Our founding members

Meet the 19 brilliant women whose expertise, dedication, and openness continue to help shape Flux into a thriving and warm community for Women Leaders in UX and Design.

Alice Hayes

Head of UX Research 
Bank of Ireland

  • Since January 2023, Alice Hayes has been the Head of UX Research at Bank of Ireland.

    Alice previously held positions as UX Research Manager and Lead User Experience Researcher at NatWest Group.

    Alice also has experience as a Senior User Experience Researcher at John Lewis & Partners.

    Alice began their career as a Research Assistant at The Science Museum, London, before moving on to become a Lead Researcher at Acuity Intelligence Limited.

    Alice holds a Bachelor of Science (BSc) degree in Psychology from Royal Holloway, University of London.

Anne Stevens

Director of User Experience 
Elsevier

  • Anne is a design leader with over 20 years experience, focusing on research and strategy.

    She has extensive experience in building and leading multi-discipline UX teams, creating good team culture and establishing best practices and ways of working with other teams.

    After spending most of her career working on e-commerce and lifestyle products, she pivoted to the life sciences industry where she is learning how to apply the discipline of UX in a whole new context.

    Anne is passionate about early careers and spends a lot of time mentoring and coaching those starting out in UX, as well as volunteering as a STEM ambassador in schools.

Catherine Richards

Director of Product Design 
NatWest

  • In her latest role Catherine is responsible for defining the strategy for her function as well as establishing and developing the capabilities, standards and processes to unlock consistent, customer-obsessed Product Design at NatWest.

    She is an experienced design leader and has worked for some of the UK’s leading Banks, helping them to establish and elevate design as a strategic capability by focussing on the tools, conditions and skills needed to create high-performing teams.

    When not at work, Cat loves to travel and is an avid follower of F1. She loves a good book and indulges in sushi, champagne with friends and family.

Chloe Alper

Director of UX Research

  • Chloë has over 12 years experience in UX, specialising in research, with an academic background in Anthropology.

    Chloë is also a mentor to designers and researchers, helping them establish a strong research practice, lead teams and contribute to design and product strategy to improve customer experience.

    Chloë has a passion for FinTech and emerging technologies, such as blockchain and assistive technology and has specialised in research in banking, trust, privacy, identity, online safety, integrity and ethics, as well as emerging markets, social good and localisation.

Director of Consumer Experience Design
Lloyds Banking Group

Gemma Daley

  • Gemma is a veteran design leader with over 20 years of experience, a decade of which has been in financial services.

    With disruptive thinking and visionary leadership, Gemma inspires teams to deliver valuable outcomes.

    Gemma is currently helping Lloyds Banking Group create a more sustainable and inclusive future for people and businesses - shaping finance as a force for good.

Global Head of Customer Research
HSBC

Jo Hamilton Watson

  • Jo has over 20 years of experience in a wide range of insight, design and transformation leadership roles that include Amazon, IDEO and Citizen Advice. She currently leads a global research team within HSBC, where she is responsible for ensuring teams understand the needs of commercial and institutional customers to inform business strategy and customer experience decisions and driving improvements for how insight is used across the business. 

Digital Product Director
Design Leader

Kate Margolis

  • Kate is a Product Design Lead from London, UK, who has successfully managed, built and scaled multiple design and research teams.

    Kate always wanted to be a designer from an early age. She studied at Chelsea School of Art and Design in London and went on to complete her studies in Graphic Communication.

    With a career start in advertising, Kate has worked for the likes of Ogilvy, McCann and Havas. She then went on to establish her career globally, working for clients such as Jaguar Land Rover, McDonalds, Coca-Cola, Spotify and a host of other major brands.

    Kate has gone on to share valuable insights into the world of product design by sharing her experience through podcasts, UX conferences and articles, in the hope to inspire and mentor others.

Lead UX Researcher 
Financial Times

Liz Kessick

  • In Liz’s 20+ years in tech, she’s developed skills within UX research and design, customer insight, data analytics and product management. She’s helped build apps, websites and services, both B2B and B2C.

    Liz currently works with the FT and has previously worked with the likes of Photobox, Vodafone and Capital One.

Head of CX Design
Tesco Bank

Louise Herriot

  • Louise has recently taken up the role of Head of CX Design at Tesco Bank, having spent 11 years there leading design across all customer touch points.

    She has specific expertise in Product Design, leading on the creation of Bank frameworks for Designers and Product Management specialists.

    Louise leads with passion and tenacity and is adept at building high-performing teams.

    Her dream role is Chief Design Officer, believing that having the best design capability and leadership can transform the culture and commercial success of any organisation.

    When not at work, Louise is busy running around after her two boys, Jack and Ollie. She also has a particular obsession for sneakers and loves nothing more than the thrill of getting the latest drops.

Global Team Lead, UX Research 
Just Eat

Naoli Sbai

  • Naoil is a certified coach and UX professional with 15 years of experience in product research and user experience strategy.

    Having worked across diverse settings, from agencies to large tech companies, Naoil excels at navigating high-complexity environments and collaborating with teams across the globe.

    Her expertise lies in building and empowering teams to drive impactful outcomes within organisations. Her background includes supporting research's growth and cultural transformation in response to evolving business landscapes.

    With a foundation in experimental psychology and a PhD sponsored by an innovation agency, Naoil is passionately committed to solving problems on a grand scale, ultimately benefiting individuals and society.

    As a leader in UX research, Naoil shapes business directions through data and insights, fosters inclusiveness across cross-functional teams, and inspires teams to reach their full potential.

Design Leader
Meta

Remya Ramesh

  • Remya Ramesh is a seasoned design leader with a passion for building and guiding high-performing teams to deliver sustainable commercial outcomes. With a rich background spanning technology, business, and design, she brings a unique and holistic perspective to every challenge she tackles.

    Throughout her career, Remya has embraced opportunities based on their size and potential, consistently challenging herself to take calculated risks. Her goal has always been to work in environments that enable growth, learning, and personal and professional enrichment.

    Remya is deeply committed to advocating for women in tech and addressing pay inequality. She dedicates her time to mentoring and coaching women-identifying and non-binary individuals, empowering them to advance into influential positions by harnessing their unique strengths and skills.
    Remya also excels in areas such as digital experience strategy, business operations and process improvements, organisational development, performance management, and building thriving teams. Her mentoring and coaching expertise continue to inspire the next generation of leaders.

Head of Experience 
Deliveroo

Ruth Gamble

  • As a Design leader, Ruth is driven by creating meaningful products that make life better.

    She thrives when leading teams to deliver exceptional online experiences that people love and, over the last 11 years, she’s created products and services for consumers and businesses across the world.

    Ruth has over 6 years experience growing & leading multidisciplinary teams to achieve their best. 

Director of User Experience 
Picsart

Samantha Davies

  • Samantha Davies is the Director of Design and Research at Picsart, where she leads the Growth team to enhance engagement, retention, and revenue for a platform with over 120M monthly active users.

    Her career spans across a number of industries and household names, including Monzo, Zoopla and Tesco. She has built and grown high-performing teams to deliver impactful, evidence-informed products in start-ups, scale-ups and mature organisations.

    Sam is passionate about demonstrating how great design and research are not just good for users but also make clear commercial sense. She focuses on aligning design and research with business goals to unlock growth and deliver results.

    Outside of work, Sam shares her experiences through writing and speaking, contributing to the broader design and research community.

Founding Member Headshot 
Founder 
UX for Change

Sandra Gonzalez

  • Sandra Gonzalez is an award-winning product strategy leader and advisor with eight years of experience in scaleups; she is currently directing UX at Trustpilot. She is also the Founder and Director of UX for Change. For the last decade, this global organization has connected non-profit & purpose-driven organizations with the UX community. Her current focus is figuring out how to scale collaboration globally while inspiring design excellence. Sandra is a Pluralsight author who collaborated with best-selling authors such as Nir Eyal and Trenton Moss. Her contribution to the field of UX is also featured in the upcoming MIT Press book, In Through the Side Door: Fifty Years of Women in Interaction Design, by Erin Malone. 

    Her previous design work spans from heavily trafficked e-commerce platforms to technology for aiding refugees with organizations such as Microsoft, Just Eat, Coty, Not on The High Street, TalkTalk, and EmpowerHack.

Head of UX Research 
Waitrose

Emma Boulton

  • Emma is a seasoned UX leader with over 15 years of experience guiding and developing research teams. She currently leads UX Research at Waitrose and has held senior roles at Meta, Babylon Health, Monotype, and the BBC. Her background spans client-side, agency-side, and consultancy work, with strengths in discovery research and both qualitative and quantitative methods. Emma thrives in product and service delivery teams, driven by a desire to help people and support meaningful change. She’s also an active contributor to the UX community, sharing her insights through writing, speaking, and ongoing reflections on her blog and Medium.

Head of User Research 
EE (BT Group Consumer Division).

Sharan Gandhi

  • Sharan has 18+ years’ experience in User Centred Design, and a track record in driving real influence and impact through insights.

    Her experience includes establishing User Research teams at Aviva and Deliveroo, and she was Head of Consulting at Bunnyfoot.

    Sharan has a passion for building and scaling research practices, and developing high performing ICs.

    When asked, “Why be part of Flux” - Sharan answered: 

    “What an amazing opportunity to be part of this incredible network of female leaders! It's refreshing to be able to discuss challenges we face, unique to our roles / field of expertise, and to collaborate and learn from each other”.

Director of Design 
Dext

Sophie Mitchell

  • Sophie Mitchell is a UX professional with 14 years of experience, passionate about building and leading high-performing design teams focused on growth and development.

    She has a strong background in designing and developing accessible digital products both agency and client-side. As Head of Design at Dext, Sophie plays a strategic role in shaping the company's design direction, ensuring the team delivers seamless user experiences aligned with broader business objectives.

    In addition to this role, Sophie is dedicated to giving back to the UX community. She founded the London Chapter of Ladies that UX over ten years ago to deliver regular UX-focussed events. Sophie also regularly mentors and coaches others within the community.

Founding Member Headshot 
Global Director of UX 
Dye & Durham

Venessa Bennett

  • As an accomplished design leader, Venessa drives innovation at the intersection of business strategy and user experience. Her expertise in building and scaling the design practice has benefited a range of businesses, from small start-ups to global corporations. Currently the Global UX Director at Dye & Durham, she continues to innovate experiences that align business objectives with user needs. Venessa is actively involved in the design community as a speaker and writer, sharing insights acquired throughout her career in UX leadership.