Ashok Shetty

Design Manager

Mumbai, Maharashtra, India20 yrs 2 mos experience

Most Likely To SwitchAI Enabled

Key Highlights

25+ years of experience in UX leadership
Established multiple UX Centers of Excellence
Led design transformation across diverse industries

Stackforce AI infers this person is a seasoned UX leader specializing in enterprise software and design-driven digital transformation.

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Skills

Core Skills

User ExperienceDesign LeadershipTraining And DevelopmentConsultancy

Other Skills

UX InnovationAI IntegrationDesign ThinkingStrategic PartnershipsUX Program ManagementTraining DevelopmentUser ResearchUX LeadershipUsability TestingDesign StrategyUX ConsultancyTraining DeliveryDigital TransformationInformation ArchitectureUser Interface Design

About

Enterprise Design Leader with 25+ years of experience in building and scaling UX capabilities, setting up design studios, and driving strategic vision through research led, end to end design implementations for products, and software across AI technologies, E commerce, BFSI, Telecom, Aviation, and other industries. Led diverse global programs from ground zero, creating cultures where design excellence thrives and delivering outcomes at scale.

Experience

20 yrs 2 mos

Total Experience

4 yrs 3 mos

Average Tenure

14 yrs 3 mos

Current Experience

Microsoft

2 roles

Principal Design Manager - Customer Zero Experience

Jul 2024 – Present · 1 yr 9 mos · India

Reimagined product vision through UX & AI innovation, integrating Copilot and autonomous AI agent strategies to transform enterprise sales, services, and support platforms, impacting over 50 million users worldwide.
Positioned UX as a strategic differentiator, framing design thinking workshops, influencing executive decision-making, and embedding design-led innovation into enterprise product roadmaps.
Advanced Microsoft’s AI-first frontier, evangelizing UX frameworks, multi-surface agentic strategies, and pioneering experiments (GitHub Copilot, Vibe Coding) to accelerate design-to-prototype agility and strengthen competitive advantage.
Directed multi-disciplinary design and research teams to shape product strategy, prioritize investments, and drive execution, leveraging data-driven insights and global leadership alignment to maximize business impact.
Built and nurtured strategic partnerships across Engineering, Product, Data Science, and Business, establishing consistent ROBs and design cadences that align squads and accelerate delivery of customer-centric solutions.
Founded and scaled the Customer Zero Org. in IDC from ground up into a UX Studio, embedding a culture of curiosity, inclusivity, experimentation, and collaborative problem-solving to address complex enterprise challenges.
Continuously nurture talent development, mentoring and sponsoring career growth opportunities, cultivating the next level of UX leaders and reinforcing Microsoft’s leadership pipeline.

UX InnovationAI IntegrationDesign ThinkingStrategic PartnershipsUser ExperienceDesign Leadership

Principal Design & Research Manager and C+E India Studio Site Leader

Sep 2021 – Present · 4 yrs 7 mos · India

Indian institute of technology, delhi

Phd Scholar, Sr Research Fellow at Department of Design

Jul 2023 – Present · 2 yrs 9 mos · India

Hdfc bank

Vice President and Head of Design & Research Studio

May 2019 – Aug 2021 · 2 yrs 3 mos · India

Led the vision of “Delightful and Frictionless UX” across digital ecosystems, embedding design-led principles into enterprise-wide product strategies.
Established an in-house UX Center of Excellence Studio from the ground up, achieving a 55% reduction in operational costs within the first quarter of launch.
Built a fully operational Design Studio within six months, including a Usability Research & Testing Lab, Design Thinking operating models with SLAs and ROI metrics, and a 25-member multi-skilled design team, while onboarding strategic UX/UI vendor partnerships.
Executed over 250 qualitative user research and usability studies both in-person and remote, across diverse user segments in India, delivering actionable insights for multiple high-impact projects within a single year.
Delivered design leadership across 30+ products for bank-wide business units and group companies, driving over 100 monthly design sprints to accelerate innovation and ensure consistent, user-centered experiences.

Independent consultant

UX Design & Research Consultant

Oct 2018 – May 2019 · 7 mos · Mumbai, India

Delivered independent UX design and research consultancy for start ups and SME businesses, guiding product and service design initiatives to enhance usability and customer experience.
Conducted global UX training programs as part of HFI’s 10 day Certified Usability Analyst curriculum, equipping professionals across multiple locations with advanced UX design practices.

UX LeadershipUsability TestingDesign StrategyUser ExperienceDesign Leadership

Ibm

Design Director and Head of Mumbai Design & Research Studio

Nov 2016 – Sep 2018 · 1 yr 10 mos · Mumbai Metropolitan Region

Led design driven digital transformation programs across industries including BFSI, Manufacturing, and Sports, while establishing UX Design Centers of Excellence at client locations as Mumbai Regional Studio Head.
Conceptualized and launched “Design the Designer” boot camps, a Consultant Maturity Program for graduate hires and experienced design consultants across IBM India, strengthening design capability and accelerating consultant growth.
Functioned as a SME conducting foundational primary and secondary research with business stakeholders, customers, and partners; translated insights into structured design solutions validated through usability testing.

UX ConsultancyTraining DeliveryUser ExperienceConsultancy

Hfi training

4 roles

Project Director and Technical Director of UX Training India

Jan 2016 – Dec 2016 · 11 mos

Directed global UX programs from concept to execution and governance, delivering design led transformation across enterprise software, web portals, and mobile applications for multinational clients and diverse industries.
Developed and scaled UX capability by building and managing a pool of 30+ UX professionals and 20+ certified trainers, ensuring consistent delivery excellence across geographies.
Designed and delivered 50+ UX courses worldwide for 1,500+ participants, covering Design Foundations, User Research, Web Application Design, and Usability Testing; enhanced organizational capability through a “Train the Trainer” program and mentoring instructors for CUA and CXA certifications.
Designated as a Subject Matter Expert (SME) in user research and usability, conducting qualitative studies with business stakeholders and customers, and translating insights into validated design strategies and wireframes.

UX Program ManagementTraining DevelopmentUser ResearchUser ExperienceTraining and Development

Project Director (Group Lead), and Lead UX Trainer

Jan 2015 – Dec 2015 · 11 mos

Center of Excellence Lead

Promoted

Apr 2012 – Dec 2014 · 2 yrs 8 mos

Faculty UX Design & Research

Jan 2012 – Present · 14 yrs 3 mos

Mphasis

Associate Usability Consultant Design & Research

Mar 2007 – Apr 2012 · 5 yrs 1 mo

Joined as Information Architect, promoted to Sr. Information Architect and then Associate UX Consultant
Established UX Centers of Excellence and agile design operating models, embedding design led practices into enterprise delivery frameworks.
Scaled healthcare account design capability from 2 UX practitioners to 45+ UX and UI professionals across global locations, driving consistent innovation and delivery excellence.
Led Design & Research leadership across multiple projects, conducting user research and usability testing, shaping end to end UX design strategies, and strengthening client engagement, project delivery, and pre sales success.

Digital TransformationDesign StrategyUser ExperienceDesign Leadership

Shoppers stop

UX Design & Research Architect

Mar 2006 – Mar 2007 · 1 yr · Mumbai Metropolitan Region

UX Design & Research SME, leading independent research, design strategy, and usability validation with multi disciplinary leadership teams, and delivering end to end UX solutions for retail enterprise applications and e commerce portals to ensure customer centric experiences aligned with business objectives.

Information ArchitectureUser ResearchUser ExperienceDesign Leadership