From Aerospace to Financial Ecosystems

Designing systems that scale requires thinking across multiple domains.

Design innovation, platforms thinking, payments. Aligning complex systems.

About Me

Designing Systems That Scale

I’ve spent more than three decades designing complex systems — from mechanical engineering at NASA to leading multi-team design organizations across global financial platforms.

My career began in aerospace, shaping mechanical systems for the Space Shuttle program. That foundation built my approach: structured thinking, precision, and systems-level problem solving.

I later led creative production teams at Electronic Arts before moving into R&D at Apple, where I contributed to early-stage innovation across iTunes, iPod Games, and iOS — earning public U.S. patents in interface design.

Over time, my focus shifted from products to platforms.

At Intuit, I helped scale the QuickBooks Design System. At PayPal and Venmo, I led payments design across large-scale global ecosystems. Today, as Senior Director of Design for Payments at Capital One, I lead a 20-person organization across Card and Bank, shaping multi-rail money movement strategy across ACH, RTP, Zelle, Wires, and card platforms.

Across every chapter, one theme remains constant:

I bring clarity to complex systems — aligning strategy, structure, and execution at scale.

My Career Journey

NASA — Aerospace Engineering
Designed mechanical systems for shuttle and aerodynamics programs. Built foundational systems thinking.

Electronic Arts — Interactive Systems
Led character design teams. Scaled creative production in high-performance environments.

Apple — R&D & Platform Innovation
Contributed to early iOS and iTunes initiatives. Earned public U.S. patents in interface design.

Intuit — QuickBooks Design Systems
Helped scale the QuickBooks Design System and cross-org UX patterns.

PayPal / Venmo — Global Payments
Led payments design across large-scale consumer ecosystems.

Capital One — Enterprise Financial Platforms
Senior Director leading a 20-person payments design organization across Card & Bank.

What I Believe

Design is a strategic lever — not decoration.
The best design organizations influence roadmap direction, define customer problems clearly, and connect execution to measurable business impact.

Clarity creates momentum.
Whether aligning executives around a future vision or coaching a designer through a complex challenge, my role is often to simplify what feels overwhelming and create a path forward.

Economic empowerment matters.
I’m deeply motivated by building products that give people more control over their financial lives — from seamless money movement to tools that help families and small businesses grow with confidence.

How I Lead

I build teams that think boldly and execute pragmatically.

  • I create environments of trust and autonomy.

  • I expect strategic thinking, not just tactical delivery.

  • I coach designers to elevate their influence, not just their craft.

  • I push for vision while respecting constraints.

My background in design systems, payments ecosystems, and emerging AI applications allows me to operate comfortably from high-level strategy down to interaction detail. I’m equally at home facilitating executive workshops as I am critiquing a flow.