Designer, educator, transformation coach, and builder of things that don't exist yet.
Download ResumeI began my career studying industrial design at Nanyang Polytechnic, where I graduated as the top student. What started as a love for physical product design evolved into a fascination with how people interact with systems, teams, and organisations.
I'm currently on a career break, caring for my family while my wife and I welcome our second child. During this time, I've been running Career Creators and coaching 50+ designers. I'm exploring my next full-time leadership role in design, transformation, or learning and development. If you're building something that needs someone who can lead teams, drive change, and ship real outcomes, I'd like to hear about it.
After completing my Honours degree at UNSW as a Golden Jubilee Scholar, I spent two years at Barrows (a WPP company) designing retail experiences for Fortune 500 brands like Unilever, Nestlé, and Kimberly Clark.
In 2014, I pivoted to education. As a lecturer at Ngee Ann Polytechnic, I co-founded etc.lab, an interdisciplinary centre for social impact. I designed the design thinking curriculum for 130+ students and received the School Teaching Award.
DBS Bank recruited me in 2017 to join the Transformation Group. There, I developed Meeting Mojo, a bank-wide movement that saved an estimated $27M annually and was featured by Harvard Business Review, MIT Sloan, and Global Finance Magazine.
At Income Insurance, I led digital transformation projects including SNACK 2.0, increasing app conversion by 71% and training 300+ participants in design thinking.
I then joined ContactOut as Head of Product Design, building a 9-person team across 6 countries, growing ARR to $13M, and achieving 82.8% user activation rates.
In 2024, I founded Career Creators to help experienced designers land senior roles through warm conversations instead of cold applications. Over 50 designers have been through The Backdoor program.
The person behind the portfolio
I'm an INFP and Enneagram 9. I lead with empathy, think deeply before I speak, and care about meaning over metrics (even though I deliver both). My Human Design is a Projector 1/3 with Splenic Authority, which basically means I do my best work when I'm invited into problems. Not when I force my way in.
How I think
I'm a systems thinker who sees the architecture behind problems. I look for the root cause and redesign the system around it. This is why I've been drawn to transformation work at every stage of my career.
How I communicate
Warm, direct, and allergic to corporate jargon. I teach through stories. I ask questions before I give answers. People tell me I make complex things feel simple.
How I create
I build things. Systems, teams, businesses, tools. If it doesn't exist and it should, I'll make it. The 8 AI coaching tools I built for Career Creators are the latest example. But it's been the pattern my whole career.
What drives me
I care about people doing meaningful work. Coaching a senior designer through a career crisis. Transforming meeting culture for 33,000 employees. Teaching a student their first design sprint. The thread is the same. I want to help people see what they're capable of.
What I believe
The best design work is invisible. It's the systems, teams, culture, and decisions that make everything else possible. I've spent 18 years learning that the biggest difference I can make is building the conditions where great work happens on its own.
Experience
Career Creators
2024 – PresentFounder & UX Career Coach
Coaching 50+ experienced designers to land senior roles in 4-12 weeks through The Backdoor program.
Career Break
2025 – PresentFamily, caregiving, and building Career Creators
Caring for my pregnant wife and our second child. Both my parents are wheelchair users. My mother-in-law passed. No family support available. I chose to be fully present during this period. Career Creators kept me building, coaching, and staying sharp while I was at it.
ContactOut
2021 – 2025Director, Head of Product Design
Built a 9-person team across 6 countries. Grew ARR from $4.5M to $13M. Achieved 82.8% activation rate and NPS of 88.
Nanyang Technological University
2021 – 2024Adjunct Lecturer
Lectured DR5003 Introduction to Design. Achieved Mean Teaching Score of 4.96/5.0 (5% above average).
Income Insurance
2020 – 2021Experience Design Manager
Digital Transformation Office. Increased app conversion by 71%. Trained 300+ in design thinking.
DBS Bank
2017 – 2020AVP, Employee Journey Design Coach
Meeting Mojo saved $27M annually. Featured in Harvard Business Review, MIT Sloan, Global Finance Magazine.
Ngee Ann Polytechnic
2014 – 2017Lecturer, Founding Co-Lead (etc.lab)
Co-founded etc.lab for social impact. Taught 130+ students. Received School Teaching Award.
Barrows Asia Pacific (WPP)
2012 – 2014Product Designer
Retail design for Unilever, Nestlé, Kimberly Clark, GlaxoSmithKline. Received Barrows Asia Pacific Award 2013.
Areas of Focus
Design Thinking
Starting with the people, not the solution. Rapid experiments, real prototypes, and decisions grounded in what users actually need.
Experience Design
Designing products and services people want to use, that the business can build, and that actually make money.
Change Management
The people side of change. New tools and processes only work if people adopt them. I focus on making change stick.
Credentials
Executive MBA, Quantic School of Business
Bachelor of Industrial Design (Honours), UNSW
Prosci Certified Change Management Practitioner
AJ&Smart Certified Design Sprint 2.0 Facilitator
IBM Enterprise Design Thinking Practitioner
LinkedIn Top Voice since 2024
Speaking & Media
Talks & Interviews
Design Thinking: Transforming the Meeting Culture at DBS
My keynote at SHRI on how our small team used design thinking to change how 33,000 employees run meetings at DBS.
I cover the origin of Meeting MOJO and the D.A.T.E.S. framework, the Speedy Meetings initiative (85% adoption), the MOJO app (2.4K downloads in month one), phone Jenga experiments, guerrilla marketing across six regional markets, and why culture change requires top-down role modelling plus grassroots engagement.
The UX Growth Podcast: Landing Six-Figure Roles Without Applying
A deep conversation with Nick Mann on my career journey, the hidden job market, and how I help UX professionals land roles without cold applications.
I walk through all six career pivots, the hiring pyramid (7 levels from internal hires to campus recruitment), why 60-80% of jobs are never posted publicly, the Backdoor method for accessing the hidden job market, the Career Mirror reflection exercise, and what self-awareness actually means for your job search.
CuriousCore: Product Design to Education to Transformation
My full career arc from industrial design to lecturing at 27, to transformation design at DBS. Told through the stories that shaped each pivot.
I cover the backstory of growing up with both parents as wheelchair users, the failed design studio that taught communication skills, the "wasn't first choice" story at Ngee Ann Polytechnic, the three fits hiring framework (job fit, mindset fit, culture fit), convincing senior stakeholders with data at DBS, and teaching critical thinking through the five whys.
Everything Design Show: Designing Experiences and Mentoring
On building my design career through mentoring, my three self-awareness tests, and the Meeting Mojo case study from DBS.
I share the Airport Test (envision your life in five years), the History Test (reflect on what you enjoyed and didn't enjoy in every role), and the Shark Bait Test (ask friends what your real strengths are). Also covers the full Meeting Mojo story, how DBS saved $10M+ in the first year through meeting culture change, and why starting small is the key to transformation.
The Design Hustle Podcast: The Harsh Reality About Career Coaching
On navigating my six career pivots, defeating imposter syndrome, and building a coaching practice from the ground up.
I cover the personal origin story, how the DBS hiring manager saw a "squiggly career" as a strength, the limiting belief exercise for overcoming imposter syndrome, the 7-7-7 Jackpot Formula for finding dream companies (7 passions, 7 personal problems, 7 professional pains), and practical advice for designers who want to become coaches: start by mentoring 100 people for free.
How To Land Your Dream Design Role (AMA with Chris from UX Playbook)
Live AMA where I cover the hidden job market, how hiring actually works inside companies, and building relationships that turn into referrals.
I break down the 7-level hiring pyramid, why hiring is risk management not skill competition, three levels of culture fit (manager, team, organisation), the Backdoor method for bypassing traditional applications (20-30% outreach response rates), and the MVP pitch strategy for proactively showcasing value to dream companies.
Why Can't I Get a UX Job (LinkedIn Live with Chris from UX Playbook)
I diagnose the three most common reasons designers aren't getting hired and what to do instead.
I cover why applying to 100 roles with no interviews means your strategy is broken (not your skills), the DREAM formula for proactive job searching, front door vs back door vs third door approaches, ATS myths debunked, the CARL and PEARL interview frameworks for showcasing growth mindset, and why career skills matter as much as design skills.
Tool Stack
Beyond work
Two boys under four. Life in Singapore with my wife. 5 UK properties on the side. I listen to way too many design and business podcasts. And I'm convinced the best ideas come from the messiest conversations.
Let's build something together.
Whether you're scaling a startup, transforming an enterprise, or building a design team, I'd love to hear about it.