Corporate consulting

Deloitte's design practice put me in front of directors and VPs when I had one or two years of experience. That's an unusual apprenticeship. The client isn't expecting you to know everything, but they are expecting conviction in your specialism. I learned early that being credible in the room meant being prepared: researching the facts, knowing the user need, knowing the business value, and simplifying the complex.

Across 20+ engagements, including a Canadian grocery retailer launching a mobile app, a women's fashion retailer redesigning their site, and a UK Government application portal being modernised, I moved from Associate to Manager. Design was always the core skill, but the years taught me the adjacent skills that turn a good designer into a leader: business change, strategy, executive comms, stakeholder management, and P&L. Managing a P&L in particular reshaped how I think about design investment. You stop pitching for headcount and start making a case for outcomes.

A cross-industry portfolio I can draw on when I face a new problem, and the habit of pairing user insight with business need. Consulting is where I learned that a big part of the job of a design leader is making the design land with the client, the C-suite, and the team who has to deliver it.