Rosenfeld Review Podcast Scaling Design Leadership, from Chaos to Clarity with Doug Powell
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Aug 18, 2025 Doug Powell, an executive coach and former IBM design leader, shares insights from IBM's bold design transformation. Discover how centralization kickstarted progress and why timing was crucial for decentralization. He emphasizes the importance of building a supportive design culture and using metrics to demonstrate design's business value. Doug offers valuable advice for design leaders navigating change and complexity, making his wisdom essential for anyone shaping the future of design operations.
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Career Arc From Designer To Design Leader
- Doug Powell joined IBM during a pivotal investment to build internal design capacity and stayed almost nine years.
- He later worked at Expedia and now runs a private practice as a consultant and leadership coach.
The Bold IBM Design Scale-Up
- IBM planned to scale designers from a few hundred to roughly a thousand, which surprised the industry.
- Doug says this audacious goal attracted him because there was no playbook and it was a chance to figure things out.
Centralize First, Then Hybridize
- IBM started with a centralized design operation to build capability, processes, and career frameworks.
- Over time they migrated to a hybrid model with centralized ops plus decentralized, semi-autonomous design teams.
