With 30 years of professional experience, Jeff has spent his career creating all types of experiences software, product, digital, lifestyle, and brand. His passion is inspiring and leading teams to design and deliver innovative and meaningful experiences that enrich people’s lives and elevate their potential. At Workday he led the Experience Design and Development Group, responsible for the experience across the suite of Workday products that included the online, mobile, and cross-platform experiences as well as incubating new AI innovation for 65 million users worldwide.
Over the course of his career, Jeff has been involved with a variety of mission-driven organizations. He served on the Board of Trustees at Cornish College of the Arts in Seattle and as a strategic advisor to the college President. He also served on the Digital Innovation Advisory Council for St. Jude Children’s Hospital working with the executive team on digital transformation. He is a founding member of the Design Executive Council (DXC) where he works with industry colleagues to advance the impact that experience design can have in Fortune 500 companies. He is active in the design and technology industry, speaking at conferences and on podcasts, participating in panels, mentoring and advising other leaders. In 2024, he received the Global CX 100 Award from HotTopics. He holds various patents for inventions in product and user experience. Jeff studied design, visual communication and brand identity at California Polytechnic State University.
Recently, in an exclusive interview with CXO Magazine, Jeff shared his professional trajectory, insights on the role of AI in shaping the future of CX, significant career milestones, the secret sauce behind his success, future plans, words of wisdom, and much more. The following excerpts are taken from the interview.
Hi Jeff. How did you first get into customer experience, and what inspires you to stay?
I started my career in the action sports market as a product designer. That progressed from designing outerwear clothing and products to digital and interactive media, websites, software, apps, etc. I really fell in love with building digital experiences. I started leading teams very early on and I loved working with creative people from different disciplines and backgrounds. I have been very fortunate to be at some of the most innovative companies like Microsoft, Amazon, Facebook (Meta) and Workday. In every role, I learned something new that I applied to the next challenge. I worked on more complex problems, developed and led larger organizations, and built experiences across products and platforms. It just kept evolving and growing. It’s always been about creating innovative product experiences with talented teams of great people and that’s what still inspires and excites me the most.
What do you love the most about your current role?
I get to do this type of work every day! Building products that millions of people use every day, the transformative technology emerging through AI, creating experiences to simplify your work and your life – it’s an exciting time. But most of all, I love the people and talented teams I’ve been so fortunate to support and lead.
What’s your biggest barrier to getting things done as a product experience leader?
The biggest challenges aren’t improving the product experience. We have many methods, practices and ways to do that. And yes, it’s very important to have a best-in-class product experience for all customers. The harder challenge is changing mindsets, transforming culture, getting people out of their comfort zone in ways they’ve worked for years. Measuring success differently and not see failure as failure, but rather as iteration and improvement. Shifting to a growth mindset that is accepting of doing the hard things, pushing forward, always learning, and getting better every day. To have all teams aligned towards a common vision and working in this way, that’s the state you want to achieve. It’s a constant and evolving practice.
How do you see the role of technology, specifically data analytics and AI, in shaping the future of customer experience? Are there any specific tools or platforms that you believe are essential for organizations to adopt?
Data analytics, AI, ML have come to be part of the general public discussion in the last year, but many companies have been using these technologies for several years. We have all had customer experiences in the form of recommendations, bots, agents, etc. and now through the rapidly evolving power of a variety of LLMs, GenerativeAI enabled us to create a variety of new types of experiences. We’re in a foundational phase where most of these GenAI experiences are focused on increasing productivity and efficiency, specifically content creation, summarization, finding, automating, and completing work tasks. The evolution of the user experience continues to evolve. We went from UI to UX to CX to AX or what I call “anticipatory experiences”. Ones that will use GenAI to anticipate your needs, tasks, results and provide insights, recommendations, and automation to complete your work. We experiencing this integrated into workflows and meetings as well as alongside our work in copilots and agents.
Data analytics and AI are in the very early stages of what’s possible, and it’s evolving very quickly. What will remain true through this major shift is keeping people at the center, elevating their potential, and helping automate the more mundane repetitive work so they can spend more time doing more meaningful, strategic work. We will move beyond this foundational phase of how we do work and evolve to a phase where we think about work completely differently.
How do you stay current with emerging trends and innovations in customer experience, and what resources do you rely on for inspiration and guidance?
I read a lot. Books, articles, blogs. I’m constantly curious. I ask a lot of questions. I also rely on my teams – the leaders and experts you work with always know more than you do. I look to them for guidance and inspiration. I’m also a big believer in taking downtime, time away from our devices, screens, all the technology. I do a lot of outdoor physical activities where I can be present in our natural environment. I’m always refreshed and recharged when I do so, which helps me be more centered and focus my thoughts and my time on more meaningful experiences. I really believe in balance.
You were recently recognized as one of the Global CX 100 leaders! Our readers would love to know the secret sauce behind your success.
Thank you, it is an honor to be on the list with so many incredibly talented and impactful CX leaders. I don’t know if I have a secret sauce. I think about all aspects, scenarios, touchpoints, end-to-end, and all the details throughout. It’s just how I’m wired. One of my favorite questions to ask someone – whether at work or an event or even over dinner – is “tell me a product/service you love and why?” Then I ask them the follow up – “tell me about a product/service you really disliked and why?” People always talk about the experience they had and why it’s delightful or disastrous. You learn a lot by listening to their stories.
What is your leadership philosophy and how do you keep team engaged and motivate them?
I’ve had a framework and set of principles that I’ve followed for a long time. I stick to them. In doing so, the rest unfolds from there. My framework: Purpose, People, Passion, Products, Profit. In that order. The 3 principles I use over and over are:
- Do great work and let the work speak for itself. It’s really that simple. Create a compelling vision. Build the right strategy. Craft a detailed plan. Then execute and adjust along the way. Be focused, accountable, and deliver. This leads to the second principle…
- Hire/Retain great talent and build great teams. You start by hiring great leadership. Then model what it looks like. Give them stretch goals, big challenges, space and autonomy. Empower them and guide them. They will hire top talent and do great work and it becomes a multiplier. Throughout you are working on the third principle…
- Build great relationships and meaningful connections. You have to get to know people. On a deeper level. Be in the work with them doing it together and know what’s going on in their personal lives. Care about them and support them and cultivate a culture where this grows and thrives. Then they do too. Otherwise, what’s the point?
What has been your most career-defining moment that you are proud of?
I’ve been very fortunate to have many great moments and phases throughout my career. If I had to summarize the most defining, most meaningful moments, it has been when I’ve had the opportunity to bring together talented people from various teams (strategy, research, product, design, engineering, marketing) to create an innovative new experience that is great for customers and the business and gets used by hundreds of millions of people worldwide. When a group of creative people come together to create something better than you would of on your own. It’s very rewarding and humbling.
What are your passions outside of work?
I enjoy spending my free time on a board – surfing, paddleboarding, snowboarding. I love listening to music and playing guitar, cooking and entertaining, and enjoying great food+wine together. Most of all I enjoy spending quality time with my wife, our four children, family and close friends.
Where do you see yourself in the next 5 years?
I’m very fortunate to do the type of work I do. Continuing this journey. Working with talented teams. Innovating, learning, growing, creating. Elevating experiences together. It wouldn’t be so bad if that was somewhere under a palm tree on a white sandy beach.
If you could give any advice to someone striving to be a CX Leader, what would it be?
Every company needs strategic design, product, and experience leadership at their core. The best CX leaders have this ethos ingrained in their DNA and weave it into the fabric of the company culture. Remember you’re there to solve problems to simplify CX and deliver valuable experiences to customers. That’s what matters most. Be clear about what you’re great at, what you love to do, and what unique value you provide. Organizations need “I” shaped leaders and “T” shaped leaders. Both are important. Be clear on which you are and how to apply your skills, expertise, and experiences in ways that deliver the most value – while always keeping the customer experience at the center of your work.