Sarah Marie
Who I am
Director of Product Design @ Northwestern Mutual
I transform how design organizations operate, aligning executives around shared vision, scaling without sacrificing culture, and establishing design as the business’ most strategic partner.
What I’m proud of
Disparate tools unified into just 5 platform experiences.
60+
2x
15+
Products shipped
0→1.
10 years
Where I’ve played
→
→
Bringing AI native experiences from the bleeding edge to mass adoption.
Team operational productivity while increasing belonging & retention.
AI
〰️
Manufacturing
〰️
Automation
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Platforms
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Enterprise
〰️
Financial
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IoT
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Marketplaces
〰️
SaaS
〰️
AI 〰️ Manufacturing 〰️ Automation 〰️ Platforms 〰️ Enterprise 〰️ Financial 〰️ IoT 〰️ Marketplaces 〰️ SaaS 〰️
Northwestern Mutual
IBM
Workrise
How I orchestrated a design-led vision across departments, VPs and up to the C-Suite that continues to guide business strategy along with funding decisions today.
Selected works
How I've led design to shape strategy, build teams, and drive business impact.
FX ‘Blueprint’ @ Northwestern Mutual
60+ tools
↪5 platform experiences
Organizational Transformation @ Northwestern Mutual
Doubling team capacity,
Zero new headcount
How I elevated design to a seat in funding decisions by redesigning our team structure and forging partnerships which in turn doubled our capacity and boosted self-evaluations, maintaininh 100% retention for the last 3 years.
Democratizing AI on the Factory Floor @ IBM
3 years launching a new AI native every 4 months
How I enabled operators and engineers to build, train, and monitor their own AI models without data scientists. Validated market strategy through 45+ factory visits across North America, Europe, and China.
Lead Designer of Strategic Delivery @ Workrise
Closing the Multi-Million Dollar Blind Spot
Design Lead → Manager @ IBM
Expanding the market
with No-Code UX
How I unified scattered tracking into demand capture system addressing zero formal visibility. Interviewed 45+ users, partnered with the Director of Product, and delivered a ready-to-build MVP in <1 quarter. Enabled forecasting and 50% faster client response.
How I positioned IBM to compete in a new market segment by identifying the competitive threat and partnering to develop market entry strategy before securing executive approval with a concept car that subsequently validated the new market segment with a successful beta.