Design leader and builder who launches 0-1 teams that drive subscriber and revenue growth.
Founded 8+ design teams from scratch, led products from zero to 126M subscribers, and navigated strategic pivots across startups and enterprises. Currently designing 0-1 products for mission driven startups.
- 24 years experience
- 40+ products built
- 13 years managing teams
- 25 largest team
Experience
Kageki Group
Funder & Principal
Apr 2000 - Present
Product design and team-building advisory for climate tech, secure communications, and AI startups. Recent work includes embedded UI for all-electric heat pump (client raised $1M+ in funding), secure messaging platform (closed $1M in new business), and AI agent for investors. Helped clients hire their first designers and navigate early-stage product development.
The Walt Disney Company
Senior Director, Product Design
Apr 2018 - Aug 2023
Promoted following Disney's acquisition of BAMTech/MLB Advanced Media
Led design teams through Disney's transformation from agency to DTC streaming. Founded 3 specialized teams, launched Disney+, ESPN+, and Star+ (0→137M subscribers), and built internal tools that became foundational infrastructure.
Product Launches & Growth
- Disney+: Built Growth Design team (2→8 people), grew platform from 0→105M subscribers in 18 months through evidence-based acquisition and retention optimization
- Star+ Latin America: Founded Sports Design team (2→4 people), designed discovery surfaces that grew Star+ from 0→11.5M subscribers in 2 years
- ESPN Monetization: Led growth features for launch and pay-per-view growing ESPN+ 0→21M subscribers; led vision design for the future of streaming sports
- NHL Partnership: Designed streaming service, app, and NHL.com from scratch; drove significant subscriber growth for NHL
Internal Tooling & Operations
- Built streaming-as-a-service platform across commerce, content, data, and dev ops that became foundational infrastructure for Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+ saving $80M annually and increasing MRR 25% YoY
- Scrappy to Start: Began with 1 designer + 2 engineers building tool that collapsed pricing changes from 2 weeks→2 hours (drove 250K subscribers in one weekend)
- Scaled to Win: Designed 30+ SaaS products (4→16 people)
Leadership & Team Building
- Led teams through acquisition (MLB→Disney), merger (Disney + Hulu), and downsizing; navigated 3 strategic pivots (agency model → launch/subscriber growth → revenue optimization)
- Scaled teams from 12→24 people; mentored and promoted multiple people into leadership roles including one to director level; reduced attrition 50%, accelerated hiring velocity 80%
Director, UX & Design, BAMTech
Sep 2015 - Apr 2018
Led design strategy for MLB's streaming technology division, building the foundation for a $4B acquisition by Disney. Established the organization's first UX Research practice and design culture while pioneering cost-efficient development processes through innovative prototyping and resource management.
User Research & Product-Led Growth
- Founded User Research from scratch: Conducted first research studies to establish practice and prove business value; built cross-functional alignment with legal, marketing, data, and executives; secured investment to grow team to 4 people
- Product-led growth: Implemented strategic design for NHL and MLB.tv video that increased ad revenue & retention 25% YoY
- Led product design on streaming services for NHL, Eurosport, PGA, MLS, ESPN, and MLB Design Systems & Operations
- Built white label solutions team that became foundation for Disney+ component library
- Co-authored career framework foundational to structured hiring and performance evaluation across 148-person design department
- Hired 7 designers including one manager; promoted multiple, including 1 first-time manager
Disney Projects
- Disney+
- Disney+ GroupWatch
- hulu
- ESPN+
- Disney StreamEngine
MLBAM Projects
- MLB.tv
- NHL.tv / NHL.com
- Eurosport Player
- MLS LIVE
- PGA Tour Live
- [Confidential]
Voxnest / BlogTalkRadio
Sr. Director, Product & UX
Sep 2010 - Apr 2015
Led product, design, and engineering (7 people) through strategic pivot from live radio platform to monetized podcasting ecosystem.
- Drove 37% YoY ad revenue growth by architecting patented programmatic advertising platform for podcasts (US20170195373A1)
- Increased subscription revenue 42% YoY with creator tools for analytics, educational content, and audio processing
- Led through strategic pivot: SaaS model (hosts pay for tools) → ad-based model (listener growth, revenue sharing)
- Took on product management role during pivot; prioritized roadmap while continuing to design and manage team
Director of UX Design
Dec 2010 - Dec 2013
First design hire; established user-centered practices and design operations from scratch.
- Grew daily active users 95% YoY by designing mobile-first experience
- Hired and grew design team from 0→2 designers
- Brought consumer design to enterprise with launch of Cinchcast conferencing software
BUZZD City Guide
Director of UX
Aug 2009 - Aug 2010
Buzzd was a mobile social travel guide for the US. As the UX Director I introduced user-centered product development, directed a brand redesign, and managed agile development process. These accomplishment extended Buzzd's runway by 6 months.
- Increased overall user activity by 200%+ by redesigning the browse locations UI to meet user expectations.
- Increased user account activation 20% by optimizing the onboarding UX and delivering customer value faster.
- Solved the biggest user complaint by increasing app speed 100% with faster location searches, and responsive images.
Edelman Digital
Technical Director
Apr 2007 - Oct 2008
- Managed a team of 4 web developers including career development and resource management.
- Led the software architecture and development of projects for Fortune 500 clients.
- Drove business development as the technology consultant for new clients.
Motionbox
Senior User Interface Developer
Mar 2006 - Apr 2007
Motionbox created a novel UI for editing and sharing short clips of video. I prototyped and developed new interfaces in Flash and HTML.
Cambridge Technology Partners
UX Design Technologist
Oct 1999 - Apr 2000
Designed & built advanced interfaces and interactive installations.
Notable Clients Ford, Walmart, GMAC
Xceed / Reset
UX Design Technologist
Sep 1998 - Oct 1999
Developed interactive applications and websites.
Notable Clients CBS News, Warner Brothers Pictures, Interscope Records, HBO
Additional Experience
Odd Jobs
TACO CHEF
Launched a popup taco stand in Brooklyn called "Unicorn Tacos" serving classic Mexico City style tacos with modern-american fillings.
PADI DIVEMASTER
Led diving excursions in Grand Cayman
STAGE LIGHTING TECH
Lighting tech at legendary nightclub Filter 14 née Mother
Even Jobs
AUDIO ENGINEER
Shelter Island Sound, The Plant
HOUSE-PAINTER
Flying colors
RETAIL
Sold computers at a big box store in the late 1900s
Patents
US20170195373A1
System for automatic, custom foreign content insertion into digital content streams
Education
New York University
Bachelor of Music (BMus)
1999
Major in Music Business & Technology
Focus on post-modern composition & synthesis with Morton Subotnik, Dr. Kenneth Peacock, and Ken Walicki.