A podcast about navigating the
opportunities and challenges of design leadership
with Jesse James Garrett and Peter Merholz

REcent Episodes

38: The Craft-led Design Executive (ft. Tim Allen)

n this episode, Peter and Jesse speak with Tim Allen, Global Head of Design and Research for Instacart, about his craft-forward approach to design leadership, how psychological safety enables innovation, partnering with strong operations leaders, and how growing up Black in Japan proved formative in his lifelong advocacy for inclusion in design.

37: From Design Leadership to Product Leadership (ft. Che Douglas)

In this episode, Peter and Jesse speak with Che Douglas, who has shifted from VP of Design to VP of Product for Booking.com, the world’s leading travel website. Che talks about the cultural and functional relationship between product and design, what it’s like to lead both as an integrated team, and the necessity of driving…

36: The Chief Design Officer as Corporate Executive (ft. Jehad Affoneh)

In this episode, Peter and Jesse speak with Jehad Affoneh, Chief Design Officer of Toast, on topics ranging from the what it means to be an executive, how accountability is shared across functions, the importance of aiming metrics at organizational maturity, developing an experience strategy, working with Founder-CEOs, and the differences in working B2B and…