Announcing Chief Design Officer Series

We invited Chief Design Officers from citizenM and Cisco to share their perspective on how to get to Chief Design Officer position, their key focus areas, the skills needed to succeed in this role and the common mistakes designers make when they reach the C-level.

We are excited to announce our new live interviews — Chief Design Officer Series — kicking off this October where we will uncover the secrets behind the most discussed job title.

How design can drive additional revenue

Live Interview with Chief Design Officer at citizenM
30 October, 5PM (GMT)

Our first guest will be Claudia Abt, Chief Design Officer at citizenM hotels. She built a career as an architect with one of Germany’s largest architectural firms and spent several years running her own small studio. Currently serving as Chief Design Officer at citizenM hotels, she oversees design and space planning for new hotel developments across the EU, US, and Asia. Together with Claudia we will explore:

▶ How to move from one design speciality to looking after multiple design departments
▶ How to generate upscale revenue through bold and fun brand personality
▶ How to grow to Chief Design Officer position from background in architecture

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How to become your company's first Chief Design Officer

Live Interview with Chief Design Officer at Cisco
12 November, 5PM (GMT)

For our second episode we will be joined by Travis Isaacs, a Vice President and Chief Design Officer Webex Collaboration at Cisco — a worldwide technology leader. Travis was promoted to Chief Design Officer after just 5 years with Cisco. Since taking on his role, Travis led an award-winning comprehensive evolution of Cisco’s collaboration products including rebranding, redesigns, and new product launches. Under his leadership and design strategy, the collaboration platform has led to double-digit growth and improvement of key customer metrics. Travis will share:

▶ What skills you will need to learn before you get to C-level
▶ How to productively collaborate with CEOs, CFOs and CPOs
▶ How your responsibilities shift when you become a Chief Design officer

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Ready to get to the C-level? Learn Business Strategy, Finance and Leadership hands-on from industry legends at Pentagram, WPP, Zaha Hadid Architects, Saatchi & Saatchi, Google, Amazon, and many more on our Design Leaders programme.