Becoming a Head of Design in 2025

With Andrea Pilutti a Product Design Leader.

In this article I speak with Andrea Pilutti a Design leader with experience in SaaS, eCommerce building and scaling design in organizations, on his journey from IC to management and dig into a little of what it means to be a design leader in 2025.

TL;DR:

• Vision. Great leaders inspire teams through a compelling vision.

• Team building and mentorship. The first and greatest responsibility of a design leader is bringing in exceptional talent.

• Business impact. Gone are the days when design was only about users. Business impact is paramount to justify design work.

• Quality and craft. With design becoming more accessible, excellence in execution and attention to detail are what truly differentiate great design teams.

Let’s dig into it.

---

Thank for joining us Andrea, please introduce yourself.

Hello! My name is Andrea Pilutti and I like to define myself as a curious and passionate design leader. I have 20 years of design work under my belt, with experience in digital agencies, as an entrepreneur, in-house designer, and – in thelast 10 years – leading design teams. I worked and lived in Italy, France, Switzerland, and now Spain - I guess my wife (French) and I (Italian) we influenced each other to take on new adventures across countries. For now only within Europe, but… who knows in the future!

What has been your journey in design?

I started working in design in early 2000s – when websites were built with <table></table> and web 2.0 seemed like the next big thing. I entered the design industry through the visual angle, working in a small and dynamic agency in Torino, Italy.

My first experience in a direct-marketing agency quickly shaped my understanding of design. There, design wasn’t just about aesthetics, it was a strategic tool to drive better returns. This early exposure made me realize that design sits at the intersection of art and science, business and customer. It wasn’t just about making things look good; it was about making them work, perform, and convert. That realization, combined with my natural curiosity, led me to deepen my knowledge of technology, user experience, and business.

I started studying and reading about front-end technologies, usability, psychology, and the mechanics of business impact through design.

I had the perfect opportunity to put all of that into practice when running my own design studio later on during 7 years. Back then, I didn’t realize it was the ideal playground for growth. When you are the one personally facing clients, you simply can’t afford to disappoint them. You develop a “service mindset” that proves incredibly valuable throughout your entire career.

Every project built not just my portfolio but my character as a designer and leader. Looking back, those years taught me more than any formal training could have. Doing stuff and get your hands dirty is the best way to learn.

All these experiences have been truly invaluable in shaping my approach to design. They’ve played a crucial role helping me succeeding in my Head of Design and Design Director positions in recent years.

Did you choose to get into management?

Not really! I got into management by chance. I wasn’t asking for it or expecting it to happen while enjoying my journey as an IC Designer. I have always loved to craft, and I still do. My first management experience came while running my own business.

I was fortunate to receive many projects from people I previously worked with. Building trust by being reliable and consistently delivering on promises helped me

establish a steady stream of incoming work. When the volume became too much for me to handle alone, I needed support. First, I explored freelance options, then I brought on a permanent hire.

Looking back, I realize what a terrible manager I was (Fabrizio G, if you’re reading this, I’m sure you’re smiling). I had grown so accustomed to doing everything myself that delegating execution details felt completely unnatural. This struggle was necessary though, it helped me improve and grow, eventually positioning me to help others grow too.

Fast forward four years to 2015, I moved to Switzerland and joined Nespresso as their only designer. It was technically a step back in terms of role (considering my entrepreneurial experience, not the business size) but sometimes you need to step back to leap forward. Thankfully, I wasn’t alone for long. With support from my fantastic managers, we began building an in-house design function not just for marketing campaigns but also to improve our digital products, serving millions of customers annually.

One week I’d be improving our checkout experience, the next designing the Black Friday campaign, and the following week creating our Design System. Just six months after joining, our workload had grown so substantially that we needed to start scaling the team.

Q: Do you enjoy it?

Absolutely! Since then, I’ve happily progressed into design leadership roles, and I couldn’t have done it without amazing support along the way. The trust, guidance, and mentorship from all the great managers I’ve encountered made this journey possible. A special shoutout to Jerôme, Mathieu, Cyril, Nicole, and Juan!

I consider myself incredibly fortunate to have crossed paths with these inspiring senior leaders. Each one taught me something valuable that shaped how I manage teams today. Their influence helped me place humans and high quality at the core of business decisions.

I’ll never forget the first piece of management advice I received from Mathieu. It was in 2017 and only my second day working with him when he said, “Andrea, you need to hire people that can take your place” He was absolutely right about that. Building an A-team isn’t just about finding talented individuals. It’s about recognizing people’s unique strengths and creating the perfect conditions for them to thrive.

Managing managers

On the path to becoming a head of design, there’s a milestone that can be particularly challenging to navigate. And I personally struggled with it at first. Moving from directly managed teams to managing managers.

You take one step further away from where the fun work actually happens. This means you have to rely heavily on direct reports who excel at communication. It becomes your responsibility to filter and distill all that information to frame your decisions and actions effectively. In the same way, you need these managers to cascade messages downward and guide their teams in the direction you envision.

Needless to say, establishing a trusting relationship with your management team is absolutely crucial. They need to confidently represent your broader organization in any circumstance. When they speak, it’s your voice they’re amplifying. When they make decisions, they’re extending your vision to places you aren’t.

The saying “Culture is what happens when you’re not in the room” takes all its meaning.

Trust becomes your most valuable currency. Without it, the entire structure begins to falter. With it, you can accomplish things at a scale you never thought possible.

Q: What is the key difference between IC + Management apart from the obvious?

Until 2022-2023 I would have given you a clear answer about this distinction between IC and management roles. It was pretty simple back then.

However, over the past couple of years, we’ve seen significant shifts in the role of design within organizations. The once-clear distinction between individual contributors and management is becoming increasingly blurred, much like the growing overlap between Product Design and Product Management.

Why is that happening? The common thread is “operational efficiency” When reality hit back after money flooded into companies post-pandemic, we found ourselves with inflated teams. Layoffs happened. VCs got cold feet. Everyone started looking for more sustainable business models and profitability.

Then enter AI with its promise of faster, more efficient work. Combine all of the above, and what you get are companies that want (and can) achieve more with less.

If delivering work takes half the time and requires half the skills because it’s more accessible, why should we separate strategy and execution between two different people? Couldn’t we merge these roles? We could be more efficient, don’t we?

We’re in the midst of a transition. Getting products out the door is increasingly easier.

The zero-to-one phase is becoming commoditized. The real difference will be made by the quality of solutions and the ability to optimize them over time. But what about the difference between management and IC then?

If being “hands-on” was once the domain of ICs, now it’s not uncommon to find Managers, Directors, and even VPs who are hands-on too.

I must say I’m pretty excited about it. You can see how the industry is moving in directions companies like Linear or Airbnb embraced years ago. Craft matters tremendously. The ability to translate ideas, strategies, and tactics into tangible shapes and forms is what truly sets design apart from any other function.

When you look closely at what is happening, it’s clear we’re witnessing a renaissance of appreciation for craft excellence. It’s not just about having ideas anymore. Anyone can have ideas. The magic happens when you can bring those concepts to life with precision and purpose. This is where designers shine brightest.

Companies that recognized this early are now reaping the fruits. They understood that thoughtful execution creates experiences people connect with on a deeper level.

That connection translates directly to business value. As for management itself, I think we can recognize several distinct themes:

1. Vision. Great leaders inspire teams through a compelling vision. The WHY. Clarifying this unites the team toward a common destination. A design leader brings tremendous value by focusing on quality, craft, and innovation while challenging the status quo. They inspire the team to design for people beyond current constraints, being bold and using prototyping skills to pitch what we could actually build and why.

Great design leadership isn’t just about managing today’s work. It’s about keeping an eye on tomorrow’s possibilities while making meaningful progress in the present. When this balance works well, teams feel both grounded in practical work and inspired by a compelling direction.

2. Team building and mentorship. The first and greatest responsibility of a design leader is bringing in exceptional talent. Building an A-team means identifying people’s strengths and creating the right conditions for them to thrive. And stay. If anyone can build anything these days, developing a keen eye for details and instilling a critical sense of high quality in your team is what sets apart a design leader from any other product leader.

3. Administration. This is something anyone can do. You don’t need to be a design expert to conduct a performance review, manage a budget, follow up on project status, assess risks, or make decisions. These are the obvious foundations of any management work.

4. Business impact. Gone are the days when design was only about users. Business impact is paramount to justify design work. Designers and design leaders must connect their work to measurable business KPIs – otherwise, our impact remains unclear. And since “perception is reality” Internal PR is key: design leaders must help design teams communicate their value within the organization to gain trust and influence.

Tom, I really appreciate the invitation to this interview. It’s been an honor to share my experience and thoughts and I can’t wait to hear from the community!

Before wrapping up, I want to recommend “The Making of a Manager” by Julie Zhuo.

This book is packed with inspiring stories and valuable insights that will surely resonate with anyone transitioning into a management or leadership role.

---

Until next time!