Delivering products, services, and experiences that truly delight and inspire people requires human-centered designers, researchers, and product managers to have a huge influence on the strategic business decisions made by their leaders. Learn proven ways to draw C-suite and other key stakeholders into your design process at the right moments to help them build empathy and invest in innovations that maximize customer and business impact. Our session will use case study examples to introduce techniques you can apply now to design for influence.

About our speaker: Jed Cahill has spent the majority of his career driving strategic initiatives at the intersection of business planning, strategic design, and innovation in both management consulting and corporate strategy leadership roles. With a passion for creating inclusive work environments that promote empathy, creativity, and future thinking, he empowers people across all backgrounds and organizational levels to push the boundaries of what's possible.

Jed and his teams have led the strategic design of new experiences and digital products rolled out to tens of millions of customers, transformed business operations to drive efficiency and better employee experiences, and generated hundreds of patented inventions at the intersection of emerging technology and human needs. A graduate of University of Oregon's Lundquist College of Business (MBA), he now lives in SE Portland.

If you have any questions or would like to connect with other members of PDT, join our Slack community.

PDT is a volunteer-run organization, and as you can imagine, organizing events can be expensive. We rely on sponsors and donations to help us offset these costs. If you would like to help, we accept donations through Venmo @PortlandDesignThinkers.

Join Portland Design Thinkers for our final gathering of 2024! We're bringing together Portland's vibrant community of designers, researchers, and design thinkers for an evening of F2F casual networking and conversation.

What to expect: • Connect with fellow design-thinking professionals in a relaxed setting • Share experiences and insights from your design or research practice • Meet potential collaborators and expand your local network • No entry fee – purchase any food or drinks you'd like to enjoy • Plenty of street parking, bike parking, and transit options

Come raise a glass with us as we wrap up the year and strengthen our local community. Whether you're a seasoned professional or just getting started in design, research, or design thinking, all are welcome!