Design Executive Council Podcast

• Rethinking Experience Management with Real-Time Intelligence

  We’ve entered an age where experiences are no longer designed in cycles - they unfold in real time.In this episode, Gordon Ching sits down with Jeff Gelfuso, SVP, Chief Product and Experience Officer at Qualtrics, to explore how AI and real-time intelligence are reshaping experience management.Jeff describes this age of AI as a time when consumer expectations for immediacy are colliding with a growing demand for trust and transparency. He explains how design and technology teams are working differently, breaking down silos, connecting feedback loops, and empowering people to respond to insights as they emerge. At Qualtrics, this shift from reactive measurement to always-on experience intelligence is transforming how they understand both customers and employees.For Jeff, the future of experience leadership lies in designing with AI, not just for it - using automation to elevate human judgment, creativity, and empathy. He challenges organizations to move beyond efficiency metrics and embrace curiosity, anticipation, and purpose as guiding principles for innovation.Podcast Recorded in September 2025-----------------------------------------------------------------⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Learn more⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ about the Design Executive Council MembershipRead the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠AI Report⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Sign up⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for the newsletterFollow the Design Executive Council on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Connect with Gordon Ching on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Connect with Jeff Gelfuso on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠ 

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• Creative Amplification: AI as empowerment over displacement

  AI should not be measured by how fast it can be deployed, but by the trust it builds and the creativity it amplifies.In this episode of the Design Executive Outlook on Enterprise AI series, our founder and CEO, Gordon Ching, sits down with Eric Snowden, SVP of Design at Adobe. Eric shares how Adobe resisted the industry rush to bolt AI onto products, choosing instead to prioritize trust, agency, and user choice.He explains why design leadership in the AI era is not about chasing speed, but about defining the conditions of trust. From giving creatives the ability to opt out of AI workflows, to expanding ambition without reducing teams, to embedding transparency as a differentiator, Adobe’s approach reframes AI as a catalyst for empowerment rather than displacement.Eric emphasizes that the difference between enabling people and displacing them is the line that defines creative leadership in this moment. By treating trust as a strategy and agency as non-negotiable, leaders can turn AI from a source of fear into a force for growth and lasting empowerment.Podcast Recorded in February 2025-----------------------------------------------------------------⁠⁠⁠⁠Learn more⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ about the Design Executive Council MembershipRead the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠AI Report⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Sign up⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for the newsletterFollow the Design Executive Council on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Connect with Gordon Ching on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Connect with Eric Snowden on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn 

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• Designing Net Positive Futures in the Age of Intelligence

  AI represents a paradigm shift as profound as the Industrial Revolution, only unfolding at unprecedented speed. In this episode of the Design Executive Outlook on Enterprise AI series, our founder and CEO, Gordon Ching, sits down with Benedikt Lehnert, Entrepreneurship and Design Fellow at Princeton University.Benedikt describes this moment as one of both fascination and unease: a frontier where the role of design leadership becomes inseparable from questions of ethics, responsibility, and human dignity. He argues that designers must go beyond product-making to become ethical navigators, negotiating the contract between business, society, and the planet to ensure AI delivers net positive outcomes.From the risks of convergence with other powerful technologies to the promise of multimodal interaction that makes computers more natural and human, Benedikt challenges leaders to move beyond short-lived efficiency gains and focus on creating lasting value. His call to action is clear: design leadership must preserve the human soul in AI, guiding technology to serve humanity at its best.Podcast Recorded in November 2024-----------------------------------------------------------------⁠⁠⁠Learn more⁠⁠⁠⁠ about the Design Executive Council MembershipRead the ⁠⁠⁠⁠AI Report⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Sign up⁠⁠⁠⁠ for the newsletterFollow the Design Executive Council on ⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠Connect with Gordon Ching on ⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠Connect with Benedikt Lehnert on ⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn 

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• Reclaiming Time, and Elevating Craft: Designing
for the Intelligence Era

  AI is not incremental; it’s expansive. It demands that we treat it as a redefinition of experience, not just a tool for automation.In this episode of the Design Executive Outlook on Enterprise AI series, our founder and CEO, Gordon Ching, sits down with Christina Vallery, Chief Design Officer at The Cigna Group. Christina frames the AI era as an inflection point, one charged with both excitement and uncertainty. The challenge, she argues, is not simply adopting AI, but redefining how design creates value when machines take on routine tasks and humans elevate the craft.Christina encourages design leaders to adapt alongside AI’s rapid advancements, seeing it not just as a productivity tool, but as a catalyst for redefining human experience and unlocking new dimensions of design once beyond imagination.Looking ahead, Christina envisions hyper-personalized “couture technology” and immersive environments that will redefine how people engage with technology. Her call to action is clear: leaders who harness AI’s energy to amplify creativity and human connection will define the next era of competitive advantage.Podcast Recorded in November 2024-----------------------------------------------------------------⁠⁠Learn more⁠⁠⁠ about the Design Executive Council MembershipRead the ⁠⁠⁠AI Report⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Sign up⁠⁠⁠ for the newsletterFollow the Design Executive Council on ⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠Connect with Gordon Ching on ⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠Connect with Christina Vallery on ⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn 

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• Responsible AI Starts with Literacy: Knowing What’s Ours, What’s the Machine’s

  What are humans uniquely good at, and where do machines excel? For Kurt Walecki, Fmr. GM & SVP of Design at Intuit, with over 30 years of experience, this is the defining question of the AI era.In this episode of the Design Executive Outlook on Enterprise AI series, Kurt shares how successful innovation requires more than technology. It demands multidisciplinary collaboration, design, engineering, product, and data all leaning in together with empathy for the customer. At the center of his philosophy is functional allocation: creativity, empathy, and judgment remain human strengths, while AI contributes speed, precision, and scale. The future lies in orchestrating both to amplify outcomes.Kurt also addresses the reality many organizations face: AI is still narrow, constrained by tech debt and legacy systems, while the promise of predictive insights remains on the horizon. His concept of the “60/60 lean-in” reframes collaboration, showing how overlapping commitment and early co-creation accelerate trust and business impact.From eliminating “human drudgery” to anticipating customer needs, Kurt maps the evolution of AI’s value, and calls on organizations to become more customer-centric, empathetic, and design-led in shaping the future of responsible AI.Podcast Recorded in November 2024-----------------------------------------------------------------⁠Learn more⁠⁠ about the Design Executive Council MembershipRead the ⁠⁠AI Report⁠⁠⁠⁠Sign up⁠⁠ for the newsletterFollow the Design Executive Council on ⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠Connect with Gordon Ching on ⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠Connect with Kurt Walecki on ⁠⁠LinkedIn 

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