Join us for a live discussion on how design is transforming the business landscape—and what it takes to lead with clarity, creativity, and purpose.
By:
Saloni Bedi
June 30, 2025
When: Thursday, July 31, 12:30 - 1:30 PM EST
RSVP Here!
Design teams today face increasing pressure to prove their value, drive business results, and lead cross-functionally. As expectations continue to evolve, many design leaders are rethinking how their teams show up within the broader organization. But what does it actually mean for design to be “strategic,” and how do you move from intention to meaningful influence?
In this session, design leaders Carly Price and José Manuel Dos Santos will explore the realities of leadership at scale: sustaining creative culture, embedding design into decision-making, and aligning with both customer and business outcomes. Drawing on decades of experience across industrial design, digital innovation, and cross-functional leadership, Carly and José will offer practical strategies for making design indispensable through deep collaboration, storytelling, and systems thinking.
Whether you're leading a growing team, building cross-functional partnerships, or positioning design as a driver of innovation, this conversation will help you move from influence to lasting impact.
Join us for a live discussion on how design is transforming the business landscape—and what it takes to lead with clarity, creativity, and purpose.
Panelists:
About Jose:
José Manuel Dos Santos brings over 30 years of design experience across industrial design, entrepreneurship, and digital innovation. With degrees from Central Saint Martins and Northwestern University, as well as a PhD in Design Leadership, his career reflects a powerful blend of creativity and technology.
About Carly:
A cross-functional design leader with over 25 years of experience shaping customer experiences and product strategy at companies like Walmart, Chase, Casper, and Liv Labs. From omni-channel UX and AI-enabled personalization to community-centered innovation, Carly’s work spans startup grit and enterprise scale. She’ll share how design teams can embed themselves in business strategy while staying grounded in creativity and user focus.
About Gregor:
Austrian-born Gregor is in his element while dissecting most complex business & technology challenges and creating their next level business outcomes. Prior to starting Loft, Gregor led a Strategy & Design team at Accenture Interactive, where he helped launch new multi-billion dollar businesses for global fortune 500 companies. He also led creative teams at Rollerblade, InMusic & Cross. He has worked in the US, Europe & Asia over the past 30 years has earned numerous design awards as well as holds well over 100 patents for product innovations around the globe.
In her research and design work, Saloni believes that products aren't discarded because they have no value; rather, they're replaced because they fail to keep up with people and their needs. This realization has led her to focus on developing products and experiences that evolve with the user while remaining empathetic to how they can improve lives.As an industrial designer, Saloni is passionate about bringing together design, engineering, and business to tackle some of the most pressing challenges around us. She has worked in a variety of fields, including social innovation, healthcare, sustainable product development, and consumer products.
Prior to Loft, Saloni got her master’s degree at MIT where she saw how the design process can be a key component to bring state-of-the-art solutions can to life. Her work at MIT ranged from conducting user research in zero gravity to make space more inclusive at the Media Lab, developing accessible pregnancy tests for people with vision impairments, and measuring the body's hydration levels at the Gray lab, IMES.
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