16 December, 5–6:30 PM GMT

Free

Invite-only

How to Become Chief Design Officer at Gusto

On December 16 at 5 pm GMT, we will be hosting Amy Thibodeau, Chief Design Officer at Gusto, for a 90-minute conversation about the Chief Design Officer role, the business value of creativity, and what she's learned leading design at Shopify and Gusto.

This is an invite-only session. Apply to attend the event live and ask your questions directly.

Apply to get invited

Amy was one of the first members of Facebook's content strategy team. Later, as a senior director of UX at Shopify, she led a cross-functional team of more than 130 people, launched the Polaris design system, built the Platform UX team and founded the Design Ops practice. In 2021, she joined Gusto, the payroll, benefits and HR platform for small businesses, where she is now Chief Design Officer and also leads teams including AI Platform, Design Systems and Mobile.

In this 90-minute conversation, Ekaterina Solomeina will discuss with Amy what her role as a Chief Design Officer really involves, how she tells the story of design's value inside a tech company, and why she believes designers should never assume they're designing for themselves.

Apply to get invited

Speaker:

Issa Breibish

Chief Design Officer at Bentley Systems

Hosted by:

Ekaterina Solomeina

Co-Founder of Future London Academy

What we'll talk about

How do you grow from content strategist to Chief Design Officer?

How do you build a customer-focused company culture as Chief Design Officer?

How can you measure the impact of design on a business?

How does a Chief Design Officer lead teams beyond design, from AI to mobile?

How can more design and product leaders find their way into the boardroom?

What happens in the Live Circle?

The Live Circle is a small, invite-only group of senior design leaders who will join the interview live on Zoom on 16 December, 5:00–6:30 pm GMT.

We keep the live group small and bring together leaders at a similar stage, so the conversation goes deeper. Better questions for Amy and a chat full of peers who understand your challenges.

Ask your questions to Amy directly

Chat in real time with Heads of Design, Creative Directors and Founders with 15+ years of experience from all over the world.

Hear how peers in other countries and industries tackle the same problems

Want to be part of the conversation?

Apply now, and we'll let you know within 72 hours whether you've been invited.

Attendees of our events work at the world's leading companies including:

About the speakers:

Amy Thibodeau

Chief Design Officer at Gusto

Amy joined Gusto in 2021 as Head of Design and Research and is now Gusto's Chief Design Officer. She also leads Gusto's Core Experiences teams, which include AI Platform, Design Systems, Reporting, and Mobile and Comms Platforms.

Previously, Amy was a senior director of UX at Shopify, where she led a cross-functional team of over 130 people working on core business products. During her time at Shopify, she also led the launch of the Polaris design system, built the Platform UX team, and founded the Design Ops practice.

Ekaterina Solomeina

Co-Founder of Future London Academy, Executive School for Creatives

Ekaterina has interviewed some of the world's most influential design leaders, from Google's Ivy Ross to IDEO Partner Michelle Lee, as host of Future London Academy’s Creative Capes podcast.

She co-founded Future London Academy in 2013, after more than 20 years as a creative director in branding, advertising and digital product design, working with Microsoft, Nike and Samsung and collaborating with product leaders at Uber and Amazon. Today, Future London Academy is an executive school for creatives, with C-level faculty including the co-founders of AKQA and Wolff Olins.

From Live Circle to Global Circle

Imagine making the move to C-level yourself in a few years. Our Executive Programme is made for creative and design leaders with 15+ years of experience. It combines a rigorous MBA curriculum taught by C-level faculty with leadership coaching, mentorship and a global network of peers who will push you to the next level.

Discover the Executive Programme

FAQ

Is it free?

Yes, completely free, invitation-only. Register your interest to be selected.

How do I get a seat in the Live Circle?

Register and tell us a little about your role. We invite a small group of senior leaders at a similar stage in their careers, so the conversation is relevant for everyone in it.

When will I know if I’m in?

Within 72 hours of registering. If you don't see our email, check your spam folder. Email filters can be a little overprotective.

What if I'm not invited to the Live Circle?

You will receive practical insights from the conversation directly into your inbox within 2 weeks after the event. We keep each Live Circle small, so we can't include everyone live. You'll still get practical insights from the conversation, sent to your inbox within two weeks of the interview, so you can put Issa's lessons to work.