I’m a values and mission-driven leader with military, nonprofit, and corporate sector experience. Today, I’m Chief of Staff and Operations lead for a product and experience design team at Autodesk. Before that, I led Design Operations at Silicon Valley Bank, where I also served as Interim Head of Design, and worked at Uber Eats and Capital One. I’ve led nonprofit economic and education programs and served in the United States Navy. I am high trust and high integrity, and I lead with humor, clarity, and compassion. I like big trees, cooking every day, buying and learning about arts and crafts, and being a tourist in my own city of San Francisco.
Trail stop 1 · Dendrochronology
Read the rings
A sequoia keeps its whole history in its trunk. So do I. Each ring is a chapter, newest on the outside; click one to read it.
Sapwood · the living layer
Autodesk
What I bring to a design team
People & cultureResilient, inclusive, psychologically safe teams that are fun and help people grow.
ImpactUX metrics and data-driven stories that show how design adds value to the business.
RelationshipsStrong ties within design, with cross-functional partners, and with vendors.
Resourcing & budgetsHiring, onboarding, allocation, planning and budgets, designed around people.
CollaborationThe glue that brings teams together and keeps them working toward a common goal.
ToolsBest-in-class design tools and training, onboarded and scaled.
✦ ✦ ✦
Trail stop 2 · Experience
The Trail
Twenty-five years across the Navy, community work and design, newest first.
Right hand to the VP of a go-to-market Product and Experience Design org. I run the operating cadence for 120+ people (previously 300+), lead the Design Program Management practice, own headcount planning with Finance, and drive AI enablement across Product and Design.
More
Planning and executive communications. Annual and quarterly planning across 19 programs, OKRs, leadership team forums, all-hands, offsites, calibration and performance management.
Operational excellence. Strategic headcount planning and allocation; key partner to Finance, Legal and HR on organizational changes and the communications around them.
Cross-functional ways of working. When Engineering changed its operating model, I led the design and rollout of a new engagement model across Architecture, Engineering, Product and Design: the guide, timeline, communications, training and ceremonies. Led the team playbook and the move to the Atlassian suite.
AI enablement. Brought in AI training and vendor partners, ran tool pilots, and built a community for sharing AI workflows, including an org-wide AI Show & Tell, a learning sprint, and training on designing with and for AI.
Creative culture. Helped launch a joint design and product portfolio review series, co-led new discovery and definition ceremonies, and facilitated the first joint people-manager forum across Product and Design.
Silicon Valley Bank
2020 — 2025
Director, Design Operations · a division of First Citizens Bank
Founded and led DesignOps for the product design team, from a team of one through rapid growth, contractor cuts, the bank's collapse and its acquisition. Also served as Interim Head of Product Design and Interim Director of SVB Go Design.
More
Interim Head of Product Design (6 months). Led a 50+ person org through a leadership transition, reporting to the Chief Product Officer and sitting on the product leadership team. Zero attrition through the collapse, the FDIC takeover and the acquisition.
DesignOps from zero. Consolidated four design tools into Figma; built recruiting, hiring and onboarding as the team grew from about 20 to 52; created the first design career framework, job families and descriptions; set up team OKRs, communications and compliance practices.
Design value. Wrote the bank's first Design Value Story, framing every design workstream in business terms, and shipped its first UX measurement framework.
Capacity through crisis. Built a data-driven capacity model that absorbed a roughly 50% contractor reduction without losing velocity, and moved the org to a studio model. Managed vendors, budgets and forecasts with Finance.
Integration. Selected to lead strategic cost management for the Chief Digital Officer's organization during the First Citizens integration, including the team integration plan and merger communications.
Teaching. Created and led a company-wide Service Design course adopted across product and engineering.
Interim Director, SVB Go Design (5 months). Led 12 product designers during the director's parental leave.
Uber Eats
2020
Senior Design Program Manager
Managed design operations systems, tools and practices for teams shipping products used by millions. A short chapter, cut short by COVID-19.
Capital One & Adaptive Path
2017 — 2020
Design Manager
Led design operations across capitalone.com and Adaptive Path, with an emphasis on people and culture. Co-invented a patented web component for personalized financial product recommendations.
More
Co-invented and patented an algorithm-based web component for personalized financial product recommendations.
Project-managed Capital One's first web design system, and a homepage and navigation redesign that generated millions in revenue.
Led design operations across capitalone.com and Adaptive Path with an emphasis on people and culture.
Nonprofit, government & military
2000 — 2015
MEDA · Insight Center · U.S. Navy
Directed a $30M community initiative in San Francisco's Mission District, built a national coalition on the racial wealth gap, and served as a Navy Hospital Corpsman.
More
Director, Mission Promise Neighborhood (MEDA). Led a five-year, $30M federally funded initiative modeled on the Harlem Children's Zone, focused on poverty reduction and educational outcomes. Hired and led a team of 10 and managed 30+ partnerships across nonprofits, SFUSD, city agencies and Stanford.
Insight Center for Community Economic Development. Built a national coalition of 150+ experts on the racial wealth gap; co-published Lifting As We Climb (Ford Foundation funded).
U.S. Navy. Hospital Corpsman and medical laboratory technician. Deployed with a Marine surgical company during Operation Iraqi Freedom; board certified in medical laboratory technology.
Trail stop 3 · Case studies & essays
Writing
Longer field notes on building, leading and steadying design teams. I think of myself as a service designer for design teams: my users are the designers, and the product is an organization where they can do their best work.
Interimus steadfastus
From Design Ops to Interim Head of Design
When our Head of Design left, I stepped in to lead a 52-person team through the transition, and handed it over stronger.
Habitat
Silicon Valley Bank, 2022
Outcome
Zero attrition; new Head of Design hired within six months
Resilientia ignis
Leading through a bank collapse
Contractor cuts, a bank run, an FDIC takeover and an acquisition, all within a few months. We led with people, connection and adaptability.
Habitat
Silicon Valley Bank, 2022–2023
Outcome
Morale and output held; minimal attrition
Organismus designi
Building and maturing a design org
As a Design Ops team of one, I built the systems that took a new product design team from about 20 designers to 52, mostly hired remotely during COVID.
Habitat
Silicon Valley Bank, 2020–2023
Outcome
Four design tools became one; career framework, OKRs and hiring built from scratch
Every good trail has a logbook. Here's what people I've worked with wrote in mine.
Victor took the time to understand my vision for the team, the kind of culture we wanted to build, and then helped me realize this vision. Most importantly, he helped me become a better leader, communicator and partner.
Shannan HsiaoFormer Head of Product Design, Silicon Valley Bank. Hired me; I reported to her.
Victor has a gift for driving efficiencies within organizations while also creating a supportive and creative environment where people can thrive.
Kelli KimptonFormer Head of Product Design, SVB. Now Head of Product Design, FedEx.
He brings a refreshing mix of pragmatism, vision, and affability to every team he is a part of. He's naturally gifted at building a strong team culture (I'll always remember how much fun our teams had with the Proust questionnaires).
Nick CramptonDirector, Digital Services & Customer Experience, City of Vancouver. Worked together at Adaptive Path, Capital One and SVB.
Victor is a fantastic design leader. He is kind, warm and approachable, beloved by his teams and partners. Any team would be so fortunate to have Victor as their leader and advocate.
Ingrid Hu Dahl, Gap Inc.
If you needed any evidence of a superhero on the team, without a cape, it's Victor.
Chuck L.
He had to step up and fill some big shoes multiple times, and although he was not looking forward to doing it [wink wink], he made each transition seamless.
Israel R.
Your proven history of being highly adaptive and calm under chaotic circumstances gives us confidence that we can tackle whatever comes next.
Franke C.
On two separate occasions, as the bank was going through budget cuts and a collapse, Victor fought for me to stay, despite me just being a contractor.
Dexter Y.
Victor’s action-bias, combined with his great communication skills, emotional intelligence, and problem solving chops, elevated the team and provided a model for others to aspire to.
Natalie Quizon
His leadership, through what may be the longest time of transition (ever!), has been essential to keeping our department afloat.
Amy E.
You've led with steadiness and candidness that kept the team on track. We're so lucky to have you!
Kristen H.
In 2022, when my boss and Head of Design announced her departure, she asked me to serve as interim leader. The team had grown from a handful of designers in 2020 to 52, and I'd report to the Chief Product Officer and sit on his leadership team.
Context
It was daunting and unexpected. My deep knowledge of the team and my operations background gave me confidence, but what really motivated me was the team's need for stability during the transition.
Approach
I prioritized three things: our people, our culture, and communication. With our Chief Product Officer, I set three goals: fill the Head of Design role as quickly as possible, minimize the impact of the uncertainty on our people, and keep strengthening team cohesion, culture and trust. I got there by:
Naming my values and leading with them: kindness, clarity, vulnerability and transparency. I shared them with the team in a short deck early on.
Leading the full hiring process with our recruiter and CPO, including choosing the executive search firm. We made the hire within six months.
Sending weekly, transparent (and occasionally funny) updates, and keeping our team rituals going.
Meeting one-on-one with every team member and acting on what I heard: contract extensions, new hires, salary adjustments and retention packages.
Writing transition plans for the outgoing and incoming leaders.
Representing design in product leadership and advocating for our impact.
What I'd do differently
Invest more in my temporary peers. I focused inward on the team. More time with the product leadership team might have grown design's remit and eased the new leader's arrival.
Make room for strategy. Leading 50+ people through a hard stretch is like being a firefighter whose bell never stops ringing. I chose to own "the now" and leave strategy to the next Head of Design.
Delegate more. Playing two roles is close to a fool's errand. I could have asked for help sooner and said no to low-priority requests more ruthlessly.
Outcome
The ship didn't sink. The team came through intact and stronger, with zero attrition while I was interim, and the handoff to our new Head of Design went well. Bonus: right after, I led a 12-designer program as interim director while its Product Director was on parental leave.
At Silicon Valley Bank, I helped guide our design team through leadership changes, a bank collapse, and an acquisition by First Citizens Bank. My approach: people, connection and adaptability.
People-first culture
A clear team mission, vision and values, kept as our North Star as we scaled and changed.
Personal "user guides" so teammates could understand how each other works.
Welcoming onboarding to our team, our culture and the company.
Regular pulse surveys and listening tours, and acting on what we heard.
Workshops and offsites to connect, learn, grow and have fun together.
Adaptive team design
Moved to a flexible "studio" model, so researchers, content strategists and designers could act as force multipliers for projects that couldn't afford a full-time person.
Built a capacity framework to track designer time and allocation.
Did our own "biz dev" to find projects and funding and minimize headcount loss.
Communication
Frequent, transparent updates during uncertainty: weekly notes, thorough documentation, one-on-one check-ins, and steady relationship building with cross-functional partners. When contractor budgets were cut, we handled offboarding with dignity, knowledge sharing and a real goodbye.
Impact
Kept morale and productivity up through the collapse and acquisition, with minimal attrition.
Cross-trained designers across multiple projects and reduced burnout through smarter allocation.
Grew design's influence by finding new project opportunities.
What shaped this
Early on at Capital One and Adaptive Path, I learned that intentional team building isn't a social extra; it's a strategic investment. At SVB, our founding Head of Design turned every call into a moment of human connection. Great design and collaboration happen when we put people over process, connection over transaction, and humanity over mere productivity.
In nature, adaptation is how species survive. At SVB, I watched design thinking and empathy turn organizational chaos into growth.
Building from scratch
When the Head of Design was hired in early 2020, we started with a blank canvas. We grew to nearly 40 designers by the end of 2020 and more than 50 by 2021, mostly onboarded remotely during the pandemic. Designers were juggling Adobe, InVision, Sketch and Zeplin, onboarding was full of tech hiccups, and nothing was standard. What we did have was a people-first culture built on trust, inclusion and transparency.
Design Operations (a team of one!)
Working across HR, vendors, risk, compliance and finance, I:
Built end-to-end recruiting, hiring, onboarding and offboarding, taking us from about 20 designers to 52 at our peak.
Consolidated four design tools into one (Figma) and onboarded best-in-class research and design tools.
Created a company-wide course on service design.
Built a design career framework, job families and job descriptions.
Set up team OKRs, quarterly updates and annual success-story decks.
Ran the business side of design: budgets, forecasts with finance, risk ratings and business continuity.
Grew relationships with agencies and staffing firms to add capacity for high-priority work.
When everything changed
In late 2022, budget cuts ended most of our contractor roles, cutting the team nearly in half. A few months later, the bank collapsed. We adapted: a studio model to maximize collaboration, data-driven capacity management, and a UX measurement framework to start tracking design's impact.
What I learned
Chaos doesn't destroy; it reveals.
Adaptability matters more than perfection.
A strong culture can withstand incredible pressure.
Human-centered design applies to organizations as much as products.
Trail stop 5 · Off the clock
Campfire
Where the work stops and the cooking starts. Outside of work, you’ll find me hiking, rucking, swimming (Alcatraz a few times), learning to ski in my 40s, or hunting for vintage treasures, from art and ceramics to menswear and books.
Everyday crafts
Cooking is the closest thing to a craft I practice every day. The goal: make something simple, well. Make something well, simply.
BreakfastThe "perfect" (for me) omelet, and weekend pancakes
SundayRoast chicken, still chasing the perfect one
BakingCookies, scones and focaccia
Trail stop 6 · Ranger Station
Say hello
If you want to chat, please reach out on LinkedIn. Until then, happy trails!
