I build and lead design organizations and the products they ship — making quality a business strategy.
A decade leading design at LinkedIn and Zendesk — grew Marketing Solutions from 6 to 26 designers, shaped product strategy, and shipped experiences used by more than a billion people; built Facilitator (1,000+ facilitators) and launched LeadCraft.
Lead through the human side — safe, inclusive feedback, helping people grow through change, and earning design a real seat in business strategy.
A builder by nature — side projects, community events, and a podcast and writing practice on design, leadership, and craft.
My journey into technology started when I was 12 years old — not because I had access, but because something was taken away.
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
I was born in 1987, in the middle of a brutal Milwaukee snowstorm — the kind of cold that becomes part of the family story. My mother spent her career in the public school system and my father was a pastor. Service and faith were the air in our house long before I had words for either.
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Growing up in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, my family's home was burglarized while we were away at summer camp. It was devastating. But in the aftermath, my father's organization donated a computer to our household. It was an old, unbranded machine running Windows — essentially a blank canvas. I started spending Fridays at Barnes & Noble reading PC magazines, figuring out which parts I needed — a sound card, a graphics card, a 56K modem — until I had a machine that could run Microsoft Flight Simulator online and host my first website on Yahoo GeoCities.
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
A few summers later, I noticed that my mother's school didn't have a website. I offered to build one, and she advocated for a paid role. That was my first job in tech. I was the webmaster.
Iowa City, Iowa
I went on to study Art and Art History with a focus on Graphic Design at the University of Iowa, where I also played Division I football. The weight room at 5 AM taught me more about discipline, commitment, and pushing through discomfort than any design course — lessons I still carry into how I lead teams.
Iowa City, Iowa
I moved from print and brand work into digital product design — the moment I realized the craft I loved could reach thousands of people at once and keep getting better long after it launched. That shift set the course for everything that followed.
Chicago, Illinois
At Base CRM I stepped into management for the first time, leading UX design for a fast-moving sales platform. It's where I learned that great teams are built on clarity, trust, and a relentless focus on the customer's real job — not just the screen in front of you.
San Francisco, California
At LinkedIn I grew the Marketing Solutions design team from 6 to 26 designers, shaped product strategy, and helped scale a product line from $500M to over $5B in revenue — all while shipping the tools advertisers around the world rely on every day.
San Francisco, California
I leaned into building. Facilitator, a FigJam tool now used by over a thousand facilitators. LeadCraft, a platform for design leaders navigating an era where everything — including how we work with AI — is changing. I don't just lead teams. I build things.
2025
These days I'm writing, speaking, advising, and traveling — most recently across Asia, meeting designers and builders wherever I land.
Scroll to follow the journey ↓
Tokyo · Kyoto · Busan · Seoul · Shanghai · Chengdu · Chongqing · Hong Kong · Taipei · Hanoi · Bangkok · Ho Chi Minh City · Singapore · Bali · Sydney
I'm available for speaking engagements, leadership coaching, and advisory work with product and design teams.
Harrison Wheeler