Hi, I'm Chris —
Design and innovation
leader helping
organizations embrace AI

20+ years shaping digital experiences, building high-performing teams, and driving business transformation at scale.

Chris Degnen leading a design thinking workshop

I drive digital transformation through design thinking.

From enterprise products to AI strategy — I help organizations build digital experiences people actually value, while delivering measurable outcomes.

Brands I've had the pleasure to work with

IBM
PepsiCo / Frito-Lay
Salesforce
Edward Jones
KONE
General Motors
Cox
Lumen
EY
MetLife
Toyota
State Street
Verizon
JPMorgan Chase
Dell
Marriott
Lilly
Citi
Bank of America
PBS

I transform organizations through design.

Known for enterprise product design, design thinking, and AI strategy, I build multi-disciplinary teams that create digital products people value while delivering business outcomes.

Most recently as Associate Partner & Executive Design Director at IBM Consulting, I led digital transformation across financial services, insurance, CPG, and automotive. Previously, I shaped strategy across 1,500+ IBM ecosystem partners globally and launched Citibank's award-winning Citi Bike platform.

20+
Years experience
250+
Workshops led
6
Industry awards

Case Studies

Frito-Lay campaign
PepsiCo
PepsiCo / Frito-Lay · Salesforce Innovation Award Winner

Rebuilding the digital backbone of America's favorite snack brands

Product Design · Enterprise · CPG · 4 products in 18 months

View Work
Salesforce Slack employee experience
Slack
Slack · Product Design

Reimagining employee experience through Slack

UX Design · Enterprise · Onboarding · Task Management

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KONE Office Flow smart building
KONE
KONE · Red Dot Award Winner

Redefining workplace access through seamless product design

Product Design · Smart Building · 30% wait time reduction

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GM OnStar connected vehicle platform
General Motors
General Motors · OnStar

AI-powered personalization at automotive scale

AI Strategy · UX · Automotive · 114 use cases developed

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Salesforce Safety Cloud
Salesforce
Salesforce · Global Pandemic Response

Return-to-office for 79,000 people → Safety Cloud

Product Design · Enterprise · 5 countries · 6 sprints

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Edward Jones digital transformation
Edward Jones
Edward Jones · Design Adoption

Transforming a firm through design thinking at scale

Design Thinking · Enterprise · 300+ associates · 50 advocates

View Work

Recognition

What I bring

01

Enterprise Product Design

End-to-end UX/UI for complex digital products — discovery through delivery, at scale.

02

AI Strategy

Identifying, prioritizing, and designing for AI opportunities that drive measurable business outcomes.

03

IBM Design Thinking

250+ workshops facilitated. Aligning teams around user needs and business goals.

04

Design Systems

Enterprise-grade systems — tokens, components, governance, and documentation teams actually use.

05

Business Transformation

SAFe agile delivery, workflow optimization, and embedding design as a strategic capability.

06

Creative Direction

Award-winning creative leadership across campaigns, brand systems, and digital experience.