Sam Marks

Product Strategy, AI & Design

About... My name is Sam,
not Mark.

Don't worry it happens all the time.
View CV→Contact
Sam Marks

01Professional story

Creating clarity from complexity

I've been designing for over 20 years, but my fascination has never really been with screens. It's always been with people.

I started my career designing surf and skate magazines and creating brand identities, long before product design became an industry. That foundation taught me that great design isn't about decoration—it's about clarity, communication and understanding how people think, behave and connect with the world around them.

That curiosity has stayed with me throughout my career. Whether I'm observing how people navigate physical spaces, facilitating workshops on customer behaviour or designing AI-powered products, I'm always looking for the patterns behind human decision-making. Technology evolves, but people are remarkably consistent.

Over time my focus shifted from interfaces to products, from products to organisations, and today I work at the intersection of product strategy, AI and design leadership.

For more than a decade I've led design organisations, partnering with founders, executives and cross-functional leadership teams to shape product direction, build high-performing teams and create experiences used by hundreds of thousands of people.

Whether introducing AI into product development, defining long-term product strategy or mentoring the next generation of design leaders, my role has remained remarkably consistent: helping organisations make better product decisions by keeping human needs at the centre.

Today I'm particularly interested in helping ambitious organisations embrace AI without losing the judgement, curiosity and empathy that create exceptional products. AI can accelerate how we build, but understanding people is still what makes products worth building.

02Career & experience

Where I've led

Director of User Experience

Indeed

June 2023 – June 2026

Leading design across product design, research, design systems, and AI initiatives within a global workforce technology organisation.

Key contributions:

  • — Scaled the design organisation from 10 to 17 designers, strengthening capability and raising quality standards across the team
  • — Evolved design from a reactive delivery function into a strategic partner influencing product direction and business decisions
  • — Established cross-organisational rituals that improved visibility, collaboration, and alignment across product, design, and engineering
  • — Led exploration of AI-powered operational experiences, including agentic workflows, intelligent decision systems, and automation concepts that are shaping the future of workforce technology

Head of Product Design

Indeed Flex

2022 – 2023

Led product design during a period of rapid growth and organisational change.

Key contributions:

  • — Defined product design direction across the Flex platform
  • — Partnered closely with product and engineering leadership to align customer needs with business priorities
  • — Strengthened design foundations and delivery practices while supporting continued product growth

Head of Product Design

Ascential

2020 – 2022

Led design across a portfolio of global digital products serving some of the world's leading brands and professional communities.

Key contributions:

  • — Owned product and design direction across multiple digital experiences
  • — Led the creation of LionsLive, enabling Cannes Lions to successfully transition to a virtual experience during the COVID-19 pandemic
  • — Partnered with senior leadership to define and execute a customer-centred digital strategy
  • — Navigated significant organisational change while maintaining delivery momentum and supporting team development

Earlier career

Built a foundation across graphic design, editorial publishing, branding, digital design, customer experience, and product design, working with organisations ranging from startups to global enterprises.

These experiences shaped my belief that successful products emerge when business goals, user needs, design craft, and execution are aligned.

03What I believe

Principles that guide my work

Simplicity creates momentum

The most effective solutions are often the simplest. My role is to help teams cut through complexity, align around the right problems, and focus on what creates the greatest impact.

Design is a strategic function

Design should influence business direction, not simply support delivery. The strongest design teams help shape products, strategy, and organisational outcomes.

Outcomes over deliverables

Success isn't measured by the number of features shipped or screens designed. It's measured by the value created for users, teams, and the business.

AI should amplify human capability

AI has the potential to fundamentally change how products are built and how organisations operate. The opportunity lies in designing systems where humans and AI work together to make better decisions and unlock new possibilities.

Great teams build great products

Strong cultures, clear direction, and empowered teams create lasting impact. Building high-performing teams has been one of the most rewarding parts of my career.

04Areas of expertise

What I bring to organisations

Design leadership

Building and leading design organisations that connect strategy, execution, and business outcomes.

Product strategy

Partnering with leadership teams to define product vision, identify opportunities, and align organisations around future direction.

AI product design

Exploring how AI can create new product experiences, operational efficiencies, and competitive advantage.

Conversational & agentic experiences

Designing AI-powered systems that move beyond interfaces into workflows, decision-making, and automation.

Enterprise SaaS

Deep experience designing complex platforms, operational systems, and workforce technology products.

Design systems & scale

Creating foundations that improve consistency, quality, and collaboration across teams and products.

Brand & visual identity

Crafting visual systems, identities, and communication frameworks that help organisations express who they are and what they stand for.

Typography & visual communication

Applying principles of hierarchy, composition, readability, and storytelling to create clearer and more engaging experiences.

Spatial & experience design thinking

Understanding how people move through environments, products, systems, and services, and using those insights to create more intuitive and meaningful experiences.

Team development

Coaching designers, developing future leaders, and building environments where people can do their best work.

Design advisory

Supporting founders and leadership teams with product, design, brand, and AI strategy during periods of growth, transformation, and change.

05Beyond work

The human side

Outside of work, you'll usually find me planning my next football trip to Italy, exploring architecture, or discovering great design in unexpected places.

Coming from a background spanning editorial design, branding, digital products, and now AI-powered experiences, I've always been fascinated by how design in any form shapes the way we live, interact, work, and experience the world around us.

Whether it's a beautifully crafted magazine, a brand identity, a thoughtfully designed product, a football stadium, a piece of architecture, or a city wayfinding system, I'm endlessly curious about the decisions behind it and the impact those decisions have on people.

It's also not uncommon to find me standing still for far too long admiring a piece of signage, a transport map, a typography system, or a particularly well-executed graphic display while everyone else has already moved on.

Travel, sport, architecture, and design provide a constant source of inspiration. They remind me that the best ideas rarely come from staring at a screen, but from observing how people behave, move through spaces, solve problems, and connect with one another.

Alongside my leadership role, I also advise businesses and explore new ventures, particularly where design, AI, and emerging technology create opportunities for meaningful change.

View CV

Editorial CV with full career history. Use Download CV on the page to save a copy.

View CV→