Ricardo Marquez

• Explore the tensions between speed, quality, and cross-functional collaboration
• Hear real-world examples where design enabled, or hindered, business outcomes
• Learn how leaders are adjusting team structures and rituals to keep pace with change
• Walk away with practical tactics for aligning design more closely with product and engineering

Join us for an enlightening interview with Ricardo Marquez, a seasoned design leader renowned for his ability to foster innovative solutions and drive impactful projects to completion. In this interview, Ricardo will share his unique approach to leading high-performing teams, drawing on his extensive international experience across various industries including communications, financial services, enterprise solutions, and retail. He will delve into his philosophy of being a 'leader of leaders,' working alongside VPs and other senior figures to pave new avenues for organizational success.

Ricardo will outline his strategies for unlocking the potential within UX teams and leveraging a deep understanding of design and research to create experiences that resonate with users and advance business goals. By joining, you will gain insight into how to cultivate a vision for your personal passions that encompasses the broader company context as well as internal dynamics, ensuring that the projects you work on are not only visionary but also achievable and enjoyable.

This session is designed for current and aspiring leaders who aim to blend strategic foresight with practical execution, offering a unique perspective on navigating the complexities of global markets and multicultural teams.

Discover how to position yourself as an indispensable leader and executioner, capable of guiding your team to new heights of innovation and success, with Ricardo's expert guidance.

We are catapulting into the era of AI automation - long in coming and now arriving with a bang. Design as a discipline has barely kept up with the good and bad of our product decisions. We have seen it in the scooters scattered around city centers, blocking pedestrians, or the recent podcast by Ezra Klein on the increase of teenage suicides and mental health closely linked to the increase in social media consumption.

We don’t believe it is solely the Designers’ role to think about the social responsibility or human impact of our product. Yet we do play a role and need to raise our voices if we think about the changes that are upon us.

The challenge we put forth: we - as Design - have drifted along with companies' short-term revenue focus, including processes around agility and automation. Design has adapted to it, but has rarely challenged it.

As we enter this AI future, Pamela and Ricardo will share their thoughts on embracing yet challenging AI with eyes wide open, while adapting to the rapidly changing reality of our day-to-day work.