Juan Hidalgo — Head of Design
Until recently, I led the fully remote Design organization at Mews, overseeing Product Design, Content Design, Research, and Design Systems. I was part of both the R&D leadership team and the extended company leadership group, contributing to product strategy, team growth, and M&A initiatives as the company scaled rapidly. At Mews, I helped shape strategic direction and supported hands-on work across multiple areas including B2B SaaS, bookings and reservations, integrations, business intelligence, and financial services. I guided the Design function through Mews’s growth from Series B to Series D, during which the company became a 1.2 billion dollar unicorn and expanded from around 400 to 1,400 employees. I also represented the company and R&D at events including Unfold, MewsCon, The Hatch, Celonis Metup, and others. Prior to Mews, I spent a decade at Liferay, where I built and scaled the Global UX and Design organization. I started the team in Madrid and later moved to Los Angeles to lead it globally, reporting to the SVP of Engineering and later to the CEO. My focus is on empowering design teams and partnering with senior leaders to drive both product and business strategy. I care deeply about making a meaningful and lasting impact, whether for customers or for the people I lead, support, and learn from. I am passionate about creating a clear vision, nurturing top design talent, and building inclusive, high-performing teams. With experience across Europe and the US, I bring a proven track record in hiring and growing design organizations, scaling design systems, and aligning innovation with business goals. I aim to create environments where teams are set up to deliver consistently high-quality work while evolving with clarity and purpose. Earlier in my career, I led design efforts in GovTech and EdTech, and worked as a usability and accessibility consultant. #hospitality #banking #retailbanking #businessbanking #fintechproductexperience #payments #finance #commerce #designsystems #insurance #digitalexperienceplatform #innovation #digitaltransformation #lowcode #nocode #contentmanagement #remoteteams #leadership #research
Stackforce AI infers this person is a seasoned leader in the SAAS and Fintech industries, specializing in product design and user experience.
Location: Frankfurt, Hesse, Germany
Experience: 21 yrs 10 mos
Skills
- Product Design
- Leadership
- User Experience
- Design Thinking
Career Highlights
- Led design organization through rapid growth at Mews.
- Built global UX team at Liferay, enhancing design culture.
- Passionate about empowering design teams and driving strategy.
Work Experience
Wayflyer
Senior Director of Design (11 mos)
Mews
VP of Design (3 yrs 1 mo)
Liferay
VP of Design (1 yr 3 mos)
Director of Design (2 yrs 9 mos)
Product Design & UX Manager (5 yrs 3 mos)
University of California, Riverside
Advisory Board Member (1 yr 7 mos)
Junta de Andalucía (Sadesi, Sociedad Andaluza para el desarrollo de la Información).
Design Lead (4 yrs 6 mos)
CDC S.L.
Design Director (2 yrs 5 mos)
Hidagraf
Design Lead (7 yrs 1 mo)
Servicios Profesionales en Internet
Senior UX/UI Lead (1 yr 8 mos)
ACCIONA Cultural Engineering
Visual UI / UX Designer (11 mos)
Education
Product Management at Cornell University
Interaction Design and Usability at Universitat Oberta de Catalunya
Document Management at Universitat Oberta de Catalunya
C.I.T. (Certificate in Information Technology) at SCF, Seville (via University of Cambridge Local Examination Syndicate).
