I excel at aligning stakeholders around a shared narrative and forming simple, focused user journeys that lead to tangible results and...
I will get along with you.
I’ve had the privilege of being brought into my first UX Director role by my manager at AOL. She had the faith in me to throw me into management at Scripps (Food Network, Travel Channel, and HGTV.) I created such trust with her and other senior leaders at AOL, that she knew she could depend on me to take design at Scripps to the next level.
At Google, I received over 50 awards for collaboration and effective communication with cross-functional peers.
From a Google UX director,
“Jeff led all Insights and Reporting work across the team which took an enormous amount of cross-product and cross-functional collaboration to get off the ground, but Jeff was relentless in his pursuit to get this work, which was critically important to users, prioritized, and launched.”
From a Google direct report,
“ Jeff is great at respecting the opportunity. Midway through this cycle, Jeff assumed leadership of newly-combined Virtual and Physical Collaboration UX teams. This new team is reective of changes in the broader cross-functional organization. Jeff immediately sponsored work from research and design staff to understand and vision the opportunity. Outside the UX team, Jeff has brokered the first large engagement between the formerly-separate cross-functional partners. As an attendee of that meeting, I was super-impressed by Jeff's diplomacy and ability to steer a group with such diverse opinions towards consensus. Jeff is clearly seen as a leader by reports, peers and stakeholders. By having a strong strategic approach, Jeff shields the team from re drills, busy work, etc.”
I get along with everyone and I will give you peace of mind.
Here’s why:
Why Hire Jeff?
I am at the forefront of technology and love creating new paradigms for making lives easier.
Throughout my career, I’ve always been on the front lines of new technology. From my time at Citibank working on the first feature phone mobile banking app, to my time at AOL designing their first investment app to my time consulting with Time/Warner on their first iPad magazine app to my time at Food Network working on their first Apple Watch app to my time at Google working on early AI tools for content moderation, I strive on understanding new ways to harness digital tooling.
From a senior researcher at Google,
“Jeff is an excellent designer who delivers deeply-thought-out, quality designs in a rapid timeframe. I can rely on him to act on UX research findings and internalize them quickly into the designs he creates.”
I am a compassionate manager who prioritizes team well-being.
We need to remember that we are so much more than images in a box on our screen. We are human and have needs outside of work. Flexibility and compassion are foundational to a successful and productive career. This is paramount in my management style.
From a VP of UX at Google,
“Jeff is an extremely strong manager and contributor in Core UX - his PMR (Performance Manager Rating) is among the highest on the team at 94 (98 last cycle). He leads many hugely strategic pieces of work, including a number of COVID response initiatives that were highly visible and impactful for Googlers.”
From a direct report at Google,
“Jeff has been a really great manager, possibly one of the best throughout my career. He really cares for his team, making sure we have a good balance between work and life, gives us direction on where to focus but trust us completely for the execution. He advocates for my career growth, challenges me with projects to expand my limits.”
I am a systems thinker.
I’ve worked on complex advertising systems and multi-functional workflows for managing building capacity and tenant safety. I love thinking holistically and creating a robust experience for our users that both delights them and removes tangible pain points.
From a former Google manager and UX Director:
“Jeff strives to truly understand a user's journey and to craft well-thought-out solutions to ambiguous design challenges based on that solid understanding. He has thoughtfully led the actual product definition of some of the more complex and visionary projects that the reporting and insights team has worked on including the Measurement homepage and the DBM Assistant by developing strong and trusted cross-functional relationships with PM and ENG.”
I am adaptable.
No two teams are alike so no one process will work perfectly for every team. I’ve worked on small teams and large teams. I’ve worked with minimal budgets and larger ones. I’ve managed large teams and small teams. It doesn’t matter to me. I listen to the team and observe their behavior. What is working? What is not? How can I solve their process problems with Design Thinking?
From a Google Product Lead:
“We work in a fast-paced space - with user needs evolving based on WFO and RTO. Research is a key part of this and Jeff has ensured that we are invested properly to quickly understand our space to inform our product decisions. Jeff has a magic skill of making things work if the need is there… we have never been blocked on UX for any launch or product decision. The UX team is super resilient through all of these changes and Jeff's leadership is the most critical piece to that.”
From a Google Direct Report:
“Jeff's remit expanded exponentially in the last six months, taking responsibility for a broader set of portfolios... He's done a great job of leaning in quickly to understand the <new> space, work with the leaders in the org and develop a plan / strategy to address the most critical needs. Our UX partnership immediately turned around when Jeff took responsibility for it because of his approach.”