Design Executive Council Podcast
Design Executive Council Podcast
Podcast Description
Design Executive Council Podcast is where the sharpest minds in strategic design leadership converge to tackle the industry's most pressing challenges. From strategy, ethics, policy to the evolving role of design in business, we dive deep into the forces shaping the future. We go beyond the headlines to explore the impact of design on technology, business, and humanity. Tune in every other week for candid discussions with top design executives, led by curiosity, insight, and a passion for shaping what’s next.
Podcast Insights
Content Themes
The show delves into topics such as the intersection of design and artificial intelligence, ethical design practices, the evolving role of design in businesses, and strategic decision-making. For example, the pilot episode examines the human experience in relation to AI and the importance of meaningful design metrics.
Design Executive Council Podcast is where the sharpest minds in strategic design leadership converge to tackle the industry’s most pressing challenges. From strategy, ethics, policy to the evolving role of design in business, we dive deep into the forces shaping the future. We go beyond the headlines to explore the impact of design on technology, business, and humanity. Tune in every other week for candid discussions with top design executives, led by curiosity, insight, and a passion for shaping what’s next.
What are humans uniquely good at, and where do machines excel? For Kurt Walecki, Fmr. GM & SVP of Design at Intuit, with over 30 years of experience, this is the defining question of the AI era.
In this episode of the Design Executive Outlook on Enterprise AI series, Kurt shares how successful innovation requires more than technology. It demands multidisciplinary collaboration, design, engineering, product, and data all leaning in together with empathy for the customer. At the center of his philosophy is functional allocation: creativity, empathy, and judgment remain human strengths, while AI contributes speed, precision, and scale. The future lies in orchestrating both to amplify outcomes.
Kurt also addresses the reality many organizations face: AI is still narrow, constrained by tech debt and legacy systems, while the promise of predictive insights remains on the horizon. His concept of the “60/60 lean-in” reframes collaboration, showing how overlapping commitment and early co-creation accelerate trust and business impact.
From eliminating “human drudgery” to anticipating customer needs, Kurt maps the evolution of AI’s value, and calls on organizations to become more customer-centric, empathetic, and design-led in shaping the future of responsible AI.
Podcast Recorded in November 2024
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