Andy Vitale shares his experiences as an executive design leader, how he’s successfully scaled several design orgs, and why a career in pro wrestling wasn’t for him. Highlights include: Why do you create a five year plan for the design orgs you lead? How has Grey’s Anatomy informed the design of your design organisations? Why go to the trouble of helping someone who’s struggling in an interview? How do you navigate the expectations of being the most senior design leader? How do you feel you’ve enabled people on your team to speak to you as an equal? ====== Who is Andy Vitale? Andy is the Chief Design Officer of Constant Contact, an automation platform that helps small businesses to simplify and amplify their digital marketing. In this crucial role, Andy is responsible for providing executive leadership for the design organisation. A master when it comes to scaling design teams, while at Rocket Companies Andy grew the design team into a multidisciplinary organisation with over 170 people working across design, research and brand. Aside from his busy day job, Andy is also helping to shape the thinking of future user experience professionals, through his work as an adjunct professor for Kent State University’s Masters of Science in User Experience Design programme. Andy is the co-host of the Surfacing Podcast where, alongside Lisa Welchman, he engages designers, technologists, and business leaders in inspiring conversations. He is a member of the Fast Company Executive Board, an Adobe Education Leader, and - believe it or not - he still finds time to mentor designers on ADPList. ====== Find Andy here: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andyvitale/Website: https://www.andyvitale.com/Medium: https://medium.com/@andyvitaleX: https://twitter.com/andyvitale ====== Liked what you heard and want to hear more? Subscribe and support the show by leaving a review on Apple Podcasts (or wherever you listen). Follow us on our other social channels for more great Brave UX content! YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/TheSpaceInBetween/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-space-in-between/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thespaceinbetw__n/ ====== Hosted by Brendan Jarvis: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brendanjarvis/ Website: https://thespaceinbetween.co.nz/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/brendanjarvis/