way into the highest-priority work would have failed. So I started small, proved value, and expanded influence.
Choose battles deliberately
I stepped back from a fast-moving initiative with no room for a learning curve, and protected our capacity for work we could win.
1
active project
0
sr. design leaders
Person who said the quote
“testimonial testimonial testimonial”
Impact
33% ↑
in throughput for COAF ML
15% ↑
Net Promoter Score (NPS) compared to existing tools
33% ↓
in new hire training time
Interested in more?
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