Building a Global UX Team from Silos
Establishing a cohesive, high-performing UX organization within VMware’s Global Marketing function
executive summary
When I stepped into the role of UX leader for VMware’s global marketing organization, the company had talented UX designers distributed across geographies—but no unified team, shared identity, or consistent way of working.
Designers were operating in silos, duplicating effort, and producing one-off solutions that fragmented the customer experience.
context & organizational challenge
Challenge
- Distributed designers (US + Costa Rica)
- No shared standards
- Duplicated effort
- Inconsistent customer experience
before vs after org structure
Before
Fragmented and Siloed
- Isolated designers
- One-off patterns
- High outsourcing
After
Unified and Collaborative
- Shared identity
- Reusable patterns
- Reduced cost
Opportunity
Priorities
The designers were highly skilled, motivated, capable — and isolated.
We needed to establish:
- A shared identity as a team
- A common forum for collaboration
- A set of shared expectations, principles, or standards
- Familiarity with each other as peers
- Awareness and trust in me as their new leader
Any attempt to “standardize” without first addressing trust and clarity could have failed.
My first priority was unifying a disparate group of individuals.
Strategy
Leadership Approach
Leadership Approach
I approached this with a people-first, systems-design mindset.
My goals were to:
- Build trust and psychological safety
- Create a shared sense of identity and purpose
- Establish clarity around how we worked together
- Empower designers to collaborate, not compete
- Advocate for the team at the executive level
I intentionally avoided imposing top-down mandates. I focused on camaraderie, listening deeply, and co-creating a way of working that appealed to the whole team.
Operating Model
- Shared identity
- Reusable patterns
- Reduced cost
RESULTS
Impact
Team
- 52% increase in UX design output
- 64% reduction in one-off UX patterns
- 72% decrease in outsourced UX work
- 46% reduction in UX outsourcing budget
Customers
- 43% reduction in bounce rates on vmware.com
- 16% increase in product page activity
- A consistent, cohesive user experience across branded portals
Organizational
- VMware’s first unified global UX marketing team
- Durable systems that scaled beyond individual contributors
- UX recognized as a strategic partner within marketing
leadership reflection
Thoughts
My experience reinforced a core belief that resonates with me today:
High-performing teams are built, not assigned.
Tools, processes, and systems matter (of course!) — but they only work when people feel seen, trusted, and aligned around a shared purpose.
By leading with empathy, clarity, and advocacy, I was able to unlock the collective potential of a group of talented individuals and create outcomes that benefited both the organization and its customers.
This case continues to shape how I lead teams through growth, change, and complexity. And, more importantly, I think, it made me hungry for more. More challenges.
I’m ready for the next challenge.