Promoting a culture of cross-functional collaboration

Fouad is a Service Design and product leader with industry experience in fintech, energy, social services, retail and government industries with a demonstrated history of success working with organizations to meet their business goals. He is skilled in product management, business model innovation, problem finding, service design, customer research methods, and managing remote cross-functional design and development teams. Fouad has expertise in bringing products to market across industries through ideation, process flows, business modelling, prototyping, user testing and release for both B2B and B2C products. He is a proud graduate of the Master of Business Administration (MBA) program focused in Executive Management from Royal Roads University.

Raul Nemes is a 25-year veteran in UX design and product management. His work spans varied industries, including Investment Banking, Health Care, K-12 Education, Oil & Gas, and Defence, with companies such as Curve Dental, SMART Technologies, McKesson Medical Imaging, and General Dynamics. His products are used in homes, classrooms, boardrooms, hospitals, clinics, and military vehicles.

Raul currently works with Motivity on clinical software for behaviour therapists who help children with autism learn the skills they need to live healthy and productive lives. 

Although Raul moved from UX to product management in 2015, user-centred design thinking still drives all his decisions. Outside work, Raul loves spending time with family and friends and even has a small woodworking business.

A seasoned design leader, Ian has spent the past two decades helping teams and organizations achieve success through storytelling and the development of intuitive, human-centered digital products. His passion for quality, rooted with a strong foundation of design principals and a proven track record of success in delivering high-quality user experiences and artifacts, has allowed him to become a humble champion of his domain. He is a results-driven leader who understands the importance of growing customer value through research and empathy, and regularly seeks to build environments that foster growth and enjoyment.

Albert leads zu's Experience Design division and has been a key force behind its growth since 2002. With years in the trenches working with most of zu’s client roster, his journey spans from the era of static websites to digital ecosystems. 

Through hundreds of design sprints, workshops, training sessions, and leadership retreats, Albert has mastered the art of strategic collaboration—helping teams break down silos, align on goals, ideate solutions, and execute with a shared vision.

Albert’s deeply reflective nature and storytelling craft bring together logic, reasoning, and humour, making him one of Canada’s most sought-after design leaders and speakers.