From stale dashboards to decisions in the field
A month of field research turned a Power BI report into an iPad app 10,000+ field leaders rely on.
- CIO 100 programme
- Field sales
UX Research & Design Principal, PepsiCo Global UXD
Researching human needs. Shaping product strategy. Designing better experiences.
I lead experience design for PepsiCo’s supply chain, procurement, sales and AI products: six portfolios, four global regions, and tools 70K+ frontline people rely on every day.
CIO 100 programme, 2024
70K+ frontline users
30+ enterprise products at PepsiCo
100+ products designed
4 global regions
18+ years in design
10+ years leading teams
Thoughts
Articles on design, leadership and AI
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We don’t have a shortage of designers. We have a shortage of mentors.
After interviewing 50+ designers, the pattern is clear: vocabulary is growing faster than understanding.
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Why evolving perspective matters in your design career
Read this if you’re early in your design career. Read it anyway if you need some career guidance.
· 3 min read
7 types of learners you find at work
Forced, situational, indirect, competitive, snack, motivated and collaborative: the strengths and traps of each.
Selected Work
Complex products, made easy to use
Recent programmes, one pattern: understand a complicated system, find the decision that matters, bring product and engineering with you, and ship something people trust.
Replacing parenting anxiety with clarity
NHS Login cut sign-up steps by 40% and helped a UK parenting app gain 23K new users in a year.
- Health tech
- NHS integration
One front door for a global supplier network
An MVP concept that brings every supplier task into one modular portal.
- Proof of concept
- Procurement
About
Designing for complexity. Leading for impact.
I work where business strategy, technology and human behaviour meet. For nearly two decades I’ve helped teams in the UK, US and India turn complex operations into products that work at scale.
Enterprise Systems Thinking
Supply chain, procurement, sales, warehouse
AI Experience Design
Human-centred AI for enterprise workflows
Research & Behavioural Insight
Certified Usability Analyst (HFI)
Design Systems at Scale
Modular, atomic, built to evolve
Currently
PepsiCo Global UXD
UX Research & Design Principal · Supply Chain, Procurement, Sales & AI
I head experience design across six PepsiCo portfolios: Supply Chain, Procurement, Sales, Warehouse, Enterprise and AI. I report to the VP of Global UXD and partner with senior directors across business, product and engineering.
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Enterprise products led
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Direct reports
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Wider design team
What people say
In their words
“He doesn’t just provide solutions—he teaches, challenges your thinking, asks the right questions, and ensures you truly understand the problem before moving forward.”
“Atulesh’s ability to capture our needs and craft a design with very few edits was incredible.”
“Any team looking for a design leader who is both strategically sharp and deeply invested in the people around him would be fortunate to have Atulesh.”
“He has worked tirelessly in bringing in visions that were outside the box and presented in such a way that everyone from the tech team to the user to the marketeer related to it well.”
“His intuitive ability to foresee stumbling blocks, and build interfaces to counteract those challenges is commendable.”
How I lead
Three things you can hold me to
I lead through ambiguity
When a brief is unclear or teams disagree, I put evidence on the table, frame the options by cost, risk and adoption, prototype them, and make a clear recommendation.
Proof
- 30+ PepsiCo products · 6 portfolios
I make enterprise products usable at scale
My teams design a sprint or two ahead of build, keep research going through every release, and QA every screen before launch.
Proof
- 70K+ frontline users across 4 global regions
I improve product and team outcomes
I measure every product against where we started, and grow designers through 1:1 growth plans, critiques and a clear career framework.
Proof
- 20+ designers mentored · 10+ direct reports
Work with me
How I can help
18+ years in design, 10+ of them leading teams at PepsiCo and at startups in the UK and US. Alongside my PepsiCo role, I take on a few advisory engagements for leaders building complex or AI-driven products.
Clarity on what to build and why: strategy sprints, experience audits of enterprise and AI products, and a prioritised path from ambiguity to roadmap.
Ask about strategy workSenior design leadership without a full-time hire: standing up the practice, shaping team structure and hiring, and putting rituals and systems in place that outlast the engagement.
Ask about fractional leadershipCoaching for designers stepping into leadership, drawing on 20+ designers mentored, plus workshops and talks on enterprise UX, design leadership and AI in the design process.
Ask about mentoring or a talk0+
Years in design
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Years leading teams
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Frontline users served
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Global regions
North America · Europe · AMESA · APAC