Hi from Zoran, Digital Strategy & Product Design Lead, maintaining the human touch in an ever-evolving digital world.

Accomplished UX and UI Product Design Lead with 15+ years of experience in strategic planning, design thinking and people management. Proven track record in leading org-wide, cross-functional teams in achieving business objectives, enhancing digital experiences, meeting CX needs, and fostering innovation.

Email me.

Curriculum Vitae

WORK EXPERIENCE

VP, Digital Strategy Lead → Citibank, New York, New York, 2018–2024

  • Cross-domain product designer leading CX development in Acquisitions & Growth, Servicing, Payments, Personalization & Rewards, Partnerships, Small Business, Conversational Design, and Search & Chatbot.

  • Oversee research, design, delivery, and facilitation of key strategic programs founded in human-centered design principles across product domains and lines of business, determining allocation of annual budget.

  • Led 100+ Discovery & Ideation projects with product teams by conducting internal stakeholder interviews, assessing qualitative and quantitative data points, defining OKRs, employing human-centered design tools including empathy and journey mapping, customer personae, design thinking ideation workshops, and wireframing and prototyping.

  • Eliminated reliance on external consultancies for design thinking workshops, saving $8 million annually.

  • Implemented data-driven decisioning campaign, increasing A/B and multivariate testing by 50% across product teams.

  • Fostered a cultural shift in org’s collective mindset by training ~1,200 colleagues in design thinking and agile methodologies.

  • Led org-wide change in operating model, overseeing fusion of Journey Owner and PMT roles into unified role of Digital Product Manager by assessing skills gaps, training to industry standards and parity, and adopting best practices in agile methodology.

Human Relations Coach → Dale Carnegie Trainings, New York, New York, 2017–2018

  • Evaluated and identified social gaps and client needs based on Dale Carnegie Methodology.

  • Facilitated large group workshops on communications, leadership, and emotional intelligence.

  • Led interactive coaching sessions, enhancing participant performance.

  • Educated professionals across industries, leveraging exceptional communication skills.

  • Awarded the Dale Carnegie Highest Award for Achievement by peers.

Founder, Lead Content Design → Western Vision Business Trainings, Saint-Petersburg, Russia, 2013–2017

  • Founded company offering Western-style trainings in Russia, meeting unmet market needs.

  • Designed and delivered tailor-made workshops on emotional intelligence and leadership for top managers.

  • Trained IKEA Russia’s top management, addressing leadership and cultural challenges.

  • Increased St. Petersburg International Economic Forum attendance by 26% through sales training.

Education

Master of Arts, Russian Literature, Ohio State University – 2010

Master of Arts in Teaching, Secondary Education, Wayne State University – 2005 (half completed)

Bachelor of Arts, English Literature & Creative Writing, University of Illinois at Chicago – 2003

Certificates

Business Consulting, Association for Talent Development, Alexandria, Virginia

Digital Media Arts, Specs Howard School of Media Arts, Southfield, Michigan

Skills

Figma | inVision | Mural | Adobe Creative Suite | Jira | Confluence | Final Cut Pro | Avid

SquareSpace | WordPress | Adobe DreamWeaver | Degreed | Microsoft Office Suite

Languages

Fluent in English, Russian and Serbo-Croatian